# Commonwealth v. Delbridge

> Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · October 21, 2004 · 580 Pa. 68

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9636886

## Case

- **Full name:** COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Gerald John DELBRIDGE, Appellant
- **Court:** Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
- **Decided:** October 21, 2004
- **Citations:** 580 Pa. 68; 859 A.2d 1254; 2004 Pa. LEXIS 2488
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Dissent by Saylor
- **Judges:** Zappala, Cappy, Castille, Nigro, Newman, Saylor, Eakin
- **Cited by:** 43 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9636886

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- explaining judicial competency investigations apply in cases where sexual abuse complainants are young children because child’s memory is uniquely susceptible to falsely implanted suggestions which may cause child difficulty in distinguishing fact from fantasy when called to t…
- stating that in the "narrow group of cases, involving allegations of sexual abuse inflicted upon children of tender years, the existence of taint is a threshold question to determining competency."
- stating, “[a]llegations are not evidence”

## Opinion text

Justice SAYLOR,
dissenting.
Although I take no issue with the majority’s substantive analysis, fundamental fairness would seem to me to dictate that Appellant should be afforded some opportunity to be *80 heard in an appellate court concerning the trial court’s opinion on remand. Since the majority deprives Appellant of any opportunity in this regard, see Majority Opinion at 78 n. 7, 859 A.2d at 1261 n. 7,1 am unable to join its opinion or disposition.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9636886. Public record. Not legal advice.