Commonwealth v. Rose

Opinion by

Mr. Justice Pomeroy,

The appellant, Amos Paul Rose, was convicted by a jury in Bucks County of murder in the first degree of one Gary Moore on November 26, 1970. On this direct appeal from the judgment of sentence of life imprisonment, appellant’s sole contention is that the trial court erred in that portion of its charge which placed on the defendant the burden of proving intoxication by a preponderance of the evidence. We agree with this position, and therefore will reverse the judgment of sentence and remand for a new trial.

At trial, the Commonwealth sought a first degree murder…