Commonwealth v. Ladd

Opinion by

Mr. Justice Bok,

Appellant defendant ivas indicted in two bills, one for murder and one for manslaughter. Both indictments allege that the victim of the assault was struck on September 21, 1958, and died of it on November 1, 1959. He moved to quash the indictments for the reason that it is the common law of Pennsylvania that no one is responsible for a killing where death ensues beyond a year and a day after the stroke. The court below overruled the motions and defendant appealed. Whether the year and a day rule is and still should be current among us is the single question.

This…