Opinion ID: 1946175
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Testimony of David Townsend

Text: After the Commonwealth had rested, but before Weiss had presented any evidence, the Commonwealth moved to reopen its case to present the testimony of one David Townsend. Mr. Townsend had told the Commonwealth, for the first time that morning, that Weiss had confessed to killing Bruzda in his presence. Because the witness had not been on the witness list, and the defense had not had an opportunity to interview him, the trial court denied the Commonwealth's request to present the testimony in the Commonwealth's case-in-chief. Weiss testified later the same day. As is relevant to the instant issue, he specifically testified that he would never do something like taking a crowbar or a tire iron and striking someone in the head with it. See: N.T. 7/9/97 p. 680. He further testified that he had never told a man named David Townsend (whose testimony had been refused by the trial court) that he had killed Bruzda by smashing her head in. Id. at 681, 685 A.2d 96. Because of this testimony, the trial court did permit Mr. Townsend to testify as a rebuttal witness, finding that Weiss had opened the door for the rebuttal testimony of Mr. Townsend. Mr. Townsend testified that Weiss had confessed to him that he had killed a girl named Barb, and also that he had seen Weiss strike a man named James Hoover in the head with a tire iron. Id. at 695-96, 685 A.2d 96. Weiss now contends that the trial court erred in allowing this testimony. We first repeat the well-known rule of law that the admissibility of evidence is a matter addressed to the sound discretion of the trial court and that an appellate court may only reverse upon a showing that the trial court abused its discretion. Commonwealth v. Ragan, 538 Pa. 2, 16, 645 A.2d 811, 818 (1994). More particularly, the admission or rejection of rebuttal evidence is also within the sound discretion of the trial court. Commonwealth v. Hill, 542 Pa. 291, 306, 666 A.2d 642, 649 (1995), cert. denied, 517 U.S. 1235, 116 S.Ct. 1880, 135 L.Ed.2d 175 (1996). In the instant matter Weiss, specifically testified on cross-examination that he would never do something like taking a crowbar or tire iron and striking another person's head with it. Weiss also testified that he never told David Townsend that he had killed Bruzda by smashing in her head. N.T. 7/9/97 pp. 680-81. The testimony of David Townsend directly rebutted this evidence and was, therefore, admissible. Because a party may produce evidence to rebut testimony that he or she has elicited from an opponent's witness on cross-examination, Commonwealth v. Smith, 548 Pa. 65, 77, 694 A.2d 1086, 1092 (1997), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 847, 119 S.Ct. 118, 142 L.Ed.2d 95 (1998), and because the testimony of David Townsend was clearly introduced to rebut assertions made by Weiss during his cross-examination, the evidence was properly admitted. Accordingly, we find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the rebuttal testimony of David Townsend.