The District Attorney's Office had eagerly awaited the ruling. As The Inquirer reported in December, prosecutors have given legal notice of their intent to appeal 27 of Patrick's rulings in cases in which she said police had lacked legal grounds to arrest suspected gun criminals.
In early 2010, Patrick began presiding over the Philadelphia court system's Gun Court, a specialty court founded to focus on illegal-gun-possession cases with the goal of stemming firearms violence in the city.
Prosecutors said they had appealed at most five rulings made in the prior two years by the previous two Gun Court judges.
The Superior Court panel's nine-page opinion was the first dealing with her gun rulings. Assistant District Attorney Regina M. Oberholzer, who won the case as a member of the office's appeals team, said it was pleased at the outcome.
Pedraza's lawyer, Joseph Santaguida, said he would probably not appeal the case further. Absent an appeal, the case can go to trial.
"We thought the judge was correct," Santaguida said. "I think she tries to do the right thing. Obviously, from the defense standpoint, we like it. Before with the other judges, it seemed like we had no chance."
Patrick, a former civil and criminal defense lawyer elected to the bench in 2003, has declined to discuss the cases. Lawyer Samuel Stretton, who has served as her spokesman, said she worked hard to reach decisions that often hinged on complex legal and factual issues.
"I don't think you can judge her by a case that was reversed," Stretton said. "Every judge gets reversed."
Pedraza, 28, has been arrested six times since turning 18 and convicted three times. In 2000, he was sentenced to 11 months in prison for drug dealing.
