Commonwealth v. Pope

Opinion by

Me. Justice Eobeets,

The prosecution of Phillip Pope for violation of the Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act raises the narrow questions (1) whether the unlicensed carrying in Philadelphia of a rifle with a 22-inch barrel constitutes a violation of the Act, and (2) if it does, whether appellee was properly indicted for this offense. The trial court construed section 4628(e.2) of the Uniform Firearms Act 1 as proscribing only the carrying of rifles with barrels measuring less than 15 inches, and sustained Pope’s demurrer. On appeal, an equally-divided Superior Court affirmed. 2 This…