From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research

Commonwealth v. Gambling Device

Superior Court of Pennsylvania
Jan 28, 1943
151 Pa. Super. 346 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1943)

Opinion

October 29, 1942.

January 28, 1943.

Wigton's Return, 151 Pa. Super. 337, followed.

Appeal, No. 133, April T., 1943, from order of Q.S. Erie Co., Feb. Sessions, 1942, No. 168, in case of Commonwealth v. A Certain Gambling Device.

Before KELLER, P.J., CUNNINGHAM, BALDRIGE, RHODES, HIRT and KENWORTHEY, JJ. Order reversed.

Lemuel B. Schofield, with him Owen M. Burns and M.E. Graham, for appellant.

Burton R. Laub, District Attorney, with him D.J. McLaughlin, Asst. District Attorney, for appellee.


Argued October 29, 1942.


Petition by district attorney and rule for order to destroy pin-ball machine.

Order entered declaring machine forfeited and directing its destruction, opinion by KITTS, P.J. Intervenor, owner of machine, appealed.


The facts in this case are identical in all material respects with the facts in Wigton's Return, 151 Pa. Super. 337, and the cases were argued together.

The court below, largely on the basis of its interpretation of our decision in Urban's Appeal, 148 Pa. Super. 101, 24 A.2d 756, held the pin-ball machine here involved a device used for the purpose of gambling and declared it forfeit and directed it be destroyed.

What we have said in the Wigton Case demonstrates that we do not consider Urban's Appeal controlling and that there is insufficient evidence to sustain the finding.

The order is therefore reversed, costs to be paid by the Commonwealth.


Summaries of

Commonwealth v. Gambling Device

Superior Court of Pennsylvania
Jan 28, 1943
151 Pa. Super. 346 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1943)
Case details for

Commonwealth v. Gambling Device

Case Details

Full title:Commonwealth v. A Certain Gambling Device (Cowell, Appellant.)

Court:Superior Court of Pennsylvania

Date published: Jan 28, 1943

Citations

151 Pa. Super. 346 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1943)
30 A.2d 357

Citing Cases

Wigton's Return

Since the burden of proof was on the Commonwealth and there is no evidence whether playing involves any…

State v. One "JACK and JILL" Pinball

These cases are interesting and to the point but an analysis of each would needlessly lengthen this opinion.…