Court Opinion

ID: 9630436
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 10:11:01.440776+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:07:38.399530
License: Public Domain

MANDERINO, Justice
(concurring and dissenting).
I concur in the finding of guilt on the charges of engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, and misrepresentation for submitting false and inflated medical claim reports in personal injury settlements with the insurance carriers, and in the findings of guilt for suborning false testimony and impeding the Special Judicial Investigation. I concur in the court’s decision as to appellants’ failure to comply with Philadelphia Court Rule 202 for reasons stated in my concurring and dissenting opinion in In re Berlant, Pa., 328 A.2d 471 (filed October 16, 1974).
I dissent from the Court’s decision as to the charges of improper solicitation for the reasons stated in my concurring and dissenting opinion in In re Berlant, Pa., 328 A.2d 471 (filed October 16, 1974). I also dissent from the majority’s approval of the grant of subpoena authority to a special prosecutor.
The authority to issue subpoenas is a judicial authority which can never be delegated to a prosecutor. The prosecutor may request the issuance of a subpoena, but a neutral judicial officer must decide whether there is a basis for the issuance of the subpoena. If there is no basis, the subpoena does not issue. Fishing expeditions are not permitted under the Fourth Amendment or the Pennsylvania Constitution.