Opinion ID: 2313578
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Order of Closing Statements at Sentencing

Text: In his final issue, Appellant argues that, at the conclusion of the penalty phase, the trial court erroneously directed defense counsel to present his closing statement before the Commonwealth's closing statement. Appellant notes that Pa.R.Crim.P. 806 plainly states that, in death penalty cases, the defendant's closing statement at a sentencing hearing is to be made last. [9] According to Appellant, by directing defense counsel to present his closing statement before the Commonwealth's closing statement, he was deprived of the opportunity to have the last word with the jury. Appellant's Brief at 75. In response, the Commonwealth concedes that it was, in fact, error for the trial court to direct Appellant's counsel to present his closing statement first rather than last. See Appellee's Brief at 15 (referring to the court's error in directing defense counsel to present his closing argument before the Commonwealth's closing argument). Nevertheless, the Commonwealth asserts that this claim is waived because Appellant's counsel failed to object at trial. In the alternative, the Commonwealth argues that any error on the part of the trial court is nevertheless harmless when one considers that Appellant's closing statement was a mere two sentences in length. See supra note 4. Similar to our discussion of Appellant's third issue, we note the general rule that, in order to preserve a claim on appeal, a party must lodge a timely objection at trial. See Commonwealth v. May, 584 Pa. 640, 887 A.2d 750, 758 (2005) (To the extent the claims would sound in trial court error, they are waived due to the absence of contemporaneous objections.); Commonwealth v. Dougherty, 580 Pa. 183, 860 A.2d 31, 37 (2004) (noting that failure to object results in appellate waiver); Pa. R.A.P. 302(a) (Issues not raised in the lower court are waived and cannot be raised for the first time on appeal.). Upon careful review of the trial transcript, we observe that, immediately after the trial judge directed Appellant's counsel to go first in presenting his closing statement, Appellant's counsel merely complied with the trial court's instruction. N.T., 3/19/03, at 87. Shortly thereafter, the Commonwealth presented its closing statement. Id. At no point, however, does the record reveal that Appellant's counsel lodged an objection to the order in which the closing arguments were presented. Accordingly, we hold herein that, like his third issue, Appellant has also waived this final claim. [10]