Commonwealth v. Murphy

I agree with the majority that defense counsel’s failure to object to the testimony of three witnesses concerning the alleged prior criminal act of David Murphy resulted in a waiver of the first issue on this appeal. However, I believe that the challenged evidence does not qualify as an exception to the general rule prohibiting introduction of evidence of prior criminal activity, and that there is arguable merit in the ineffectiveness claim. I would vacate the judgment of sentence and remand for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether trial counsel had a reasonable basis for his…