Opinion ID: 2559519
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Expert testimony stipulation

Text: During trial, the prosecutor offered a stipulation that a criminologist for the Philadelphia Police Department would have testified that lab reports revealed the presence of human blood and holes in the victim's clothing. The prosecutor also offered a stipulation based on ballistic evidence that the criminologist would testify that tests performed on these holes revealed that the distance between the victim and the gun was at least one foot. Counsel agreed to the stipulations. Appellant argues that counsel was ineffective for agreeing to the stipulations because they suggested to the jury that Appellant had personal knowledge of the crime scene and how the victim died. The Commonwealth argues that this claim is frivolous because Appellant was not prejudiced by the stipulations. The PCRA court held that counsel's decision to agree to the stipulations was part of a reasonable strategy because it minimized the emotional impact this testimony could have had, and, additionally, that Appellant cannot demonstrate prejudice. See Commonwealth v. Cheatham, 419 Pa.Super. 603, 615 A.2d 802, 807 (1992) (counsel exercised reasonable trial strategy in stipulating to victims' injuries to lesson the emotional impact of the testimony). We are not persuaded that Appellant was prejudiced because counsel agreed to these stipulations. See Fletcher, 986 A.2d at 789. This evidence did not place the defendant at the scene or contradict his defense. There was no dispute about the proximity of the shooter or whether the victim bled when shot. Accordingly, this clam fails.