Commonwealth v. Hosendorf

Opinion by

Me. Justice O’Brien,

Appellant, John Hosendorf, was convicted of burglary in 1958. In 1968, he brought post-conviction proceedings, maintaining that his sentence was actually five to ten years rather than the five to twenty years asserted by the Commonwealth authorities. The hearing court denied relief and the Superior Court affirmed per curiam, 214 Pa. Superior Ct. 525, 257 A. 2d 281 (1969), Judge Hoffman filing a dissenting opinion, joined by Judge Spaulding. We granted allocatur and now we reverse.

The controversy arises out of the statements of the trial judge, now deceased, at…