ARTICLE B
OFFENSES INVOLVING DANGER TO THE PERSON
Chapter
23. General Provisions
25. Criminal Homicide
26. Crimes Against Unborn Child
27. Assault
28. Antihazing
29. Kidnapping
30. Human Trafficking
31. Sexual Offenses
32. Abortion
CHAPTER 23
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec.
2301. Definitions.
Enactment. Chapter 23 was added December 6, 1972, P.L.1482, No.334, effective in six months.
§ 2301. Definitions.
Subject to additional definitions contained in subsequent provisions of this article
which are applicable to specific chapters or other provisions of this article, the
following words and phrases, when used in this article shall have, unless the context
clearly indicates otherwise, the meanings given to them in this section:
"Bodily injury." Impairment of physical condition or substantial pain.
"Deadly weapon." Any firearm, whether loaded or unloaded, or any device designed as a weapon and capable
of producing death or serious bodily injury, or any other device or instrumentality
which, in the manner in which it is used or intended to be used, is calculated or
likely to produce death or serious bodily injury.
"Serious bodily injury." Bodily injury which creates a substantial risk of death or which causes serious, permanent
disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member
or organ.
"Serious provocation." Conduct sufficient to excite an intense passion in a reasonable person.
Cross References. Section 2301 is referred to in sections 2602, 2801, 3101, 3505, 5106, 5131 of this
title; section 6338.1 of Title 23 (Domestic Relations); sections 6302, 6355 of Title
42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure); sections 3326, 3327 of Title 75 (Vehicles).
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
410
cases (
109 in the last 5 years), 1974–2026 · leading case:
Commonwealth v. Miller, 172 A.3d 632 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2017).
Commonwealth v. Miller, 172 A.3d 632 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2017).
· cites it 2× “” 18 Pa.C.S. § 2301. See Commonwealth v. Walls, 950 A.”
Commonwealth v. Matthew, 909 A.2d 1254 (Pa. 2006).
· cites it 4× “" 18 Pa.C.S. § 2301. "A person commits an attempt when, with intent to commit a specific crime, he does any act which constitutes a substantial step toward the commission of that crime.”
Commonwealth v. Tukhi, 149 A.3d 881 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2016).
· cites it 2× “[ 3 ] 18 Pa.C.S. § 2301. “Although deadly weapons are commonly items which one would traditionally think of as dangerous (e.”
Com. v. Sinkiewicz, M., 293 A.3d 681 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2023).
· cites it 6× “” 18 Pa.C.S. § 2301. Although the Commonwealth argued in the trial court that both victims suffered serious bodily injury, it has abandoned that assertion on appeal.”
Commonwealth v. Burton, 2 A.3d 598 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2010).
· cites it 4× “" 18 Pa.C.S. § 2301. The question of whether the delivery of a single punch is sufficient to sustain a conviction for aggravated assault was addressed by our Supreme Court in Commonwealth v.”
Commonwealth v. Anderson, 650 A.2d 20 (Pa. 1994).
· cites it 4× “18 Pa.C.S. § 2301. Inasmuch as aggravated assault, the lesser offense, contains some, but not all the elements of the greater offense, attempted murder, the two offenses merge for purposes of sentencing.”
Commonwealth v. Kirkwood, 520 A.2d 451 (Pa. 1987).
· cites it 8× “" 18 Pa.C.S. § 2301. "In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, we view all the evidence and all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, which has won the verdict.”
Commonwealth v. Rhoades, 8 A.3d 912 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2010).
· cites it 2× “Pennsylvania law defines a deadly weapon as “any firearm, loaded or unloaded, or any device designed as a weapon and capable of producing death or serious bodily injury, or any other device or instrumentality which, in the manner in which it is used or intended to be used, is…”
Commonwealth v. Scullin, 607 A.2d 750 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1992).
· cites it 6× “This appeal focuses, of course, upon the section of the Sentencing Code known as the deadly weapon enhancement requirement which declares: When the court determines that the defendant possessed a deadly weapon, as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 2301 (relating to definitions), during…”
Commonwealth v. Pagan, 950 A.2d 270 (Pa. 2008).
· cites it 2× “" 18 Pa.C.S. § 2301. The evidence adduced by the Commonwealth at trial, taken in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth as verdict winner, was ample to support the murder verdicts.”
Commonwealth v. Martuscelli, 54 A.3d 940 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2012).
· cites it 2× “” 18 Pa.C.S. § 2301. The Commonwealth need not establish the victim actually suffered bodily injury; rather, it is sufficient to support a conviction if the Commonwealth establishes an attempt to inflict bodily injury.”
Commonwealth v. Torres, 766 A.2d 342 (Pa. 2001).
· cites it 2× “" See 18 Pa.C.S. § 2301. In order to obtain a conviction for simple assault, the Commonwealth was required to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that Appellant knowingly injured the victim.”
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2301(a) — 1 case
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.