Opinion ID: 2353264
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Identification by Robles

Text: As noted in our decision on direct appeal, Robles was a customer at the Save-A-Lot at the time of the robbery. She was unable to identify Appellant at a line-up on August 18, 1993, but at trial she positively identified Appellant as the man who had pointed a gun at her and ordered her not to leave the store. Washington, 700 A.2d at 405. Appellant asserts that her failure to identify him at a pre-trial line-up rendered her in-court identification suggestive and that courtroom confrontations create a substantial risk of misidentification. See Moore v. Illinois, 434 U.S. 220, 98 S.Ct. 458, 54 L.Ed.2d 424 (1977); Commonwealth v. McGaghey, 510 Pa. 225, 507 A.2d 357 (1986). Thus, Appellant argues, trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to Robles' identification testimony and for failing to move to suppress the testimony. Appellant's claim fails. Robles' inability to identify Appellant at the line-up did not affect the admissibility of her in-court identification, but only its weight and credibility. See Commonwealth v. Rashed, 496 Pa. 26, 436 A.2d 134, 136 (1981); Commonwealth v. Davis, 466 Pa. 102, 351 A.2d 642, 647 (1976) (The fact that [the witness] was unable to identify appellant at the lineup is relevant to only the weight and credibility of his testimony.). Although Robles did not identify Appellant in the police line-up, there is no indication in the record, nor does Appellant allege, that the police identified Appellant to Robles or engaged in any other suggestive behavior at any time. Thus, there is no need to provide an independent basis for Robles' in-court identification. See Commonwealth v. Fisher, 545 Pa. 233, 681 A.2d 130, 141 (1996) (concluding that where the witness identified the wrong man in the police line-up, but where there was no indication in the record that the police identified the appellant to the witness or engaged in any other suggestive behavior, there was no need to provide an independent basis for the in-court identification). In any event, the Commonwealth elicited an independent basis for Robles' identification of Appellant, which was subjected to cross-examination at trial. Robles testified that she had a good opportunity to view Appellant in the Say-A-Lot store, where lighting conditions were nice and bright, and she saw Appellant face-to-face from ten feet away for about twenty minutes. See Commonwealth v. Abdul-Salaam, 544 Pa. 514, 678 A.2d 342, 349 (1996) (noting that in determining the independent basis for an in-court identification, courts look to the witness' opportunity to observe the defendant at the time of the crime, the witness' degree of attention, the accuracy of the witness' prior identification, the level of certainty demonstrated at the confrontation, and the length of time between the crime and the confrontation). In the face of this independent basis, the trial court would have properly denied a motion to suppress Robles' testimony. Rashed, 436 A.2d at 138. Again, the fact that Robles failed to identify Appellant in the line-up goes to weight, and not admissibility. Further, Appellant has not and, indeed, cannot, demonstrate prejudice. In addition to the eyewitness testimony of Officer Smith, discussed below, the Commonwealth also introduced the testimony of Martha and Melissa Harrington, who each testified that Appellant confessed to the murder. Further, Appellant's brother, Elijah Washington, testified that on the night of the murder, Appellant called him and instructed him to take Teagle home, as police might be looking for him. Therefore, Appellant's claim of trial counsel ineffectiveness for failing to pursue this issue fails, and his claim regarding appellate counsel also must fail.