Commonwealth v. Foreman’s Empirical Analysis
2002
Citation profile
14 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 20 later decisions (3 by the Supreme Court) — most recently May 2023
14 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on Frye v. United States · Commonwealth v. Widmer · Commonwealth v. Farquharson · Commonwealth v. Topa · Commonwealth v. Valette
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 20 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“[A] permissible inference of guilty knowledge may be drawn from the unexplained possession of recently stolen goods without infringing upon an accused’s right of due process or his right against self-in elimination, as well as other circumstances, such as the accused’s conduct at the time of arrest.” Commonwealth v. Williams, 468 Pa. 357, 365-366 , 362 A.2d 244, 248-249 (1976) (citations omitted). Nonetheless, the mere possession of stolen property is insufficient to prove guilty knowledge, and the Commonwealth must introduce other evidence, which can be either circumstantial or direct, that demonstrates that the defendant knew or had reason to believe that the property was stolen. Commonwealth v. Matthews, 429 Pa.Super. 291 , 632 A.2d 570, 571 (1993). This additional evidence can include the nature of the goods, the quantity of the goods involved, the lapse of time between possession and theft, and the ease with which the goods can be assimilated into trade channels. Williams, 468 Pa. at 366, n. 7 , 362 A.2d at 249, n. 7 . Further, whether the property has alterations indicative of being stolen can be used to establish guilty knowledge. Id. Finally, even if the accused offers an explanation for his possession of stolen property, the trier of fact may consider the possession as unexplained if it deems the explanation unsatisfactory. Id.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage“A challenge to the weight of the evidence is addressed to the sound discretion of the trial court. Absent an abuse of discretion, we will not disturb the trial court’s ruling. A new trial should be awarded only when the verdict is so contrary to the evidence as to shock one’s sense of justice.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage“tool mark identification is a scientifically recognized area for expert testimony in this Commonwealth”
1 later decision quote this exact passage
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.