Court Opinion

ID: 9644497
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 20:57:41.759992+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:11:14.017828
License: Public Domain

ROBERTS, Justice,
concurring.
Like the majority, I would affirm the judgments of sentence in this case but would do so on an entirely different ground. Because I believe that appellant’s post-trial motions meet the requirements of Pa.R.Crim.P. 1123(c) and Commonwealth v. Blair, 460 Pa. 31, 331 A.2d 213 (1975), I would reach the merits of appellant’s claim.
The record demonstrates that appellant, then sixteen years old, had ample opportunity to consult with his mother and an attorney while in custody but prior to making his statement. Commonwealth v. McCutchen, 463 Pa. 90, 343 A.2d 669 (1975). Although appellant’s mother and lawyer advised appellant to remain silent, after they left appellant, he rejected their advice and voluntarily offered to make a statement. Police gave appellant Miranda warnings and he confessed. Appellant’s voluntary statement was properly admitted into evidence. See Commonwealth v. Myers, 481 Pa. 217, 392 A.2d 685 (1978); Commonwealth v. Yount, 455 Pa. 303, 314 A.2d 242 (1974).