Opinion ID: 1984264
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Did the court erroneously permit a reopening of the case to allow impeachment testimony?

Text: During the Commonwealth's case-in-chief, an investigating officer had testified that he had typed summaries of the reports of the incident made by various witnesses. On cross-examination of some of those witnesses, appellant's counsel had attempted to impeach their testimonies by showing inconsistencies between their trial testimony and the officer's typed summaries. After both sides had rested, and, during a recess, the prosecuting attorney was told by several of the witnesses that the officer had not typed their statements in their presence but had instead taken handwritten notes of the interviews. The assistant district attorney requested and received permission to reopen the case to put in that testimony. The admission or rejection of rebuttal testimony comes within the court's judicial discretion. Commonwealth v. Miller, 490 Pa. 457, 471, 417 A.2d 128 (1980); Commonwealth v. Stevens, 276 Pa.Superior Ct. 428, 419 A.2d 533 (1980). It is likewise within the discretion of the trial judge to permit either side to reopen its case to present additional evidence Commonwealth v. Deitch Co., 449 Pa. 88, 295 A.2d 834 (1972); Commonwealth v. Ridgely, 243 Pa.Superior Ct. 397, 365 A.2d 1283 (1976). In the posture of this case we find no abuse of the trial court's discretion in allowing the Commonwealth to reopen its case to offer the rebuttal testimony. Counsel further argues that the court's earlier order directing the witnesses be segregated was violated when the prosecuting attorney discussed the summaries with the witnesses during the recess and before they testified in rebuttal. The trial judge inquired into the circumstances of the prosecuting attorney's discussions with the witnesses, and was persuaded that there was no improper violation of the segregation order. The court has a wide discretion in matters of this kind: Commonwealth v. Smith, 464 Pa. 314, 321, 346 A.2d 757 (1975); Commonwealth v. Johnson, 273 Pa.Superior Ct. 14, 18, 416 A.2d 1065, 1067 (1979). Here, we find no abuse of such discretion.