Commonwealth v. Randall

I cannot join in the Court’s decision. The initial error, as I see it, lies in answering a question which has not been asked. In my review of the briefs and the record I find no indication that the Commonwealth has even remotely suggested that the holdings of Commonwealth v. Roots, 482 Pa. 33, 393 A.2d 364 (1978) and Commonwealth v. Bighum, 452 Pa. 554, 307 A.2d 255 (1973), should be revised or overruled. Appellee Randall has certainly not done so. By broadly stating the matter — “the issue in this case concerns the use of prior convictions for the purpose of impeaching a defendant who…