Webber v. Commonwealth
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
ERROR TO THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS NO. 4, OF PHILADELPHIA COUNTY. No. 115 January Term 1888, Sup. Ct.; court below, No. 210 December Term 1886, O. & T. On December 20, 1886, a bill of indictment charging Oscar Hugo Webber with the murder of William H. Martin was found a true bill. On January 5,1887, the prisoner was arraigned and not answering directly, the court, Mitchell, J., ordered the clerk to enter a plea of not guilty, which was done.
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ERROR TO THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS NO. 4, OF PHILADELPHIA COUNTY. No. 115 January Term 1888, Sup. Ct.; court below, No. 210 December Term 1886, O. & T. On December 20, 1886, a bill of indictment charging Oscar Hugo Webber with the murder of William H. Martin was found a true bill. On January 5,1887, the prisoner was arraigned and not answering directly, the court, Mitchell, J., ordered the clerk to enter a plea of not guilty, which was done. On February 7,1887, present Mitchell, J., a motion on behalf of the prisoner to withdraw the plea of not guilty was granted. On October 17, 1887, the…
1Opinion of the Court
Opinion,
Mr. Justice Green:
The question principally discussed in this case is a novel one. It does not appear to have ever been determined or even presented in this court before. Briefly stated it is this: whether a defendant in a criminal ease who alleges his insanity at the time of arraignment is entitled, as a matter of legal right, to have a separate, independent and preliminary trial of that question by a jury specially impaneled for the purpose.
It is certainly the fact that the 66th and 67th sections of our criminal code of 1860 are substantially, almost literally, taken from the English…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Freeman v. PeopleNew York Supreme Court · 1847
- State v. ArnoldSupreme Court of Iowa · 1861
- Jones v. StateSupreme Court of Alabama · 1848
3Cited by34 opinions
- United States Ex Rel. Smith v. BaldiSupreme Court of the United States · 1953
- Commonwealth v. WilliamsSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1931
- Commonwealth v. NovakSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1959
- Commonwealth v. IacobinoSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1935
- State v. HarrisonWest Virginia Supreme Court · 1892
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