Court Opinion

ID: 9643040
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 18:16:30.367707+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:10:57.177772
License: Public Domain

*135NIX, Chief Justice,
concurring.
I join the opinion. I write to emphasize that this is not a case where the police, in disregard of retained counsel’s express desire to be present during interrogation, sought to elicit an incriminatory statement in counsel’s absence. See Commonwealth v. Hilliard, 471 Pa. 318, 322, 370 A.2d 322, 324 (1977); Commonwealth v. Hawkins, 448 Pa. 206, 220, 292 A.2d 302, 309 (1972) (Nix, J., dissenting opinion joined by Roberts and Manderino, JJ.) I am still of the view that where counsel has been engaged to represent a defendant and has expressed specifically a desire to be present during any police interrogation, a waiver of counsel obtained in counsel’s absence should be held invalid as a matter of law. I am satisfied that the record amply supports the majority’s conclusion that the police in this instance were not attempting to interrogate Mr. Lark. Commonwealth v. Chacko, 500 Pa. 571, 459 A.2d 311 (1983).