Commonwealth v. Wissler

WIEAND, Judge:

Is an attempt to assassinate a well known public figure and religious leader an event which mandates the granting of a mistrial in an unrelated armed robbery case then being tried? The trial court denied a defense motion for mistrial when the jury became aware, during the noon recess on May 13, 1982, that Pope John Paul II had been the subject of an assassination attempt. The jury subsequently found Cris Wissler guilty of armed robbery. We find no error in the trial court’s ruling and affirm the judgment of sentence.

A decision to grant or refuse a motion for mistrial is within…