Commonwealth v. Mayfield was a probation revocation case in which the Commonwealth declined the trial court’s order to file a probation revocation motion before the disposition of the defendant’s new criminal charges. As a result of the Commonwealth’s decision, the trial court entered an order removing the District Attorney’s Office from the case and appointing a private criminal defense attorney to represent the Commonwealth as a “special prosecutor.” The Commonwealth appealed, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated the order. The Court concluded that the trial court lacked the authority to make such an appointment.
