(Download) "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Stevens" by In the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Eastern District # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Stevens
- Author : In the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Eastern District
- Release Date : January 27, 1999
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 66 KB
Description
Appeal from the Order of the Court of Common Pleas of Beaver County Dated April 29, 1998 at No. 356A of 1992 SUBMITTED: December 29, 1998 DISSENTING OPINION MR. JUSTICE ZAPPALA DECIDED I respectfully disagree with the majority's Conclusion that Appellant was not prejudiced by his trial counsel's failure to pursue a defense of diminished capacity during the guilt phase of his trial. According to the majority, ""the trial court found through circumstantial proof that the Commonwealth had established beyond a reasonable doubt that Appellant had the specific intent to kill, and therefore determined that Appellant suffered no prejudice by pursuit of a defense that would have been unsuccessful had Appellant's counsel presented it."" (Majority Op. at 13). This implies that anytime the Commonwealth has established the elements of a crime then the defendant's criminal liability is unassailable. The majority's sweeping Conclusion calls into question the existence of affirmative defenses and diminishes the role of defense counsel.
 "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Stevens" by In the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Eastern District # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free){kind=link}