Title: Commonwealth v. Wright, W., Aplt. (Concurring Opinion)
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: 403 CAP
State: Pennsylvania
Issuer: Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Date: December 22, 2008

[J-18-2004] IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA EASTERN DISTRICT COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, Appellee v. WILLIAM L. WRIGHT, III, Appellant : : : : : : : : : : : : No. 403 CAP Appeal from the September 5, 2000 Judgment of Sentence, the October 28, 2002 Order Denying Post Sentence Motions and the January 22, 2003 Order granting permission to appeal nunc pro tunc the underlying charges in the Court of Common Pleas of Blair County, Criminal Action Number 1980 of 1998. ARGUED: March 3, 2004 CONCURRING OPINION MR. JUSTICE SAYLOR DECIDED: December 22, 2008 I join the majority opinion, subject to the following reservations. I have difficulty with the majority’s approach to the degree to which it approves of a prosecutor’s practice of discussing the perspective of uncalled, supportive witnesses. See Majority Opinion, slip op. at 46-47. I would specifically disapprove such practice and would rest the disposition of this claim upon a finding of insufficient prejudice. With regard to the treatment of Appellant’s claim deriving from his argument that criminal trespass does not qualify to support the in-perpetration-of-a-felony aggravator, see Majority Opinion, slip op. at 51-52, I note that Appellant’s argument recently was rejected by a majority of this Court in Commonwealth v. Robinson, 583 Pa. 358, 379-81, 877 A.2d 433, 445-46 (2005). I regard Robinson as governing precedent, albeit I held a contrary view. See id. at 392-99, 877 A.2d at 453-58 (Saylor, J., dissenting).