Allen v. Commonwealth
Annotate this CaseAppellant was convicted of perjury for lying in a criminal complaint and theft by deception for obtaining the discharge of a vehicle loan by lying to the finance company about whether her name had been forged on the loan documents. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) Appellant was not entitled to a directed verdict on the theft charge, as the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction; but (2) the trial court erred in preventing Defendant from inquiring upon cross-examination as to the complaining witness's prior convictions for possession of forged instruments and giving police a false name, and because the error preventing Appellant from establishing her defense, disallowing the proof as to the witness's prior dishonest conduct was not harmless.
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