Commonwealth v. Morales

Opinion by

Mr. Justice Manderino,

Appellee, Adolphus Morales, pleaded guilty on April 9, 1963 to a murder indictment charging him with the fatal shooting of a shoe store owner which occurred during a robbery two years earlier on April 8, 1961. Two days after the guilty plea, on April 11, 1963, appellee was found guilty of murder in the first degree by a three-judge court en banc and received a sentence of life imprisonment. In 1971, appellee petitioned for post-conviction relief and was granted the right to file post-trial motions. The presiding judge of the court en banc was the same judge who…