Opinion ID: 1543739
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Pa.R.Crim.P. 1101

Text: Appellant also contends more specifically that the assignments of his case to the career criminal program infringed upon his right to a non-jury trial pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 1101. Appellant cites Commonwealth v. Goodman, 454 Pa. 358, 311 A.2d 652 (1973) and Commonwealth v. Jones, 259 Pa.Super. 103, 393 A.2d 737 (1978), in support of his argument that recusal must be granted if the trial judge becomes aware of inadmissible evidence of prior convictions or other seriously prejudicial evidence during pre-trial proceedings. Appellant concludes that assignment of career criminal cases to particular judges improperly infringes upon his qualified right to a non-jury trial pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 1101 as set forth in Commonwealth v. Sorrell, 500 Pa. 355, 456 A.2d 1326 (1982), by making him choose between a jury trial and a bench trial before a judge tainted with knowledge of his prior record via the fact of his inclusion in the career criminal program. [1] This contention has been fully addressed and unequivocally rejected previously. See Commonwealth v. Simmons, supra, 565 A.2d at 483; Commonwealth v. Stinnett, supra, 514 A.2d at 161; Commonwealth v. Carter, supra, 501 A.2d at 252-53; Commonwealth v. Kellum, supra, 489 A.2d at 759-61 & nn. 1-3; Commonwealth v. Hailey, supra, 480 A.2d at 1243. The only possible distinction between those cases and this, is that here appellant's entire prior criminal record consisted of juvenile delinquency adjudications which ordinarily could not be used for impeachment purposes at trial. See Commonwealth v. Case, 322 Pa.Super. 24, 469 A.2d 162 (1983), aff'd 513 Pa. 299, 520 A.2d 1373 (1987) ( per curiam ). This factual distinction does not compel a different result. A party seeking recusal of the trial judge bears the burden of establishing the grounds for recusal. Commonwealth v. Reddix, 355 Pa.Super. 514, 522, 513 A.2d 1041, 1044 (1986). Participation of the trial judge in an earlier stage of proceedings or in a separate matter involving the same defendant does not, by itself, establish grounds for recusal. Commonwealth v. Sirbaugh, 347 Pa.Super. 154, 167, 500 A.2d 453, 459 (1985). Even the fact that the trial judge may have been made aware of improper evidence does not require recusal; because, a trial judge is presumed to be capable of disregarding improper evidence, including evidence of prior criminal acts. Commonwealth v. Davis, 491 Pa. 363, 371-72, 421 A.2d 179, 183 (1980); Commonwealth v. Stinnett, supra, 514 A.2d at 161; Commonwealth v. Carter, supra, 501 A.2d at 252-53. It is only when the evidence brought to the attention of the trial court is both inadmissible and highly prejudicial that recusal may be required. Commonwealth v. Lewis, 314 Pa.Super. 298, 303-04, 460 A.2d 1149, 1151-52 (1983). This Court has held on several occasions that, absent exceptional circumstances, a trial court must grant a recusal motion following the withdrawal of a guilty plea. Commonwealth v. Simmons, 335 Pa.Super. 57, 483 A.2d 953 (1984) (collecting cases); Commonwealth v. Casella, 312 Pa.Super. 375, 458 A.2d 1007 (1983) (illustrating exceptional circumstances). Similarly, this Court held in Commonwealth v. Jones, supra , that a new trial was required based upon the specific prejudice arising from particular inferences which the trial court expressly drew from inadmissible prior conviction evidence considered by the trial court. 393 A.2d at 740. However, broader statements in Goodman and Jones, suggesting the desirability or propriety of recusal in cases not involving a risk of specific prejudice, are plainly dicta which has not been followed in subsequent cases where the issue was squarely presented. See Commonwealth v. Davis, supra ; Commonwealth v. Stinnett, supra . Thus, despite reservations regarding the potential for prejudice in circumstances like those presented in Simmons and Jones, there is still a strong presumption that a trial judge will ordinarily be capable of ignoring inadmissible evidence. See generally Commonwealth v. Batty, 482 Pa. 173, 178, 393 A.2d 435, 438 (1978) (explaining the rationale for this presumption). Moreover, in Commonwealth v. Sorrell, supra , our Supreme Court affirmed, as being within the sound discretion of the trial court, the trial court's decision to deny defendant Smith's motion for a non-jury trial based upon the fact that the trial court doubted its own impartiality following its exposure to the defendant's prior record during pre-trial proceedings. 456 A.2d at 1329. If, as appellant argues, Pa.R.Crim.P. 1101 was intended to confer a right to a non-jury trial before a trial judge free from any possible taint arising from knowledge of the defendant's prior record, then the appropriate course would have been for the trial court to recuse itself rather than to deny the motion for a non-jury trial. Our Supreme Court's approval of the denial of the motion for a non-jury trial under those circumstances exposes the fundamental flaw in appellant's contention. Succinctly, there was no right to a non-jury trial with which the career criminal program could improperly interfere. See Commonwealth v. Hailey, supra, 480 A.2d at 1242-43.