Commonwealth v. Gordon

OPINION

Justice BALDWIN.

In this matter, we are called to resolve whether Appellant Edward Gordon’s constitutionally guaranteed right to trial by jury was violated. We granted allocatur limited to resolution of whether it violates the United States and/or Pennsylvania Constitutions when a judge, not a jury, finds by a preponderance of the evidence, not beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant has been convicted of multiple crimes of violence arising from separate criminal transactions.

The issue arises in the context of Appellant’s challenge to the constitutionality of the “Three Strikes”…