Commonwealth v. Kunkel

SPAETH, Judge:

Appellees were charged with gambling, poolselling, bookmaking, and related offenses. The lower court granted their suppression motion on the basis that the search warrant had been improperly issued. The Commonwealth filed this appeal.

It is settled that the Commonwealth may only appeal from a pre-trial order suppressing evidence if two requirements are satisfied: the appeal must involve a pure question of law, and the suppression must effectively terminate or substantially handicap the prosecution. See Commonwealth v. Barnett, 471 Pa. 34, 369 A.2d 1180 (1977); Commonwealth v.…