Collins v. Commonwealth

At the opening of court on the second day of Moses Collins’s trial for unlawful possession of a sawed-off shotgun and ammunition, an assistant district attorney reported to the-judge that the prosecutor was unavailable because his father-in-law had died. The Commonwealth immediately moved for a mistrial, stating, in response to a question from the judge, that the prosecutor was expected to be unavailable for one week.

The following colloquy then took place between the judge and defense counsel:

Defense counsel: “At this point, I would ask that Your Honor consider asking the jurors whether they…