Commonwealth v. Greevy

Citations

• 271 Pa. 95
• 114 A. 511
• 1921 Pa. LEXIS 462

Syllabus

<p>Appeals — Criminal law — Discharge of prisoner by Superior Court.</p> <p>1. An order of the Superior Oourt, discharging, without day, a defendant sentenced by a criminal court, will not prevent the Supreme Oourt from reviewing the order, reversing the discharge and affirming the sentence.</p> <p>Pleading — Demurrer—Criminal lam.</p> <p>2. A demurrer only admits facts properly pleaded, and this necessarily excludes such as are not susceptible of proof, if issue be joined on the plea.</p> <p>Jury — Examination of jurors — Reason for verdict — Public policy.</p> <p>3. Public policy forbids the examination of jurors as to the reasons for their verdict.</p> <p>Criminal law — Former acquittal — Record—Murder—Intention.</p> <p>4. The question of whether a former acquittal was for the same offense depends solely upon the record pleaded, and not on arguments or inferences deduced therefrom.</p> <p>5. An acquittal of a charge of murder is not a defense to another indictment for involuntary manslaughter, even though the evidence is exactly the same in the two cases.</p> <p>6. An acquittal on an indictment for murder does not establish the fact that there was no unlawful killing; it only determines that there was no intent to wound or kill, but not that death did not result from a reckless or careless act of the defendant.</p> <p>Criminal law — Murder—Res adjudicata — Defenses.</p> <p>I. In later suits between the same parties, every fact necessarily found in reaching a prior verdict and judgment, is as conclusively established as the ultimate fact itself; but defenses made in the earlier suit, which were not necessarily found to be true in order to render the verdict and judgment therein, are not established thereby.</p> <p>Criminal law — Murder — Involuntary manslaughter — Record— Former acquittal.</p> <p>8. It is not necessary in order to sustain an indictment for involuntary manslaughter, after an acquittal of a charge of murder, that the record in the murder trial shoul