Commonwealth v. Matlock’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 4 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 6 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “a) Murder of the first degree.—A criminal homicide constitutes murder of the first degree when it is committed by means of poison, or by lying in wait, or by any other kind of willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing. A criminal homicide constitutes murder of the first degree if the actor is engaged in or is an accomplice in the commission of, or an attempt to commit, or flight after committing, or attempting to commit robbery, rape or deviate sexual intercourse by force or threat of force, arson, burglary or kidnapping. b) Murder of the second degree.—All other kinds of murder shall be murder of the second degree. Murder of the second degree is a felony of the first degree.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 398 Pa. Super. 475 - Commonwealth v. Ort

2. “a) Murder of the first degree.—A criminal homicide constitutes murder of the first degree when it is committed by an intentional killing. b) Murder of the second degree.—A criminal homicide constitutes murder of the second degree when the death of the victim occurred while defendant was engaged as a principal or an accomplice in the perpetration of a felony. c) Murder of the third degree.—All other kinds of murder shall be murder of the third degree. Murder of the third degree is a felony of the first degree.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 398 Pa. Super. 475 - Commonwealth v. Ort

3. “The court of common pleas has jurisdiction to hear murder cases.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. McCandless v. Vaughn