Commonwealth v. Travis Phillips

Summary

The court affirmed the defendant's first-degree murder conviction, concluding that the identification evidence was sufficient, the prosecutor's arguments did not warrant reversal, the search warrant was supported by probable cause, and the outdated extreme-atrocity-or-cruelty instruction did not create a substantial likelihood of a miscarriage of justice. Because the jury was not instructed that the Commonwealth had to prove the defendant lacked a valid firearms license, the court vacated the firearm conviction and remanded for a new trial on that charge. The court also declined to reduce or vacate the murder conviction under its extraordinary review authority.