Commonwealth v. Deans

OPINION OF THE COURT

FLAHERTY, Justice.

This is an appeal from an order of the Superior Court which reversed the trial court order prohibiting expert opinion testimony as to the alleged forgery of a lottery ticket which the Commonwealth lost before trial. The question is whether appellant’s due process rights under the federal Constitution require the exclusion of opinion testimony by the prosecution expert as to tests he performed prior to the loss of the ticket.

In January, 1984, appellant, Lewis Deans, presented an instant lottery ticket to a Philadelphia liquor store, claiming a $75,000…