Commonwealth v. Carmody

BECK, J.:

¶ 1 In this Commonwealth appeal the question we examine is whether a witness’s signed and adopted statement may be admitted as substantive evidence at a preliminary hearing despite the witness’s claim that the statement is unreliable because she was intoxicated at the time she gave it. We conclude that under the facts of this case the statement was admissible and so reverse the ruling of the habeas court.

¶ 2 Joseph Carmody was arrested after his girlfriend, Maryann Torres, called police to report that Carmody had assaulted her. Torres arrived at the Moore Township police station at…