Court Opinion

ID: 9751289
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 16:19:54.833718+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:26:42.247510
License: Public Domain

JONES, Chief Justice
(dissenting).
I strenuously dissent. Appellant, John K. Grello, was found guilty by a jury on September 10, 1973, of aggravated assault, battery and burglary. The Superior Court affirmed the trial court without opinion on February 6, 1975. On April 1, 1975, appellant sought reargument before the Superior Court on the basis of our decision in Commonwealth v. Graves, 461 Pa. 118, 334 A.2d 661 (filed March 18, 1975). This request was denied by the Superior Court on April 3, 1975, and a petition for allocatur followed.
In joining in Justice Eagen’s dissenting opinion in Commonwealth v. Graves, I expressed my dissatisfaction with the holding that evidence of voluntary intoxication can be offered for the purpose of negating the presence of the required specific intent for burglary. Even if the use of intoxication as an excuse for criminal responsibility survives, it should not be given retroactive application. See Linkletter v. Walker, 381 U.S. 618, 85 S.Ct. 1731, 14 L.Ed.2d 601 (1965); United States ex rel. Cannon v. Johnson, 396 F.Supp. 1362 (E.D.Pa. filed June 12, 1975). A retroactive application of the Graves rule could have disastrous effects on the administration of justice.
EAGEN, J., joins in this dissenting opinion.