Commonwealth v. Moody

OPINION BY WECHT, J.:

Katrina Moody, Barbara Ivery, and Bernadette Archie [“Appellants”], appeal their May 6, 2011 judgments of sentence imposed after the Philadelphia Municipal Court found each of them in direct criminal contempt.1 Because Appellants’ due process rights were violated, we vacate the judgments of sentence and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.2

On April 6, 2011, during the preliminary hearing in a double homicide case, Appellant Archie stood up in the gallery and began screaming. This occurred as the court crier attempted to bring the homicide defendant’s…