Commonwealth v. Cardwell

BECK, Judge:

This is an appeal from a denial by the court of common pleas of a writ of certiorari to the municipal court, which had convicted appellant Julia Cardwell of violating 18 Pa.C. S.A. § 4304, endangering the welfare of a child.

We are called upon to decide whether the evidence supports proof beyond a reasonable doubt of the intent element of this offense when the appellant, the child’s mother, took only inconsistent and ineffectual steps to protect her child from another’s severe abuse.

During the relevant time period, appellant Julia Cardwell (Julia) lived in a house in Philadelphia…