Commonwealth v. Koczwara case brief

Commonwealth v. Koczwara case brief summary
155 A.2d 825 (1959)

CASE SYNOPSIS

Defendant filed a petition for an allowance of an appeal of a judgment of the Superior Court (Pennsylvania), which affirmed the judgment of the court below that convicted and sentenced defendant to a term of imprisonment and payment of a fine for violations of the Pennsylvania Liquor Code (Code).

CASE FACTS
Defendant was convicted of two counts of permitting minors to frequent his licensed premises without parental or other supervision and one count of permitting sales of liquor to minors in violation of the Code. He received a sentence of imprisonment and a fine. Defendant sought review and the court of appeals affirmed the judgments. Defendant filed a petition for an allowance of an appeal, which the court granted. The defendant asserted that the evidence did not support the conviction and sentence.

DISCUSSION and HOLDING

• The court held that: 
• (1) the Code imposed vicarious responsibility for the offenses charged, 
• (2) a sentence of imprisonment under the Code was invalid under the Pa. Constitutional Article I, § 9,
• (3) the fine was proper, and 
• (4) the trial court was bound under § 494 of the Code to impose the enlarged prescribed penalty because defendant was proven to be a second offender under the Code.

CONCLUSION
The court affirmed the conviction under the Code, declared that the sentence of imprisonment was invalid, and left the imposition of a fine intact.


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