Opinion ID: 1441429
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Alleged Ineffectiveness for Failure to Cross Examine Witnesses

Text: The Appellant also claims that trial counsel was ineffective because she did not adequately cross-examine two Commonwealth witnesses, David and Little. The purpose of the cross examination would be to show bias because each had open criminal charges. According to the Appellant, David had been convicted of theft, a crime involving crimen falsi that was graded as a felony, and received a suspended sentence three months before he testified in this case. He also had pending criminal charges against him, an open bench warrant, was on probation and/or parole for three different cases. The Appellant states that Little also had pending robbery charges against her when she testified. It is the general rule that the accused has the right to cross-examine Commonwealth witnesses for bias stemming from the existence of open criminal charges. Commonwealth v. Nolen, 535 Pa. 77, 634 A.2d 192 (1993). This cross-examination is especially important if the defendant's guilt depends on the credibility of the witness in question or when there are conflicting versions of the evidence. Commonwealth v. Birch, 532 Pa. 563, 616 A.2d 977 (1992). Because it appears that this claim has arguable merit and we can see no strategical reason that trial counsel chose not to pursue this line of cross-examination, we must examine whether the Appellant suffered any prejudice resulting from trial counsel's actions. The Appellant's confessions to these murders were the most probative evidence of his guilt, and David and Little's testimony corroborated his confessions. David gave testimony about the facts leading up to these murders. He admitted his involvement in the drug operation and explained the relationships between the victims and Walker and Lee. Little testified that she saw the Appellant shoot Davis on July 19, 1992. Because of this information, ballistics evidence and Little's testimony established that the gun used to kill Watson on August 18, 1992 was the same gun used to shoot Davis. Although the Appellant claims that the sole evidence of motive came from David's testimony, this is not true. The Appellant's own statements explained his motive for these killings when he told the police that Walker had ordered Lee to hit Stewart and that he had put a price on Watson and Stewart. When considered in light of all of the evidence, including the Appellant's confessions, we conclude that trial counsel's failure to cross-examine these witnesses concerning bias stemming from an outstanding warrant, criminal charges, probations, or paroles, this would not so prejudice the Appellant that the result of this trial would have been different if counsel had pursued this line of questioning. There was also other credible evidence of motive in the record. Accordingly, no relief is due for this claim.