Court Opinion

ID: 9762900
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 02:33:40.369249+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:29:38.365239
License: Public Domain

Concurring Opinion by
Hoffman, J.:
I agree that appellant was properly convicted of simple assault1 and possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a crime of violence.2 In regard to appellant’s conviction for possession of a concealed firearm without a license,3 I continue to adhere to the view expressed in my Dissenting Opinion in Commonwealth v. Williams, 237 Pa. Superior Ct. 91, 96, 346 A.2d 308, 311 (1975), that the Commonwealth has the burden of proving the absence of a license by virtue of the definitional provisions of the new Crimes Code, and that the retroactivity of Commonwealth v. McNeil, 461 Pa. 709, 337 A.2d 840 (1975), is an issue only in cases arising under the 1939 Penal Code. However, I believe that evidence of a prior conviction provides a sufficient basis to enable the fact-finder to infer that appellant did not have a license.
Spaeth, J., joins in this concurring opinion.

. Act of December 6, 1972, P.L. 1482, No. 334, §1; 18 Pa. C.S. §2701.

. Act of December 6, 1972, supra; 18 Pa.C.S. §6105.

. Act of December 6, 1972, supra; 18 Pa.C.S. §6106.