Opinion ID: 2305923
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Cumulative effect-guilt phase

Text: While we have determined that no single statement constituted a Brady violation necessitating either a new trial or a new penalty phase, we must consider the evidence in sum, for while one piece of information may be incomprehensible or insignificant on its own, its relevance may be substantial when combined with other evidence. See Kyles, 514 U.S. at 421, 115 S.Ct. 1555 (asserting the established rule that the state's obligation under [ Brady ], to disclose evidence favorable to the defense, turns on the cumulative effect of all such evidence suppressed by the government). Although generally the cumulative impact of meritless Brady claims cannot be grounds for relief, we recognize the possibility that one piece of non-disclosed evidence may not be facially exculpatory on its own but its exculpatory merit may be revealed through the disclosure of other documents. Essentially, Appellant argues that the cumulative effect of the information relating to Wong Kin Fung/Kwa Jai's involvement in the crime undermined the Commonwealth's theory of the case and, most significantly, the credibility of the witnesses against Appellant, given that these statements identified Ah Thank Lee, who has since been cleared of involvement in the crime. Critical to Appellant's argument is the lack of direct evidence establishing which of the three men involved in this case shot Jade Wong. Appellant argues that Janice Wong heard the gunshot, saw him exiting the restaurant from the vicinity where she heard the shot, but did not see who actually fired the killing shot. N.T.(Jury), 1/26/88, at 66. Similarly, Phong Ngo identified Appellant as one of the two men who had guns earlier in the encounter and testified that he saw an arm covered in a green military jacket, holding a gun, but could not shed any additional light on who killed Jade Wong. N.T.(Jury), 1/27/88, at 21. Given that all three men were wearing similar jackets, Appellant asserts that the shooter could have been any of the three men, or at least, either of the two with guns. Appellant argues that the lack of an eyewitness to the killing makes the credibility of Janice Wong's testimony crucial. Accordingly, if Appellant had been aware of Janice Wong's identification of both Ah Thank Lee and Kwa Jai as the first man, he could have used this material discrepancy to impeach Janice Wong's memory and powers of observation regarding her averment that Appellant was the shooter, rather than a mere accomplice. This doubt, according to Appellant, could have resulted in the jury imposing a conviction of murder in the second degree, thus preventing imposition of a death sentence. Conversely, the Commonwealth argues that the information relating to Kwa Jai, which was exculpatory to Ah Thank Lee, had no impact on Appellant's case. The Commonwealth notes that Janice Wong never identified anyone's photograph other than Appellant as the shooter and that many of the other statements claimed to be exculpatory in fact name Appellant as one of the assailants or connect him to the Flying Dragons, Wong Kin Fung/Kwa Jai, or Benson Luong. Thus, according to the Commonwealth, none of the allegedly withheld evidence was reasonably likely to have led to a finding that Appellant was not the shooter, a finding which could have precipitated a change in the degree of guilt. We conclude that Appellant's claims fail to meet the standard set for granting a PCRA defendant relief under Brady. Relief is only due when a PCRA defendant demonstrates that the alleged Brady violations so undermined the truth determining process that no reliable adjudication of guilt or innocence could have occurred. Copenhefer, 553 Pa. 285, 719 A.2d 242. Under the facts of this case, we conclude the cumulative effect of the non-disclosed evidence does not undermine the determination of guilt in Appellant's case. We acknowledge that Appellant's most compelling claim is that trial counsel could have challenged Janice Wong's ability to identify accurately Appellant as the shooter in light of Janice Wong's conflicting identifications of the First Man, combined with the notations implicating Wong Kin Fung/Kwa Jai as the shooter. However, as we have noted, the documents implicating Wong Kin Fung/Kwa Jai as the shooter were not discoverable at trial or were internally inconsistent. Thus, the claim devolves to the failure to disclose Janice Wong's conflicting identification, which we already rejected as not prejudicial in this case, as contrasted with the case of Ah Thank Lee, where the misidentification called into question any evidence placing Ah Thank Lee at the crime scene. Accordingly, we deny Appellant relief based upon the cumulative effect of his guilt phase Brady claims.