In the Interest of: L.J.

The Supreme Court granted allocatur in this case to decide “whether and when a reviewing court considering a challenge to a pretrial ruling, whether in a post-verdict or appellate context, may look beyond the record of evidence presented at the suppression hearing.” The Superior Court relied on a footnote from the Court's decision in "Commonwealth v. Chacko," (459 A.2d 311 (Pa. 1983)), for the proposition that “it [was] appropriate to consider all of the testimony, not just the testimony presented at the suppression hearing, in determining whether evidence was properly admitted.” The Superior Court, (pursuant to "Chacko") considered evidence adduced for the first time at trial when deciding whether the police properly seized contraband from Appellant, L.J. Specifically, the court affirmed the trial court’s denial of suppression because trial testimony established that L.J. voluntarily consented to the search at issue. Upon review of the record, the Supreme Court found that the Superior Court’s reliance on Chacko was understandable but ultimately misplaced. Accordingly, the Court vacated the disposition order, and remanded this case to the juvenile court for a new suppression hearing. View "In the Interest of: L.J." on Justia Law