Opinion ID: 1533871
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 17

Heading: Identity Instruction

Text: Appellant avers that the trial court failed to charge the jury with regard to the defense of mistaken identity. Brief of Appellant at 32-34. Appellant requested that the court advise the jury that: The defendant may present evidence that someone else committed the crime for which he stands accused. Such evidence is relevant and must be considered by you in determining whether the Commonwealth has proved the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Such evidence can itself or with other evidence from the defense and/or the prosecution raise a reasonable doubt of the defendant's guilt. Remember, that the defendant does not have the burden of proving that some one else committed the crime for which he stands accused. Moreover, even if you believe that the defendant is wrong in his identity of the person he believes committed the crime, you may not find the defendant guilty unless the Commonwealth has convinced you beyond a reasonable doubt of his guilt. The burden always remains with the Commonwealth to prove the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. In sum, evidence presented by the defense that some one else possibly committed the crime can, by itself, or with other corroborative evidence, from either side create a reasonable doubt of the defendant's guilt. Id. at 33. The trial court read a charge consistent with the requirements of Commonwealth v. Kloiber, 378 Pa. 412, 106 A.2d 820 (1954), cert. denied, 348 U.S. 875, 75 S.Ct. 112, 99 L.Ed. 688 (1954). The trial court explained that when there is reason to question the certainty of identification testimony, the jury must consider that evidence with caution. Specifically, the trial court charged the jury with regard to identity as follows: I charge you now with the law of identity. Where the opportunity for positive identification is good, and the witness is positive in his identification, and his identification is not weakened by prior failure to identify but remains, even after cross-examination, positive and unqualified, the testimony as to identification need not be received with caution. On the other hand, where the witness is not in a position to clearly observe the assailant or he is not positive as to identity, or his positive statements as to identity are weakened by qualifications or by failure to identify the assailant on one or more occasions, the testimony as to identity must be received by you, the jury, with caution. Credibility of witnesses and the weight to be given them in their identification testimony is exclusively for you, the jury. N.T. 10/7/96 at 84-85. As Appellant concedes, a trial court is not required to instruct the jury, verbatim, with all requested instructions, even if the substantive law within the proposed charge is without error. Commonwealth v. McComb, 462 Pa. 504, 341 A.2d 496 (1975). The trial court is merely required to explain clearly and accurately the law to the jury; the court is not required to use the form requested by a party. Commonwealth v. Jones, 546 Pa. 161, 683 A.2d 1181, 1196 (1996). We examine the charge in its entirety to determine if it accurately and fairly sets forth the law to the jury. Commonwealth v. Faulkner, 528 Pa. 57, 595 A.2d 28 (1991), cert. denied 503 U.S. 989, 112 S.Ct. 1680, 118 L.Ed.2d 397 (1992). This charge clearly advised the jury that identification testimony is not sacrosanct and that it should be received with caution where it is qualified or weakened through cross-examination or a failure to identify the witness on occasion. N.T. 10/7/96 at 84-85. Although the Kloiber charge by the court did alert the jury to its duty to receive equivocal identification testimony with caution, this is not directly applicable to Appellant's claim, which concerned identification evidence tending to suggest that another personnamely, Ross Felice committed the crime. We note, however, that Appellant does not cite any authority to support the position that the Court was required to give the instruction he requested. In its general instruction on the requirement that a conviction be based upon proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, moreover, the judge charged the jury that [a] reasonable doubt must fairly arise out of the evidence that was presented, or out of the lack of evidence with respect to some element of the crime. N.T. 10/6/1996 at 92. By indicating that a reasonable doubt could arise out of affirmative evidence that was presented, this charge fairly subsumed Appellant's proof that someone else may have committed the offense. Accordingly, Appellant is not entitled to relief on this issue.