Commonwealth v. Minnich

Citations

• 250 Pa. 363
• 95 A. 565
• 1915 Pa. LEXIS 951

Syllabus

<p>Criminal law — Murder—Accessory—Guilt of principal — Proof— Record of conviction — Words and phrases — “Conviction”—Evidence — Proximity to crime — Threats.</p> <p>1. There can. be no conviction of one charged as an accessory except as the guilt of the principal be first established.</p> <p>2. In the separate trial of one charged as an accessory, the same burden rests on the Commonwealth to establish the guilt of the principal as would have rested upon it were the principal himself being tried, and the same measure of proof is required in one case as in the other.</p> <p>3. The record of the conviction of the principal while not conclusive with respect to the fact of the principal’s guilt, is allowed exceptional weight as matter of evidence in that standing alone and unexplained it is sufficient to warrant the conclusion in support of which it was introduced.</p> <p>4. Technical legal terms are to be taken in the absence of countervailing intent in their established common law significance, and this rule applies with especial force where an ancient and established rule of law is under consideration.</p> <p>5. The word “conviction” has a popular as well as technical meaning. As popularly used it implies nothing more than a finding of guilty by a jury, but as technically understood it means the ascertainment of the guilt of the accused and judgment thereon by the court, implying not only a verdict but judgment or sentence thereon.</p> <p>6. “Record of Conviction” is a common law term and as employed in the rule of law relating to proof of the guilt of a principal, upon the trial of an accessory it must be given its legal and technical meaning, and in order to be admissible the record must show not only the verdict of the jury hut the judgment or sentence of the court.</p> <p>7. On the trial of an indictment charging defendant as an accessory to a murder, the record of the conviction of the principal showing simply that a verdict of guilty was rendered but that no j