Com. v. Lambert, G. No. 349 WDA 2020
In Commonwealth v. Lambert, the defendant was arrested following a report of domestic violence. At the time of the arrest, the victim made an oral statement and provided a written statement of what happened. At the preliminary hearing, the Commonwealth presented the statement of the victim, but the victim did not appear and testify. The charges were held for court and the defendant filed a petition for habeas corpus. A habeas petition is used to establish prima facie when the case is at the common pleas level.
In general, the trial court can rely on the record from the preliminary hearing in determine whether prima facie was established. However, in this case, the was no record made of the preliminary hearing. At the habeas hearing, the Commonwealth presented no evidence. The trial court judge dismissed the case for failure to establish a prima facie case. The commonwealth appealed. The superior court found that there was no error. A habeas petition was proper and it was the Commonwealth’s failure to present evidence that resulted in the dismissal. The order of the trial court is affirmed.
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