Opinion ID: 1901509
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Issue 3 Alleged Bolstering of Commonwealth Witnesses

Text: May alleges that trial counsel were ineffective for failing to object to the testimony of Detective Wahmann insofar as Detective Wahmann commented on the qualifications of Dr. Hoffman, the Commonwealth's expert forensic pathologist. May also avers that trial counsel impermissibly failed to object to the prosecutor's questioning of Dr. Hoffman about a report prepared by Dr. Isadore Mihalakis (Dr. Mihalakis), a forensic pathologist hired by the defense, despite the fact that the defense never called Dr. Mihalakis at trial. At trial, the following exchange between the prosecutor and Detective Wahmann took place: Q: Why did you take [the body] to the West Reading Hospital and Medical Center? A: To have an autopsy conducted and an examination conducted by a forensic pathologist. Q: And who was that? A: Dr. Neil Hoffman. Q: Why Dr. Hoffman? A: I am familiar with Dr. Hoffman. I have worked with Dr. Hoffman in the past and am aware of his credentials and know that he is eminently qualified and one of the foremost forensic pathologists in the Commonwealth. N.T., March 6, 1991, at 581. May contends that the questioning of Detective Wahmann constituted impermissible bolstering of a Commonwealth witness because Detective Wahmann's testimony encroached on the jury's province to determine the credibility of Dr. Hoffman. It is well settled that as long as a prosecutor does not assert his personal opinions, he or she may, within reasonable limits, comment on the credibility of a Commonwealth witness. This is especially true when the credibility of the witness has been previously attacked by the defense. Commonwealth v. Miller, 572 Pa. 623, 819 A.2d 504, 516 (2002) (quoting Commonwealth v. Simmons, 541 Pa. 211, 662 A.2d 621, 639 (1995)). Expert testimony cannot be used by the Commonwealth to encroach on the jury's right to determine the credibility of witnesses. Commonwealth v. Gallagher, 519 Pa. 291, 547 A.2d 355, 357 (1988). In the matter at hand, the prosecutor did not assert his personal opinion regarding Dr. Hoffman's credibility, nor did Detective Wahmann vouch for the credibility of the physician. The detective merely indicated that he brought the body to Dr. Hoffman because Dr. Hoffman was a well-qualified forensic pathologist. Therefore, May has failed to demonstrate arguable merit to support his ineffectiveness claim. As to the testimony of Dr. Hoffman, referencing the report of Dr. Mihalakis, which had been prepared for the defense and provided to the prosecution during discovery, May fails to articulate how the prosecutor's questioning of Dr. Hoffman regarding the similarities in the two reports constitutes improper bolstering of Dr. Hoffman. The Commonwealth was free to question its expert about the report, and the defense was free to cross-examine Dr. Hoffman about it and any areas in which Dr. Mihalakis' conclusions differed from his own. Accordingly, May cannot establish that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance in this regard.