Opinion ID: 1516216
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Oral Statement by Monique Wylie

Text: Appellant next assails his trial counsel for failing to object to Officer Glenn Keenan's testimony concerning what Monique Wylie told him about the robbery at Mr. Hairston's on the night of the murder and for failing to object to the prosecutor's use of Officer Keenan's statement during his summation. Specifically, appellant notes that Ms. Wylie testified to being asked by Mr. Jones on the night of the murder to help him rob Mr. Hairston's home, but did not name any other individuals who would be involved. Appellant objects to Officer Keenan's contrary testimony that Ms. Wylie told him that appellant was going to be involved in the robbery with Mr. Jones. Appellant contends that Officer Keenan's account of Ms. Wylie's oral statement to police was inadmissible for its substantive purpose. Officer Keenan's testimony was highly prejudicial, appellant argues, because the prosecutor utilized it in his closing. Moreover, appellant claims that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to introduce the portion of Ms. Wylie's official police statement that contradicted Officer Keenan's recollection. The Commonwealth disputes that Ms. Wylie's oral statement to Officer Keenan was offered as substantive evidence and, instead, argues that the statement was introduced to impeach Ms. Wylie's testimony. During direct examination, the Commonwealth notes that Ms. Wylie denied that Mr. Jones had told her that appellant and a third man would also rob Mr. Hairston's home. According to the Commonwealth, Ms. Wylie's testimony was contrary to what she had told the prosecutor before testifying, namely, that Mr. Jones told her appellant would participate in the robbery. The Commonwealth further notes that the prosecutor's purpose for introducing the statement is supported by his closing, where he remarked that Ms. Wylie had not been completely truthful on the witness stand. Furthermore, the Commonwealth argues that appellant cannot show prejudice by the admission of the statement, because there was substantial other evidence to tie him to the robbery. Appellant also makes an additional layered ineffectiveness argument related to Ms. Wylie's statement, claiming that the jury should not have found the sentencing aggravator under 42 Pa.C.S.  9711(d)(6) (murder committed in the perpetration of a felony) because it was based on the improper admission of Ms. Wylie's statement to Office Keenan. The credibility of a witness may be impeached by the party calling that witness. Pa.R.E. 607(a); see Commonwealth v. Kimbell, 563 Pa. 256, 759 A.2d 1273, 1276-77 (2000). Any evidence relevant to the impeachment issue may be used against a witness, except that which is prohibited by the rules of evidence. Pa.R.E. 607(b). Hearsay, which is a statement made by someone other than the declarant while testifying at trial and is offered into evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted, is normally inadmissible at trial. Pa.R.E. 801(c) & 802. Impeaching a witness through the introduction of an inconsistent out-of-court statement will not be considered hearsay if the statement is: (1) under oath subject to the penalty of perjury at a trial, hearing, other proceeding, or deposition; (2) in writing and adopted by the declarant; and (3) a verbatim contemporaneous recording of the oral statement. Pa.R.E. 803.1(1). [15] We agree with appellant that there was a basis to object to Officer Keenan's recollection of Ms. Wylie's statement, as it was an oral recollection of what Ms. Wylie told him and did not comport with the requirements of Rule 803.1(1). However, appellant has not shown prejudice because there was ample independent evidence that appellant was a co-conspirator in the robbery that occurred before William Lloyd's murder. Mr. Burton testified that appellant was shooting at his car shortly after Mr. Hairston's house had been robbed. Mr. Clarke recalled appellant being present at Mr. Hairston's house earlier in the day with the two men who robbed him at that location a short time later. Additionally, Ms. Wylie testified that appellant was with Mr. Jones at a local bar when Mr. Jones asked her to participate in the robbery on the day of the murder. This evidence alone would have been sufficient to convict appellant of conspiracy to commit robbery and, therefore, has not proven Strickland prejudice.