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Keywords

defendantappealhearingtrialtestimonybeyond a reasonable doubtappellant

defendantappealhearingbeyond a reasonable doubtappellant

Related Cases

Commonwealth v. Laskowski, Not Reported in Atl. Rptr., 2020 WL 205230

Facts

On October 31, 2017, B.A. obtained a final PFA order against David Laskowski, prohibiting him from contacting her until October 31, 2020. Laskowski was previously convicted of indirect criminal contempt for violating this order. On April 27, 2019, he went to B.A.'s residence and knocked on her door, and the following day, he sent her a Facebook video chat request. These actions led to new charges of contempt, resulting in a hearing where both parties testified.

On October 31, 2017, the Complainant, B.A., obtained a final PFA order (the PFA Order) which barred Appellant from having any form of contact with her through October 31, 2020.

Issue

Did the Commonwealth establish, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the Appellant possessed and/or acted with wrongful intent when allegedly committing the violation that served as the basis for a charge of indirect criminal contempt?

Rule

To prove indirect criminal contempt, the Commonwealth must show: 1) the order was sufficiently definite, clear, and specific; 2) the defendant had notice of the order; 3) the act constituting the violation was volitional; and 4) the defendant acted with wrongful intent.

To prove indirect criminal contempt, the Commonwealth must prove: 1) that the order was sufficiently definite, clear, and specific to leave no doubt or uncertainty in the defendant's mind as to the conduct prohibited; 2) that the defendant had notice of the order; 3) that the act constituting the violation was volitional; and 4) the defendant acted with wrongful intent.

Analysis

The court found that the evidence presented at the contempt hearing was sufficient to prove each element of indirect criminal contempt. The PFA Order clearly prohibited Laskowski from contacting B.A., and he was aware of its terms. Testimony from B.A. established that Laskowski went to her house and sent her a social media request, both of which were volitional acts. The court deemed B.A.'s testimony credible and rejected Laskowski's claims of accidental contact.

The evidence at the contempt hearing was plainly sufficient to prove each of these elements beyond a reasonable doubt.

Conclusion

The appellate court affirmed the trial court's judgment of sentence, concluding that the appeal was wholly frivolous and that the evidence supported the contempt conviction.

Therefore, we grant appellate counsel's petition to withdraw and affirm the sentencing court's judgment of sentence.

Who won?

The Commonwealth prevailed in the case as the court upheld the contempt conviction based on sufficient evidence of Laskowski's violations of the PFA order.

We therefore proceed to conduct an independent review to ascertain whether the appeal is indeed wholly frivolous.

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