Court Opinion

ID: 9750791
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 15:32:42.692233+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:26:22.037936
License: Public Domain

*377HESTER, Judge,
dissenting:
I dissent.
I would affirm the rulings, the judgment and the sentence of the court below. The majority would discharge the appellant due to the fact that his trial started 182 days following the filing of the complaint.
Appellant was apprehended while in the process of burglarizing a residence. There was no question of his guilt. The police walked in on him while he was in the process of packing the valuables for removal from the residence.
On the 179th day following his arrest, the Commonwealth presented a petition for an extension of time. The trial court granted the extension following a full and complete hearing, holding in part:
I believe that the mandate of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has been satisfied that this case, after having been listed or certified for trial on the 16th of May, proceeded to the top of the list, in an orderly progression; that no cases were placed before it; that we were functioning throughout the latter part of May and through much of June with a limited number of trial judges available for criminal matters; that this case was not prejudiced in any way; that in point of fact, the earliest possible date it was assigned to a courtroom and that it missed the 180 day limit by two days. From August 3rd to August 5th, 1977. I likewise find that though it’s entirely speculative it’s quite possible that there was some delay in this matter by reason of the fact that Mr. Walsh had a long list of cases and the matter had to abide by his availability, and the same is true with regard to Mr. Cole, the public defender originally assigned to this case who likewise had a long list, and it may have been deferred because of his unavailability.
In all events it seems to me that the district attorney and the court administrator have done all that could possibly be done under the circumstances, that the case was put into the first room. The district attorney files his Petition for Extension of Time for commencing trial in a timely *378fashion, and it’s granted and it’s determined that the trial shall be held no later than today, and we will pick the jury in fifteen minutes.
Trial started 182 days following appellant’s arrest. Appellant offered no defense; he did not take the stand, and was convicted of the charges as recited in the majority’s opinion. There was no question of his guilt. He received an appropriate sentence, and now the majority would discharge him. I would affirm the judgment of the court below.