Commonwealth v. Cohen

OPINION OF THE COURT

ROBERTS, Justice.

“No right is more fundamental to the American system of justice” than the constitutionally-guaranteed right of an accused to trial by an impartial jury. Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. v. Jerome, 478 Pa. 484, 504, 387 A.2d 425, 435 (1978), appeal dismissed, 443 U.S. 913, 99 S.Ct. 3104, 61 L.Ed.2d 877 (1979). See U.S.Const. Amends. VI & XIV; Pa.Const. art. I, § 9. At issue on these appeals is whether pre-trial publicity in Berks County denied appellant Stuart Richard Cohen this fundamental right. Unlike the Court of Common Pleas of Berks County, we conclude…