Commonwealth v. Hart

Frank R. Hart, appellant, appeals from a judgment of sentence of five to fifteen years imprisonment imposed following a conviction of murder of the third degree in a nonjury trial in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia.

Hart advances three assignments of error in support of his request for a new trial. A brief recount of the evidence presented at trial is necessary. Jessie Hines died as the result of a subdural hematoma caused by a blow or blows to the head. Three individuals, two of whom were minors, testified they witnessed Hart punch Hines five or six times shortly before his death.…