Commonwealth v. Badger

Dissenting Opinion by

Spaeth, J.:

Appellant initially offered a plea of guilty before Judge Raup, but when the guilty plea colloquy disclosed that the Commonwealth would try to depict her as the ringleader of the transaction, she withdrew her plea. Thereupon appellant waived her right to a jury trial and began a bench trial with Judge Raup presiding. Although the entry and withdrawal of the plea and the commencement of the bench trial occurred in immediate sequence, appellant’s counsel did not ask the judge to recuse him*295self. I think counsel’s failure to do so denied appellant effective…