Arbitration & Mediation

What Happened to the Year and a Day Rule?

By Christopher Annunziata

Yahoo News reports that a man who shot and wounded a police officer more than 41 years ago and served 20 years for the assault will now stand trial for his murder after the police officer died last year. Yes, 40 years later. At age 64.

Judge Bradley Moss of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas allowed the trial to proceed despite the fact that he could not find any other case in the United States in which a suspect had been charged with murder so long after causing an injury, despite the fact that the medical examiners did not perform an autopsy and did not ruled out other causes of death, and despite the fact that the defense showed that the police officer had been involved in two car accidents after the shooting and also fell out of his wheelchair.

This is just weird. I’m no bleeding heart, but how is justice served by putting a 71 year old man who spent 20 full years in prison for his crime back in jail? Are the district attorneys elected in Pennsylvania? Is this an election year publicity stunt? Or maybe the judge is running for re-election? (They are elected here in Georgia).

While I haven’t practiced a day of  criminal law in my life, I got a B+ in it and stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.  What happened to the year and a day rule?

Full post as published by CKA Mediation and Arbitration Services Blog on February 29, 2008 (boomark / email).