Case Name: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Harold FIELDS, Appellant
Court: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
Decision Date: 1980-10-31
Citations: 491 Pa. 609
Docket Number: No. 195
Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Harold FIELDS, Appellant.
Judges: Before O’BRIEN, C. J., and ROBERTS, NIX, LARSEN, FLAHERTY and KAUFFMAN, JJ.
Reporter: Pennsylvania State Reports
Volume: 491
Pages: 609–613

Head Matter:
421 A.2d 1051
COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Harold FIELDS, Appellant.
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
Argued Sept. 24, 1980.
Decided Oct. 31, 1980.
John H. Corbett, Jr., David G. Metinko, Asst. Public Defenders, Pittsburgh, for appellant.
Robert E. Colville, Dist. Atty., Robert L. Eberhardt, Deputy Dist. Atty., Dara A. DeCourcy, Asst. Dist. Atty., Pittsburgh, for appellee.
Before O’BRIEN, C. J., and ROBERTS, NIX, LARSEN, FLAHERTY and KAUFFMAN, JJ.

Opinion:
OPINION OF THE COURT
LARSEN, Justice.
On June 4, 1979, appellant Harold Fields was brought to trial before a jury on one count each of murder of the first degree, murder of the third degree, voluntary manslaughter, carrying a firearm without a license, and former convict owning a firearm. Three days into the trial, the court, upon motion by appellant, declared a mistrial. On September 11, 1979, appellant filed an Application to Dismiss Indictments on the grounds that a new trial would violate his right not to be twice placed in jeopardy. The trial court denied the application and this direct appeal followed.
Appellant's double jeopardy claim is based on the contention that appellant was forced to request a mistrial because of misconduct on the part of the prosecutor. We have reviewed the record and find this contention to be without merit.
Accordingly, the trial court's denial of appellant's Application to Dismiss Indictments is affirmed and the case is remanded for appropriate proceedings.
NIX, J., filed a concurring opinion in which FLAHERTY, J., joined.
ROBERTS, J., filed a concurring and dissenting opinion.
. The denial of a defendant's pretrial motion to dismiss an indictment on double jeopardy grounds is final and directly appealable to this Court. Commonwealth v. Lee, 490 Pa. 346, 349, 416 A.2d 503, 504 (1980). See also, Commonwealth v. Bolden, 472 Pa. 602, 610-14, 373 A.2d 90, 93-95 (1977).