(DOWNLOAD) "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Stevens" by In the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Eastern District " Book 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.