Legal Opinion

Commonwealth v. Stewart

Superior Court of Pennsylvania

Decided August 2, 1994PublishedCited by 8 opinions

1Opinion of the Court

BECK, Judge.

We address inter alia the scope of the Confidential Communications to Clergymen provision of 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 5943.

Appellee David Stewart (Stewart), was charged with the murder of Reverend Leo Heineman (the victim). Prior to trial, Stewart served a subpoena duces tecum on the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown (the Diocese), seeking a variety of documents he claimed were relevant to his defense. The Diocese opposed the requests based on the clergymen privilege and constitutional rights of religious freedom. The trial court ordered that the documents be produced for an in camera…

2Cases cited13 opinions

  1. Cohen v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corp.Supreme Court of the United States · 1949
  2. Pugar v. GrecoSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1978
  3. Wiegand v. WiegandSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1975
  4. Commonwealth v. AmosSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1971
  5. Hutchison v. LuddySuperior Court of Pennsylvania · 1992

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3Cited by8 opinions

  1. Commonwealth v. StewartSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1997
  2. Com. v. Lehman, P.Superior Court of Pennsylvania · 2022
  3. State v. ChisholmNorth Dakota Supreme Court · 2012
  4. Interest of TannerNorth Dakota Supreme Court · 2012
  5. Commonwealth v. StewartSuperior Court of Pennsylvania · 1994

3 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.

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