Opinion ID: 2550075
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: jury instructions-trial

Text: Appellant argues the trial court erred in failing to give the jury an accomplice testimony instructionthe so-called corrupt and polluted source instruction [45] with respect to the testimony of Mark Briggs and Arlan Briggs. The trial court denied Appellant's requested instruction on the basis that there was no evidence of record to support the notion that either Mark or Arlan Briggs had acted as accomplices in the murder of the deputies. Our comprehensive review of the entire record confirms the trial court findings; hence, its denial of the requested instruction was proper. See Commonwealth v. Rega, 593 Pa. 659, 690, 933 A.2d 997, 1015 (2007) (holding that where trial evidence showed that individual had taken no part in the crimes for which the defendant was on trial the individual could not be considered an accomplice and, thus, was not entitled to corrupt and polluted source jury instruction).
Appellant avers that the trial court erred in not limiting its instruction regarding an implied or adoptive admission [46] regarding Appellant's nodding of his head in response to Neal Saunders' statement that people in the community were saying he killed the deputies. Appellant contends that the trial court improperly denied his request that the instruction be limited to non-police statements and, also, that it was inappropriate given the fact that Appellant was told by Neal Saunders that people were saying this about him, not that he actually did it. Appellant's Brief at 58. We fail to see error in the trial court's instruction. As the Commonwealth points out, Appellant was not in police custody at the time he nodded his head in response to Saunders' statement, nor were any police officers present at the scene of the conversation to observe his actions. Thus, Appellant's Fifth Amendment privilege against self incrimination was not implicated under these particular circumstances and the trial court did not err by refusing to give a jury instruction containing Appellant's requested limiting language. Cf. Commonwealth v. Dravecz, 424 Pa. 582, 227 A.2d 904 (1967) (holding that when an individual stands mute in response to the police reading of the statement of third party implicating him the individual's silence cannot be used against him in a criminal proceeding as a tacit admission evidencing his guilt); Miranda, 384 U.S. 436, 468 n. 37, 86 S.Ct. 1602 ([I]t is impermissible to penalize an individual for exercising his Fifth Amendment privilege when he is under police custodial interrogation. The prosecution may not, therefore, use at trial the fact that he stood mute or claimed his privilege in the face of accusation. (emphasis supplied)). Further, the question of whether Appellant was nodding his head as an affirmation of his act of shooting the deputies, or an acknowledgement of community sentiment, was a factual determination within the province of the jury. The trial court's instruction appropriately set forth the pertinent legal standards which the jury was to follow in deciding this question.