Opinion ID: 1435796
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Jury Instructions on Witness Credibility

Text: The next claim is that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to two jury instructions concerning the ability of the jury to determine witness credibility. First, Appellant states that the trial court deviated from the standard jury instruction by inviting the jurors to use their instincts to discern what testimony is credible. Appellant claims the instruction is unconstitutionally vague in violation of his due process rights because it failed to provide the jury with sufficient guidance to aid in its deliberation. Second, Appellant argues that the trial court misled the jury into believing that it could disregard any testimony that was contradicted. He claims that the instruction prevented Appellant from receiving a fair trial because, in an adversarial arena, virtually all evidence is contradicted. A trial court has wide discretion in phrasing jury instructions. Commonwealth v. Hawkins, 549 Pa. 352, 701 A.2d 492, 511 (1997), cert. denied, 523 U.S. 1083, 118 S.Ct. 1535, 140 L.Ed.2d 685 (1998). When reviewing an allegation of an incorrect jury instruction, the appellate court must view the entire charge to determine whether the trial court clearly and accurately presented the concepts of the legal issue to the jury and should not reverse, as a result of the instruction, unless the trial court committed an abuse of its discretion. Commonwealth v. Chester, 557 Pa. 358, 733 A.2d 1242, 1257 (1999); Commonwealth v. Gibson, 553 Pa. 648, 720 A.2d 473, 481 (1998) cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 120 S.Ct. 132, 145 L.Ed.2d 111 (1999). We will not examine a phrase or sentence of an instruction in a vacuum. Rather, when we evaluate a challenge to a charge, we must consider how each part fits together to convey a complete legal principle. See Commonwealth v. Saunders, 529 Pa. 140, 602 A.2d 816, 818 (1992). Concerning the ability of the jury to determine credibility of a witness, we have held that: The question of whether a particular witness is testifying in a truthful manner is one that must be answered in reliance upon inferences drawn from the ordinary experiences of life and common knowledge as to the natural tendencies of human nature, as well as upon observations of the demeanor and character of the witness. The phenomenon of lying, and situations in which prevarications might be expected to occur, have traditionally been regarded as within the ordinary facility of jurors to assess. Commonwealth v. Crawford, 553 Pa. 195, 718 A.2d 768, 772 (1999) (citing Commonwealth v. Seese, 512 Pa. 439, 517 A.2d 920, 922 (1986)) (citations omitted). Appellant contends that the trial court erred by telling the jury, In other words, you have to use your instincts. N.T., Sept. 30, 1991, at 1122. However, Appellant misrepresents the instruction given by the trial court. Although the trial court instructed the jurors that they might need to use their instincts to separate fact from fiction, that was not the only direction it provided. The trial court asked the jury to consider a variety of common perceptions to determine witness credibility. N.T., Sept. 30, 1991, at 1121-24. Some of the multiple factors included the physical position of the witness, the physical and mental characteristics of the witness, the familiarity of the witness with the defendant and events, and the manner in which the witness testified. When the trial court advised the jurors to rely on their instincts, the judge had just discussed, in depth, the difficulties of discerning truthful testimony. The trial court conveyed to the jury the correct legal standard for assessing the credibility of a witness. In a similar argument, Appellant claims that the trial court erred when it asked the jury to consider whether the testimony of a witness was contradicted by other evidence or testimony or was it supported by any other evidence or testimony. N.T., Sept. 30, 1991, at 1124. Appellant proclaims that this instruction gave the jurors permission to discredit any contradicted testimony. As previously discussed, we will review the effect of an entire instruction, and not just the meaning attributed to a segment of the charge. When the trial court told the jury to consider the effect of conflicting testimony, it did not direct the jury to disregard all contradicted testimony. Instead, the trial court instructed the jury to weigh the importance of any inaccuracy, consider the reason for the discrepancy, and decide whether all, some, or none of the testimony is believable. N.T., Sept. 30, 1991, at 1124-25. We also give no credence to the suggestion of the Appellant that the trial court erred by not giving a verbatim recitation of the instructions on credibility of witnesses set forth in the Pennsylvania Suggested Standard Criminal Jury Instructions. Since we have not adopted these suggested instructions, we consider them merely as an aid when evaluating a charge on witness credibility. See Commonwealth v. Porter, 556 Pa. 301, 728 A.2d 890, 899 (1999). The trial court gave the jury a comprehensive and clear explanation of the factors it should consider when deciding witness credibility. Moreover, Appellant's allegation of error is ill-founded because the charge of the trial court contains nearly identical language to that found in Instructions 2.04 and 4.17 of the Pennsylvania Suggested Standard Criminal Jury Instructions. See Pennsylvania Suggested Standard Criminal Jury Instructions, §§ 2.04, 4.17 (concerning credibility of evidence and witnesses). The instruction, in its entirety, plainly and accurately informed the jury how to ascertain witness credibility. We find no reason to conclude that the trial court abused its discretion when it gave its charge. Accordingly, this issue lacks merit, and Appellant's trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to object to the instruction.