Commonwealth v. Norman

Dissenting Opinion by

Me. Chief Justice Bell :

The decision of the Majority in this 1962 murder case is so unrealistic as to be incomprehensible. In 1962, appellant was tried before a jury and convicted of second-degree murder. He was represented throughout the trial and the sentencing proceeding by family-retained counsel. No post-trial motions were filed and no appeal was taken from the judgment of sentence.

In 1965, appellant filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, and in 1967 this Court unanimously affirmed the Order of the lower Court, which dismissed the writ. See Commonwealth ex…