Com. v. VG’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

10 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 10 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “in terms of its effect upon a case, a plea of nolo contendere is treated the same as a guilty plea.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. Commonwealth v. Prieto · Commonwealth v. Jabbie

2. “When the defendant pleads guilty and the Commonwealth agrees to dismiss charges as part of the plea agreement, a defendant is normally not entitled to expungement of the dropped charges under the Wexler factors. Commonwealth v. Lutz, 788 A.2d 993 (Pa.Super.2001). In such a scenario, the Commonwealth dismisses charges in connection with a plea arrangement and, accordingly, there is no implicit or express admission that it lacks evidence to convict a defendant of the crimes. The action of dropping the charges is viewed as a contractual arrangement negotiated as part of the plea bargain. Id. This situation is contrasted with that involved in the nol pros setting, where the Commonwealth concedes that there is insufficient evidence to support the dismissed charges. Id. Thus, if ex-pungement were permitted as to charges withdrawn pursuant to a plea bargain rather than due to a lack of evidence, there would not be an accurate record of the agreement reached by the defendant and the Commonwealth. Id. Furthermore, “In the absence of an agreement as to expungement, Appellant stands to receive more than he bargained for in the plea agree ment if the dismissed charges are later expunged.” Id. at 1001 . But see Commonwealth v. A.M.R., 887 A.2d 1266 (Pa.Super.2005) (where charges of theft and misapplication of entrusted property were dropped after defendant agreed to resign from his job, defendant’s arrest record was ordered to be expunged); Matter of Pflaum, 305 Pa.Super. 600 , 451 A.2d 1”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. 2013 Pa. Super. 125 - Commonwealth v. Joiner

3. “"The decision to grant or deny a request for expungement of an arrest record lies in the sound discretion of the trial judge, who must balance the competing interests of the petitioner and the Commonwealth. We review the decision of the trial court for an abuse of discretion." Commonwealth v. Waughtel, 999 A.2d 623 , 624-25 (Pa.Super.2010) (quoting Commonwealth v. Hanna, 964 A.2d 923 , 925 (Pa.Super.2009) ). In Waughtel , we provided a comprehensive outline of the law applicable to expungement. Defendants in Pennsylvania have a due process right to petition for expungement that is not dependent upon statutory authority. Id. at 625 ; see Commonwealth v. Wexler, 494 Pa. 325 , 431 A.2d 877 , 879 (1981). Where a defendant is convicted of a crime, he is not entitled to expungement of that crime, except as outlined by 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122, which is an extensive statutory provision governing expungement. Waughtel, supra; Commonwealth v. Maxwell, 737 A.2d 1243 , 1244 (Pa.Super.1999). "At the opposite extreme, if the defendant is acquitted, he is generally entitled to automatic expungement of the charges for which he was acquitted." Waughtel, supra at 625 (citing Commonwealth v. D.M., 548 Pa. 131 , 695 A.2d 770 (1997) ).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 2016 Pa. Super. 110 - Commonwealth v. Rainey