Commonwealth v. Cavanaugh

OPINION

ZAPPALA, Justice.

Appellant, James J. Cavanaugh, was charged with criminal homicide in the Court of Common Pleas of Schuylkill County. The charge arose out of the shooting death of Joseph McNamara, which occurred on July 21,1979. Appellant pleaded guilty. The court held a hearing to determine the degree of guilt, found appellant guilty of murder of the third degree, and sentenced him to ten to twenty years in prison. Appellant appeals the judgment of sentence. He *315claims that the guilty plea is invalid, in that the court did not conduct an adequate colloquy to establish that it was…