Commonwealth v. Stevens

Opinion by

Mr. Justice Roberts,

In Commonwealth ex rel. Berkery v. Myers, 429 Pa. 378, 383 n.2, 239 A. 2d 805, 807 n.2 (1968) we specifically reserved the question of the extent to which two recent opinions of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals would require this Court, under the doctrine of Commonwealth v. Negri, 419 Pa. 117, 213 A. 2d 670 (1965), to modify our view that tacit admissions made prior to Miranda were not retroactively invalid. That question must now be faced.

I

Appellant Rayford Stevens’ 1954 jury trial resulted in a verdict of first degree murder and a sentence of life…