Opinion ID: 2382224
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: denial of jury's request for specific information

Text: Appellant next claims that the trial court erred when it denied the jury's request that certain testimony be read back to it during its verdict deliberations. The jury asked to hear the testimony of Linda Rhinehart regarding a conversation she had with `Scott' about a possible sighting of the victim and to hear the testimony from Larry Tucker, Cerenna Hughes, and James Hughes recounting the events of the night of the murder. The jury also asked to see several letters written by Mary Trisch Knight (Knight) and Larry Tucker that were entered into evidence but which were not part of the material sent out with the jury. [9] It is well established in this Commonwealth that where a jury, in order to refresh their recollection, requests a reading of a portion of the testimony actually given at the trial, it is a matter within the discretion of the trial court whether to grant such request. Commonwealth v. Peterman, 430 Pa. 627, 631, 244 A.2d 723, 726 (1968). Moreover, in making a determination whether the trial court had abused its discretion in granting or denying the request, the court must be careful that the resulting review, does not place undue emphasis on one witness' testimony. Id. at 631-632, 244 A.2d at 726. The trial court, after consulting with both defense counsel and the district attorney, decided to deny the request and instructed the jury that it should rely on its collective recollection of the testimony. Specifically the trial court stated: We have looked into your inquiries and the transcripts; in fact, two people have been working on that for about three-plus hours, and we find that we are unable comfortably to comply with the law and give you what you request; for this reason, there is always a danger when there is read back to the jury portions of the testimony that the jury will unduly highlight that testimony and give it more weight than the rest of the testimony. And the testimony regarding the subjects that you raised, especially number two, was the subject of many, many witnesses, and not just the testimony of the three that you've requested; and, hence, there is the risk that you would highlight the testimony that's being read back and exclude consideration of the other testimony. This doesn't mean that you have to find all of the testimony truthful, but you have to weigh it, and the concern is in the law that juries will unduly weigh the testimony that is read back to them. With regard to the other two requests, some of the attorneys think they can be handled and some not. I have discretion in doing this, and my concern is that there are a number of writings that have been entered into evidence and we have not sent any of these writings that have been entered into evidence and we have not sent any of these writings out to you, and to send some of the writings out again will enable you to highlight that testimony, or even to read portions of those writings to you, again, will highlight that at risk of unduly weighing that testimony. Therefore, we must say to you in response to your request that you're doing that you're going to have to rely on your collective recollection of what was said and what was testified to in deciding what weight to give to the evidence and as to what has been proven or not proven. After a sidebar discussion, the trial court went on to state: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I want to make clear to you, it is up to you to decide which testimony you find credible and believable, including testimony of the subjects that you've requested. It's up to you to decide. That is your prerogative. Appellant offers a number of reasons as to why the testimony and the letters the jury requested would be important to the jury during its deliberations. For example, appellant argues that the requested letters were highly relevant to challenging Knight's and Larry Tucker's credibility, the requested material focused directly on key points raised by defense counsel and the jury stated they could not proceed without the requested testimony and evidence. Notwithstanding appellant's arguments, the trial court properly exercised its discretion and denied the jury's request on the basis that the jury would unduly highlight the requested testimony. Peterman, 430 Pa. at 631, 244 A.2d at 726. (In deciding whether to grant a jury's request that certain information be read back to it, the trial court must ensure that the jury will not place undue emphasis on it). Thus, this claim must fail.