Commonwealth v. Sober

Citations

• 15 Pa. Super. 520
• 1901 Pa. Super. LEXIS 383

Syllabus

<p>Appeals — Criminal taw — District attorney.</p> <p>Where the district attorney does not appear in person in an appeal from the judgment of the court of quarter sessions in a criminal case, the appeal must be treated as if sued out under his official responsibility, since he represents the commonwealth in his county.</p> <p>Appeals — Criminal law — Special allowance — Act of March 31, 1860, P. L. 110, and May 19, 1871, P. L. 219.</p> <p>Since the passage of the act of March 31, 1860, the powers of the Supreme Court are competent to review any judicial record, and the district attorney may take out a writ of error for certiorari without special allowance. As to erroneous decisions made in the trial which may cause the acquittal of the accused, except the misdemeanors of nuisance, forcible entry and detainer mentioned in the act of May 19, 1871, the commonwealth cannot except, and such decisions cannot be reviewed; but for error in quashing an indictment, arresting judgment after a verdict of guilty, and the like, the commonwealth may remove the record for review without allowance of the proper writ.</p> <p>Criminal law — Pleading—Indictment—Distinct offenses.</p> <p>While the criminal law does not permit distinct offenses to be joined in the same count, yet when a statute makes indictable two or more acts connected with the same transaction, each one of which may be considered as representing a phase of the same offense, such acts may be coupled in the one count. It is not regarded as duplicity thus to join successive statutory phases of the same offense.</p> <p>Criminal law — Indictment—False pretenses — Duplicity.</p> <p>An indictment will be sustained which distinctly charges the defendant with falsely representing that he had an interest in a certain partnership, and that by means of such false pretense he unlawfully obtained from a person named, the latter’s signature to a certain written instrument commonly called a judgment note.</p>