Lehman v. Pennsylvania State Police

OPINION

Justice EAKIN.

In 1962, appellant was convicted of larceny for stealing a case of beer worth $3.38. At the time, larceny was a felony under § 807 of the 1939 Penal Code, subject to a $2,000 fíne and five years imprisonment. Appellant was placed on probation and assessed the costs of prosecution. Thirty-eight years later, during an attempt to buy a .22 rifle, a Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) background check, see 18 Pa.C.S. § 6111, revealed the 1962 conviction; his purchase was denied.

Appellant contested the denial, but the PSP informed him his larceny conviction was a disqualifying…