Commonwealth v. Miller’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

16 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 17 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Commonwealth v. Carter, 444 Pa. 405 , 282 A.2d 375 , 376 (1971) (citation omitted). Rather, an acquittal of a charge for which there was sufficient evidence for conviction is an occasion of a”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 2016 Pa. Super. 157 - Commonwealth v. Tucker · 2025 Pa. Super. 238 - Com. v. Carrasquillo, E.

2. “[a]n acquittal cannot be interpreted as a specific finding in relation to some of the evidence.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. 2016 Pa. Super. 157 - Commonwealth v. Tucker · 2025 Pa. Super. 238 - Com. v. Carrasquillo, E.

3. “To secure a conviction for ethnic intimidation, the Commonwealth must prove that the defendant "committed" the predicate offense "with malicious intention toward the race" of an individual or group ... From a plain reading of the statutory text, there is no question that the commission of the predicate offense is an element of ethnic intimidation ... In contrast to the ethnic intimidation statute, the second-degree murder statute does not set forth or require the commission of the predicate offense as an element. To secure a conviction for second-degree murder, the Commonwealth must prove that the defendant committed a murder "while [he or she] was engaged ... in the perpetration of a felony." 18 Pa.C.S.[A.] § 2502(b). "Perpetration of a felony" is statutorily defined in a very broad manner, encompassing, inter alia , "[t]he act of the defendant in engaging in ... the commission of, or an attempt to commit, ... robbery...." 18 Pa.C.S. [A.] § 2502(d). Based on a plain reading of this statutory language, ... to convict an accused of second-degree murder, the Commonwealth is not required to prove that the accused actually committed the predicate offense ... In other words, in contrast to the crime of ethnic intimidation, second-degree murder does not require, as an element of the crime, the completion of the predicate offense.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. Commonwealth v. Baker-Myers