Arlen Specter: “Judge Southwick has voted in favor of criminal defendants on numerous occasions, often in dissent. I cite a series of…”

“Judge Southwick has voted in favor of criminal defendants on numerous occasions, often in dissent. I cite a series of cases: Jones v. State, Parker v. State, Mills v. State, and Harris v. State. In Jones v. State (a 5-5 decision), Judge Southwick dissented, arguing for reversing a conviction because the indictment did not provide the defendant with sufficient clarity and specificity to know with certainty what crime was being charged. In Parker v. State (a 6-4 decision), Judge Southwick dissented (in an opinion joined by some of his Democratic brethren), arguing that a murder conviction should be reversed because the trial judge failed to give a proper jury instruction. In Mills v. State (a 6-3 decision), Judge Southwick dissented from the majority opinion affirming a drug conviction on the grounds that the court should not have admitted a statement by the defendant's four-year-old son, and the state failed to disclose a piece of evidence against the defendant that it had in its possession. In Harris v. State (a 5-4 decision), Judge Southwick dissented from the majority opinion affirming a DUI conviction on the grounds that the trial court erroneously allowed the state to avoid proving all the elements charged in the indictment.”