Commonwealth v. Cooper

MONTGOMERY, Judge:

Appellant was convicted of burglary, theft, and receiving stolen property. On this appeal he alleges that he was denied a fair trial because his constitutional right of confrontation was violated.

Appellant’s first trial on these charges ended on October 24, 1977, when a mistrial was declared upon motion of the defendants. The grounds for the mistrial were that, despite repeated warnings by the trial judge that his remarks were improper, the Commonwealth’s chief witness continued to make inflammatory and prejudicial statements. The case was then relisted for trial in December…