Baumia v. Commonwealth
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of murder, first-degree wanton endangerment, first-degree criminal mischief, and driving under the influence. Appellant was sentenced to thirty-five years imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence, holding that the trial court (1) abused its discretion in permitting the Commonwealth to introduce Appellant's entire statement refusing a breathalyzer test, but the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) did not err by permitting the introduction of an accident scene video; (3) did not err in admitting a 911 recording taken shortly after the collision leading to Appellant's convictions; and (4) may have potentially erred in failing to exclude Appellant's post-collision use of profanity, but any error was harmless. Lastly, the Commonwealth committed a discovery violation by introducing a prior misdemeanor conviction without disclosing to the defense its intent to do so, but the error was not prejudicial.
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