Commonwealth v. Drake
Commonwealth v. Drake
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
Appellant, who was charged under a murder indictment for the August 25, 1974 slaying of Francis Coleman, was tried by a jury and found guilty of murder of the third degree. Following the lower court’s denial, en banc, of appellant’s motion for new trial and arrest of judgment, appellant was sentenced to not less than ten nor more than twenty years imprisonment.
In this direct appeal, appellant raises the following issues: That the trial judge erred by unduly restricting defense counsel’s cross-examination of two Commonwealth witnesses as to their racial bias; that the trial judge erred by unduly restricting defense counsel’s cross-examination of one Commonwealth witness as to the witness’s motive to cooperate with the prosecution; that the trial judge erred in refusing to strike a portion of one Commonwealth witness’s testimo
Judgment of sentence affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.