# Commonwealth v. Stipetich

> Superior Court of Pennsylvania · February 9, 1993 · 423 Pa. Super. 427

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9634760

## Case

- **Full name:** COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellant, v. George STIPETICH; COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellant, v. Heidi STIPETICH
- **Court:** Superior Court of Pennsylvania
- **Decided:** February 9, 1993
- **Citations:** 423 Pa. Super. 427; 621 A.2d 606; 1993 Pa. Super. LEXIS 549
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by Elliott
- **Judges:** Rowley, Cavanaugh, Cirillo, Olszewski, Sole, Popovich, Johnson, Hudock, Elliott
- **Cited by:** 6 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- **Red flag:** Reversed by Commonwealth v. Stipetich, 539 Pa. 428 (1995).
- Negative treatments: 1
- Distinguished by: 0
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9634760

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- finding a formal non-prosecution agreement enforceable where the defendant performed in reliance on agreement

## Opinion text

FORD ELLIOTT, Judge,
concurring.
I concur in the result reached by the majority but cannot join in its rationale. Rather, I rely on my concurring statement in the companion case of Commonwealth v. Scuilli, 423 Pa.Super. 453 , 621 A.2d 620 , and decide that before relief may be granted based on a nonprosecution agreement, there must *439 be some showing of detrimental reliance rising to the level of prejudice or manifest injustice to the party seeking enforcement. Based on the record before this court, I can find that such prejudice was suffered by the Stipetiches in their foregoing Constitutional guarantees against self-incrimination. Therefore, I cannot reverse the trial court’s decision to dismiss the charges. However, in all candor, from my reading of the trial court’s opinion, I would not characterize this choice of remedy as an exercise of the trial court’s discretion. Judge Dauer specifically found that the police officer in question had the authority to negotiate the nonprosecution agreement and that this mandated the dismissal of charges.

---

Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9634760. Public record. Not legal advice.