Com. v. Landis
| Decision Date | 16 November 1960 |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania v. Bernard LANDIS, Appellant. |
| Court | Pennsylvania Superior Court |
Tabas & Smith, Samuel Smith, Philadelphia, for appellant.
Arlen Specter, Asst. Dist. Atty., Domenick Vitullo, Asst. Dist. Atty., Paul M. Chalfin, First Asst. Dist. Atty., Victor H. Blanc, Dist. Atty., Philadelphia, for appellee.
Before GUNTHER, Acting P. J., and WRIGHT, WOODSIDE, ERVIN, WATKINS and MONTGOMERY, JJ.
This appeal is from the judgment of sentence imposed on two bills of indictment charging appellant, Bernard Landis, with corrupting the morals of a minor and contributing to the delinquency of the same minor.
At No. 336 December Sessions, 1959, defendant was charged with the crime of corrupting the morals of a minor in that he solicited, enticed and inveigled Irene Pierce, also known as Irene Brighton, to engage in sodomy and prositution. At No. 368 December Sessions, 1959, he was also charged with contributing to the delinquency of the same minor. Eight other charges were brought against this defendant involving the same circumstances but these are not involved because he was found not guilty by the court below which heard the case without a jury.
The evidence of the Commonwealth disclosed that defendant engaged Nancy McMaster to put on a lewd show at various stag affairs in the City of Philadelphia and he also requested the services of another girl. Nancy McMaster called the minor here involved and the two of them performed acts of sodomy upon each other and also upon persons called from the audience. At the termination of this lewd demonstration, these two girls solicited the audience of male members to commit acts of intercourse for which they received compensation. For the disposition of these appeals, we deem it unnecessary to relate the sordid details of these performances. It is sufficient to state that defendant was present when the shows were put on; that he received compensation for these shows and that he paid the two girls for their disgusting performances.
At the conclusion of the Commonwealth's evidence, the defendant demurred to the evidence and, when this was overruled, he testified in his own behalf. At the conclusion of the case, the court below sentenced defendant on each bill of indictment to a term of not less than 18 months nor more than 3 years in the Philadelphia County Prison, the sentences to run consecutively. Outside the demurrer filed, defendant took no exceptions to the action of the court below; no motions for directed verdict were filed; no motions for a new trial were presented and no motion in arrest of judgment was filed.
On this appeal, defendant challenges the sufficiency of the...
To continue reading
Request your trial