NF was charged with possession with intent to distribute and conspiracy. His case started in Municipal Court, but the Commonwealth decided to move his case to the Court of Common Pleas. In the Court of Common Pleas a motion to have the case dismissed based on Municipal Court rule 1013 was granted. This was appealed to the Superior Court where the lower court was affirmed. Still wanting a conviction, the prosecution appealed all the way to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. The case there was remanded back to the trial court for further proceedings, stating that once a case is in the court of Common Pleas the CP rule 600 must be used. The Commonwealth did nothing to put the case forward to trial for almost two years. Mr. Shaffer filed a rule 600(a) motion for dismissal with prejudice. The Commonwealth filed a counter brief with the court arguing against the motion by trying to bend the blame for lack of prosecution on the courts for not moving forward with the case. After reviewing the motion and briefs a date was set for argument. At argument the court agreed with Mr. Shaffer and dismissed NF’s case due to a rule 600(a) violation.
