Commonwealth v. Colon’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 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 5 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “At the point [appellant] had been informed the officers had a warrant for his arrest and that he was under arrest, appellant was detained by a show of authority whereby he could not reasonably believe that he was free to leave. We find the statements by the officers in which they announced the purpose of their presence were sufficient to alert appellant that he was being officially detained. It is the warrant which extends the power of the state over the defendant, beyond mere assertion he is under arrest, and completes the required element of ‘official detention’ necessary to constitute the crime of escape. The warrant in this case is as compelling to establish requisite control and detention of defendant as were the drawn gun and directive to place defendant’s hands on the dashboard of his automobile in Stewart . The warrant is the ultimate exercise of due process in obtaining official custody of a person charged with a crime and must be given the highest respect by the citizenry when executed to prevent the use of force and contempt for the constitutional process. A warrant is always preferred over an extemporaneous arrest, and refusal to accede to service of a warrant and response by fleeing, reasonably should be treated as an escape.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 2002 Pa. Super. 350 - Commonwealth v. Fountain · 2008 Pa. Super. 246 - Commonwealth v. Santana