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Commonwealth v. DeHart

Citations

  • 650 A.2d 38
  • 539 Pa. 5
  • 1994 Pa. LEXIS 638

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

  • holding that language requiring the jury to weigh “one aggravating circumstance” against “any mitigating circumstance” instead of “mitigating circumstances” may have led to an “improper weighing process” and thus remanding for new sentencing
  • considering claim in a PCRA petition on its merits even though petitioner failed to object at trial and thus waived the claim under Rule 302
  • vacating a death sentence where the verdict slip contained language that the jurors could have construed to require them to weigh the aggravators against each mitigator individually rather than all mitigators collectively
  • vacating a death sentence where the verdict slip contained language that the jurors could have construed to require them to weigh the aggravators against each mitigator individually rather than all mitigators collectively
  • finding it reasonable for counsel to concede the appellant’s guilt with respect to the escape charge in an effort to defend against the other more serious charges which could have resulted in the imposition of a death sentence
  • where pre-printed verdict slip contained error, death sentence vacated notwithstanding proper instructions to jury

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).

Judges: Nix, Flaherty, Zappala, Papadakos, Cappy, Castille, Montemuro

Read full opinion on CourtListener

Cited by

35 cases in this archive cite this case; the 20 most cited are listed.

Cites

21 cases in this archive are cited by this case; the 20 most cited are listed.

Other cases with this name

Sourced from CourtListener / Free Law Project (CC0).

This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.