Commonwealth v. Thompson

I respectfully, but vigorously, dissent from the Majority’s conclusion that Appellant’s immediate arrest was supported by the requisite, constitutionally-mandated probable cause.1 In order to safeguard the inviolate right of the people of this Commonwealth to be free from unlawful seizures of their persons by the government, our Court has steadfastly enforced the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against arrest in the absence of probable cause. We have, for over 35 years, through our decisions in Commonwealth v. Lawson, 454 Pa. 23, 309 A.2d 391 (1973); Commonwealth v. Banks, 540 Pa. 453, 658…