ORDER PER CURIAM. AND NOW, this 22nd day of December, 2011, the Court being equally divided, the Order of the Superior Court is AFFIRMED. Justice ORIE MELVIN did not participate in the consideration or decision of this case. Justice BAER files an opinion in support of affirmance in which Justice TODD and McCAFFERY join. Justice TODD files an opinion in support of affirmance. Chief Justice CASTILLE files an opinion in support of reversal. Justice SAYLOR files an opinion in support of...
OPINION ANNOUNCING THE JUDGMENT OF THE COURT Justice EAKIN. In January, 2001, appellant's car was in a collision. 1 His insurer totaled the aging New Yorker, then made a just division of the value of the insurance claim, sending $6,289 to the lender; the balance of $135, to appellant they made tender. And thus the matter terminated, or so one might have thought, but that was not to be, when Goodson's later schemes were caught. Appellant was unhappy with his meager share, we guess—...
OPINION Justice BAER. Under prevailing decisions of the United States Supreme Court, the federal Constitution has protected a woman's right to choose to have an abortion before viability and to obtain the abortion without undue governmental interference. Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 , 93 S.Ct. 705, 35 L.Ed.2d 147 (1973). The High Court has ruled that a state may require a minor seeking an abortion to obtain the consent of a parent or guardian, provided, however, there is an adequate...
OPINION Chief Justice CASTILLE. We review the direct appeal of Abraham Sanchez, Jr. ("appellant") from the sentence of death imposed on March 30, 2009, following a trial by jury before the Honorable Joseph C. Madenspacher of the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas. Appellant raises eight claims of trial court error regarding aspects of the guilt and penalty phases of his trial, including a challenge to the timing and the use of the jury in adjudicating his claim of death penalty...
OPINION Justice ORIE MELVIN. David Richard Ramtahal appeals from the sentence of death imposed on May 18, 2009, in the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder, criminal conspiracy, two counts of possessing an instrument of crime, and three counts of robbery. We affirm the judgment of sentence. The evidence of record establishes that on the evening of November 15, 2006, Appellant and his codefendant, Nyako Pippen, were driving through Winder...
OPINION Justice BAER. We granted review in this case to consider an issue of first impression regarding the legality of an insurance company's practice of reimbursing, on a pro rata basis only, an insured's deductible from funds obtained in an insurer's subrogation action against a third-party tortfeasor. The insured argues that this practice violates the common law "made whole doctrine." As discussed in more detail below, the made whole doctrine provides generally that an insurance company...
OPINION Chief Justice CASTILLE. 1 Appellant, an automobile manufacturer who unsuccessfully defended a class action lawsuit for breach of express warranty, appeals the Superior Court's decision to affirm the certification of the class by the trial court, and the amount of damages and litigation costs awarded to the class. Costs included a significant legal fee, entered pursuant to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Improvement Act (the "MMWA"), 15 U.S.C. 2310(d)(2). For the reasons that follow, we...
OPINION Justice SAYLOR. This case involves whether the Superior Court properly interpreted and applied Section 385 of the Second Restatement of Torts, which relates to the liability of a contractor or employee who creates a dangerous condition on land on behalf of the land's possessor. According to the plaintiffs' allegations, between 1983 and 1988, Appellee, PA Partners, L.P., possessed and operated a steel plant in Hollsopple, Somerset County. 1 In 1984, PA Partners adapted the plant...
OPINION Justice EAKIN. Shawn Walker appeals from the order dismissing his claim for guilt phase relief in the form of a new trial, pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act, 42 Pa.C.S. 9541-9546. We affirm. On April 23, 1991, appellant forcibly entered the home of his former girlfriend, Lisa Johnson, shot and killed a man sleeping on the couch, and shot and permanently disabled Ms. Johnson. The man sleeping on the couch was Ricardo Thomas, a friend of Ms. Johnson's, who offered to spend...
OPINION Justice SAYLOR. The question presented is whether a concession of guilt, per se, forecloses prisoner access to review under the Post Conviction Relief Act. In effect, the Commonwealth asks that we revisit the rationale from our opinion in Commonwealth v. Lantzy, 558 Pa. 214 , 736 A.2d 564 (1999) (" Lantzy II "), and adopt the reasoning from the Superior Court decision which it reversed. See Commonwealth v. Lantzy, 712 A.2d 288 (Pa.Super. 1998) ( en banc ) (" Lantzy I "),...
OPINION Justice SAYLOR. This is a capital direct appeal deriving from the killing of Jorge Figueroa. Mr. Figueroa was stabbed to death in August 1982 in the Colon family home in Philadelphia. His body was taken to an abandoned row house, where it was later discovered by police. By his own account, Heriberto Colon ("Colon") was a participant in a local drug organization known as the Arroyos, which was responsible for the killing. Soon after its perpetration, police secured Colon's...
OPINION Justice TODD. In this discretionary appeal, we consider whether the Superior Court, in vacating the sentence imposed upon Appellee Shawney Perry for carrying a loaded firearm without a license in violation of the Uniform Firearms Act ("UFA"), specifically, 18 Pa.C.S.A. 6106(a), 1 misapplied this Court's directives, as set forth in Commonwealth v. Walls, 592 Pa. 557, 926 A.2d 957 (2007), concerning appellate review of sentences. For the reasons set forth below, we hold the...
OPINION Justice TODD. In this appeal by allowance, we consider, inter alia, whether a public employer committed an unfair labor practice when it unilaterally eliminated firefighter pension benefits, which were found to be legal, without first collectively bargaining with the firefighters' representative. The Collective Bargaining by Policemen and Firemen Act, commonly known as Act 111 ("Act 111"), 1 by its express terms, requires negotiation over the modification or elimination of pension...
OPINION Justice McCAFFERY. In this case, Appellants sued Appellees based on the destruction of personal property, to wit, a black nylon tree stand safety harness, or belt, that allegedly was crucial evidence in a separate civil action. The Pennsylvania State Police ("State Police") had seized this item during a criminal investigation of a suspicious death. A state trooper had agreed to retain the belt in the custody of the State Police, apparently for a longer period of time than permitted...
OPINION Justice EAKIN. Freeman May appeals from the judgment of sentence of death imposed following his third penalty phase. For the following reasons, we affirm. The facts and procedural history herein are taken in large part from our opinions in appellant's first direct appeal, Commonwealth v. May, 540 Pa. 237 , 656 A.2d 1335 (1995) ( May I ), the direct appeal following his second penalty phase hearing, Commonwealth v. May, 551 Pa. 286 , 710 A.2d 44 (1998) ( May II ), and the...
OPINION Justice McCAFFERY. Appellant Francis Bauer Harris was found guilty by a jury of first-degree murder, and the Commonwealth sought the death penalty. During the penalty phase of his trial, Appellant sought to establish the statutory mitigating circumstance of extreme mental or emotional disturbance by presenting the testimony of a psychologist, Vincent Berger, Ph.D. See 42 Pa.C.S. 9711(e)(2). The jury rejected Appellant's claim of a mitigating circumstance, found one aggravating...
OPINION Justice SAYLOR. The primary question presented is whether a federal felony offense constitutes an "infamous crime" that disqualifies an individual from holding public office under Article II, Section 7 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, notwithstanding that a similar offense defined under the Pennsylvania Crimes Code is graded as a misdemeanor. In the 1990s, Appellee Stephen D. Rambler mailed letters in an attempt to extort money from approximately thirty individuals by threatening...
OPINION Justice EAKIN. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Office of the Attorney General 1 appeals from the Superior Court's order reversing the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas Orphans' Court division's order, which held Wachovia Bank was not entitled to receive commissions from principal for its trust administration services. For the following reasons, we affirm. Anna Fridenberg executed her last Will and Testament February 14, 1938; she passed away March 26, 1940. Relevant to...
OPINION Justice McCAFFERY. In this appeal, the question presented is whether the Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act 1 (hereinafter the "Surface Mining Act") preempts a provision in a local zoning ordinance that establishes a setback for mining activities from all residential structures. We hold that the local zoning provision is not preempted, and so affirm the order of the Commonwealth Court. The zoning ordinance at issue, which was enacted by Adams Township in Cambria County...
OPINION Justice ORIE MELVIN. We granted review to determine whether a public school district is obligated to fund a kindergarten program offered by a cyber charter school for a four-year-old student when the district has exercised its discretion not to offer such a program in its public schools. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that the school district is not required to fund the program. Accordingly, we reverse the order of the Commonwealth Court. The Charter School Law ("CSL"), 24...
