Commonwealth v. Lee

OPINION OF THE COURT

O’BRIEN, Justice.

Appellant, James Lee, was convicted in a non-jury trial of murder of the third degree for the June 23, 1977 stabbing death of Silas Fowler. Post-verdict motions were denied and appellant was sentenced to a prison term of two to ten years. This appeal followed.

In this appeal, appellant raises one issue. He claims that his right against being twice placed in jeopardy was violated when he was forced to go to trial in the instant matter. The facts are as follows.

In November, 1977, appellant’s first non-jury trial commenced. During the Commonwealth’s…