Opinion
December 16, 1966.
December 16, 1966.
Appeals — Court of quarter sessions — Summary conviction before justice of peace — Judgment dismissing appeal — Absence of finding of guilt.
On appeal from a judgment of a magistrate, following a summary conviction, a judgment merely dismissing the appeal and affirming the judgment of the magistrate is not sufficient and will be reversed; there should be a finding that the defendant is guilty or not guilty, and, if guilty, sentence should be imposed.
Before ERVIN, P.J., WRIGHT, WATKINS, MONTGOMERY, JACOBS, HOFFMAN, and SPAULDING, JJ.
Appeal, No. 629, Oct. T., 1966, from judgment of Court of Quarter Sessions of Montgomery County, Nov. T., 1965, No. 514, in case of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Virginia Alton. Judgment reversed.
Appeal from summary conviction before magistrate on charge of shoplifting. Before GROSHENS, J.
Order entered dismissing appeal and affirming judgment of magistrate. Defendant appealed.
Bernard J. McLafferty, with him Huganir, Butera, Detwiler Butera, for appellant.
Henry T. Crocker, Assistant District Attorney, with him Richard A. Devlin, Assistant District Attorney, and Richard S. Lowe, District Attorney, for Commonwealth, appellee.
Argued December 16, 1966.
The record in this case shows that this was an appeal from a summary conviction and that a de novo hearing was held before the court below and that at the conclusion of said hearing the court entered an order that "The appeal is dismissed and the judgment of the magistrate is affirmed."
It is pointed out in Com. v. Young, 184 Pa. Super. 658, 135 A.2d 774, that there should have been a finding that the defendant was guilty or not guilty. We reversed the Young case with a procedendo and we must do the same thing here.
Judgment reversed with a procedendo.