Opinion

Commonwealth v. Olivencia

  • 265 Pa. Super. 439
  • 402 A.2d 519
  • 1979 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2129
Court
Superior Court of Pennsylvania
Filed
Apr 20, 1979
Status
Published
Author
Spaeth
On the bench
Watkins, Jacobs, Hoffman, Cercone, Price, Van Voort Spaeth, Spaeth
Cited by
17 cases
Authority
More cited than 7.3%

The opinion

SPAETH, Judge,

dissenting:

The stipulation of Cecilia’s testimony contained only an approximation of both the time when appellant entered her *453 house and the time between appellant’s entry and the arrival of the police officer. Because it consisted merely of approximations it could be viewed by the jury as not inconsistent with the Commonwealth’s case, and if inconsistent, very weak. Such a view of the stipulation was especially likely given the fact that Cecilia was not herself a witness. It was therefore essential that counsel interview the boyfriend and learn whether his version of the incident and the times involved was both more helpful and more definite than Cecilia’s. I cannot say that the boyfriend should have been called, for I do not know what he would have said. I believe, however, that counsel was ineffective for not asking him what he would have said. See Commonwealth v. Jones, 263 Pa.Super. 149 , 397 A.2d 790 (1978) (SPAETH, J., dissenting).

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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