Opinion ID: 1959151
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Merits of the Disclosure Order

Text: In October 1985, Officer Murphy interviewed a confidential informant regarding a wholly unrelated murder case. The informant mentioned the Althoff murder in which appellant herein was subsequently charged. The informant indicated that he/she was aware that one of the police's suspects in that murder had been former Chief of Police Whitey Triplett. The informant indicated that he/she had no personal knowledge of the possible culpability of Police Chief Triplett, and that his/her sole source of information was common rumor in the community. In his report, Officer Murphy conjectured that the rumor had probably arisen as the result of Police Chief Triplett's general reputation for corruption (shaking down motorists for illegal and unreported traffic fines, and offering protection for hire to illegal gambling and prostitution operations, especially with regard to carnivals) and the fact that he had left town with a teenage girl he had been counselling. Officer Murphy's report further indicated that review of the original case file prepared by [County] Detectives does not suggest that Triplett was involved in the murder of Althoff. (General Investigation Report 10/10/87 at 4). (Emphasis added). Notwithstanding these facts, the majority considers the identity of the confidential informant exculpatory and material. I do not. The majority grounds its conclusion on the premise that in a thirty-nine year old murder case the slenderest reed may be sufficient to sustain a reasonable doubt. True, perhaps. But here, there is no reed at all, only baseless conjecture. The majority's suggestion that, Officer Murphy chose not to follow through on the information concerning Triplett, for reasons which are unclear, (Majority's Opinion, supra, at 302), is wholly unfounded. The uncontradicted evidence in this record establishes that Officer Murphy did follow-up on the informant's tip but that it carried him no further than its genesis, i.e. unsubstantiated rumor. The confidential informant stated that his/her information was all second hand hearsay based upon recollection of a rumor which circulated years earlier. The rumor had been investigated in 1963, and Officer Murphy reported that his review of the file relating to that investigation in 1987 indicated that Police Chief Triplett was not involved in the Althoff murder. In 1987, Officer Murphy concluded that a plausible but insubstantial basis for the rumor had been discovered and that further investigation of the confidential informant's tip would be fruitless. Finally, by the time of Officer Murphy's investigation in 1987, Police Chief Triplett was dead. What inaction would the majority have Officer Murphy explain? I can discern none. For evidence to be exculpatory and material, I would find that it must at least be admissible or lead to admissible evidence. Here, there is only a hearsay report of the recollection of common rumor circulated years earlier. Suppose the officer's word to the informant (and the value of his word to all subsequent, prospective informants) were to be broken and the identity of this informant were disclosed. What then? There is not the least scintilla of evidence to support a conjecture that the informant could provide or lead to admissible exculpatory evidence. Indeed, there is clear indication that the informant could not. Yet, the majority finds the officer's refusal to disclose the informant's identity to have involved the suppression of material and exculpatory evidence. I find this both unfounded in fact, and directly contrary to well settled law on this point. Our Supreme Court has held that the defendant bears the burden to establish that disclosure of the identity of a confidential informant is reasonable and in the interest of justice. See Commonwealth v. Iannaccio, supra, 480 A.2d at 972 (where defendant could not meet burden, disclosure could not be required); Commonwealth v. Tolassi, 489 Pa. 41, 55, 413 A.2d 1003, 1009-10 (1980) (same); Commonwealth v. Herron, 475 Pa. 461, 466, 380 A.2d 1228, 1230 (1970) (defendant failed to meet his burden). This Court has repeatedly held that a vague assertion that disclosure might be helpful, or that it might lead to exculpatory evidence does not meet the defendant's burden. See e.g. Commonwealth v. Bonasorte, 337 Pa.Super. 332, 356, 486 A.2d 1361, 1374 (1984); Commonwealth v. Fleck, 324 Pa. Super. 227, 235, 471 A.2d 547, 550 (1984); Commonwealth v. Davis, 318 Pa.Super. 507, 515, 465 A.2d 669, 672 (1983); Commonwealth v. Knox, 273 Pa.Super. 563, 568, 417 A.2d 1192, 1194 (1980); Commonwealth v. Dorsey, 266 Pa.Super. 442, 447-48, 405 A.2d 516, 519-20 (1979); Commonwealth v. Bradshaw, 238 Pa.Super. 22, 29, 364 A.2d 702, 706 (1975); Commonwealth v. Williams, 236 Pa.Super. 184, 190, 345 A.2d 267, 270 (1975); Commonwealth v. Pritchett, 225 Pa.Super. 401, 407-08, 312 A.2d 434, 438 (1973). Our Supreme Court held precisely the same thing in Herron, supra, 380 A.2d at 1230. The fact that the informant had no first hand knowledge of the case, plainly weighs heavily (if not conclusively), against compelling disclosure. When the informant is an eyewitness to the crime at issue, a compelling case can be made for disclosure. Commonwealth v. Garvin, 448 Pa. 258, 293 A.2d 33 (1972); Commonwealth v. Carter, 427 Pa. 53, 233 A.2d 284 (1967). Conversely, when the informant is not an eyewitness, the basis for disclosure is diminished considerably. Commonwealth v. Herron, supra, 380 A.2d at 1231 (emphasizing that the informant was not an eyewitness); Commonwealth v. Culberson, 467 Pa. 424, 429-30, 358 A.2d 416, 418 (1976) (distinguishing Carter and Garvin because the informant was not an eyewitness); Commonwealth v. Garcia, 261 Pa.Super. 296, 300, 396 A.2d 406, 408 (1978) (emphasizing that informant was not an eyewitness, citing Culberson ). It follows then, that when the informant is not only not an eyewitness, but had no first hand knowledge of the case, and merely had provided tips based solely on hearsay in the form of common rumor wholly unrelated to the defendant's alleged participation in the crime charged, the case for disclosure is considerably weaker still. Culberson is particularly relevant in this respect. In Culberson our Supreme Court held that disclosure of a confidential informant's identity was not appropriate when the defendant failed to establish that the informant was an eyewitness, and when the information provided by the informant did not relate to the defendant. Such is precisely the case instantly, except that here it is conceded that the informant was not an eyewitness and had no first hand knowledge of the crime, which of course makes the case for denying disclosure here stronger still. In sum, there is no evidence in this record of any likelihood whatsoever that the informant could or would in any way exculpate Redmond. Hence, an exercise of the trial court's discretion to compel disclosure was a manifest abuse of discretion, as the necessary prerequisite for the exercise of that discretion had not been established. See Commonwealth v. Bonasorte, supra, 486 A.2d at 1374. The disclosure order was contrary to well-established precedent. I would vacate the sanction order, and the underlying disclosure order as well.