Commonwealth v. Moore
Commonwealth v. Moore
Opinion of the Court
This is an appeal from the judgment of sentence of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, imposing a term of life imprisonment upon appellant for the second-degree murder of Robert White. The facts are not in dispute: On the evening of October 29, 1983, appellant approached White from behind and grabbed him around the neck with his right arm. N.T. at 103. After struggling with appellant, Mr. White, a 74-year-old man, fell to the ground. He never regained consciousness and died five days later. Appellant waived his right to a jury trial, Record at 4, and was found guilty of murder in the second degree on June 29, 1984.
Appellant argues that Commonwealth v. Embry, 441 Pa. 183, 272 A.2d 178 (1971), should apply to his case. In Embry, supra, a 70-year-old woman with a long history of coronary artery disease and prior heart attacks became the victim of a purse-snatching and died of a heart attack. The medical expert who performed the autopsy testified to a reasonable degree of medical certainty that the victim’s struggle with the assailant produced the stress which caused the heart attack, but stated that he was not con
(in) Commonwealth v. Floyd, 499 Pa. 316, 453 A.2d 326 (1982), our Supreme Court concluded that the opinion of a medical expert expressed in terms of a reasonable degree of medical certainty was adequate evidence in the record of causation for the finder of fact to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the cause of death was a crimina act. Importantly, Floyd can be read as having overruled Embry.
Cotton, supra, 338 Pa.Superior Ct. at 25 n. 2, 487 A.2d at 833 n. 2. Obviously, Embry, supra, is overruled by Floyd, supra, to the extent that it required the relevant medical expert to testify as to causation “beyond a reasonable doubt.” It remains authoritative on the principle that the Commonwealth must present more than an opinion of a medical expert to establish causation in a homicide case.
In the present case, the Commonwealth presented evidence in the testimony of Detective Robert Lazzaro of the Allegheny County Police Department. Detective Lazzaro testified that on December 8, 1983, appellant admitted that on the date in question, he had grabbed the victim around the neck in an attempt to rob him. N.T. at 60. Appellant makes no attempt of record to challenge, suppress or prevent the introduction of this statement, and in fact corroborates this statement by his own direct testimo
We note with respect the dissenting opinion in Cotton, supra, of our learned colleague, Judge Vincent A. Cirillo, and offer that even under the analysis set forth in that dissent, appellant’s conviction would have to stand. See Cotton, supra, 338 Pa.Superior Ct. at 30, 487 A.2d 835, Cirillo, J., concurring and dissenting.
Accordingly, judgment of sentence is affirmed.
. 18 Pa.C.S. Sec. 2502 (Purdon’s 1983).
. Although Dr. Williams did not specifically state that his opinion was rendered with a reasonable degree of medical certainty, his answer was given to the following question:
Q: Now, can you testify to a reasonable degree of medical certainty what caused the trauma to the neck area of Robert White?
N.T. at 77.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.