Commonwealth v. Malloy
Pennsylvania Superior Court
450 A.2d 689 (1982)
- Written by Angela Patrick, JD
Facts
James Michener and Heidi Malloy (defendants) worked at a company owned by David Rosen. Rosen believed that Michener and Malloy had written unauthorized company checks in order to steal money from the company. Rosen filed both civil actions and private criminal complaints against Michener and Malloy for the alleged theft. The county district attorney (plaintiff) approved the criminal complaints and allowed Rosen’s private attorney to represent the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at the preliminary hearing in the criminal case. At the preliminary hearing, the judge ruled that the commonwealth had established a prima facie case against Michener and Malloy, and both employees were formally charged with the alleged crimes. However, Michener and Malloy challenged the validity of the charges through habeas corpus proceedings, and the court dismissed the criminal charges. The district attorney declined to appeal the dismissals and would not authorize Rosen to appeal on behalf of the commonwealth. Rosen then filed a private appeal of the dismissals. Michener and Malloy argued that the appeal should be quashed, i.e., voided, because Rosen lacked standing to privately prosecute a criminal appeal.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Cirillo, J.)
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