# Commonwealth v. Weisman

> Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · August 10, 1984 · 331 Pa. Super. 31

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9766946

## Case

- **Full name:** COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania v. Jeffrey Mel WEISMAN, Appellant
- **Court:** Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
- **Decided:** August 10, 1984
- **Citations:** 331 Pa. Super. 31; 479 A.2d 1063; 1984 Pa. Super. LEXIS 5880
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Dissent by Olszewski
- **Judges:** Wickersham, Olszewski, Hoffman
- **Cited by:** 4 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/9766946

## Opinion text

OLSZEWSKI, Judge,
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent from the majority’s holding that a coin cannot constitute a “gambling device” under 18 Pa.C.S. Sec. 5513(a)(1).
To the extent that it can be used for purposes other than gambling, a coin is not a gambling device per se. However, under the facts of this case, we would classify the coin used by appellant as a “gambling device.”
We agree with the majority and with appellant that, under the common and approved usage, a “device” could signify a machine, a gadget, an apparatus, or the like. Webster’s New Twentieth Century Dictionary, Second Edition (1979), defines “gadget” as “any small object.” A coin is a small object. Appellant was gambling with that small object. It would follow that the coin was a device used for gambling.
I would affirm the judgment below.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9766946. Public record. Not legal advice.