Opinion ID: 1977910
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Firearm Impact

Text: Appellant next seeks a new trial based on the testimony of the Commonwealth's ballistics expert regarding the impact that a .44 caliber revolver would have on an animal. Appellant argues that the testimony had no probative value to the main issues of the case  whether he shot and killed the victim or had the specific intent to kill. He submits that the Commonwealth intentionally adduced the testimony to incite passion and prejudice on the part of the jurors by indicating to the jurors that Appellant treated Mr. Richardson like an animal. The Commonwealth's position is that the evidence was relevant, since Appellant's decision to arm himself with such a powerful weapon was further evidence of his specific intent to kill. Evidence is relevant if it tends to establish a material fact, makes a fact at issue more or less probable, or supports a reasonable inference or presumption regarding a material fact. See Commonwealth v. Stallworth, 566 Pa. 349, 363, 781 A.2d 110, 117 (2001). The decision of whether or not to admit evidence is committed to the sound discretion of the trial court and will only be reversed upon a showing that the trial court clearly abused its discretion. See Commonwealth v. King, 554 Pa. 331, 350-51, 721 A.2d 763, 772-73 (1998) (citing Commonwealth v. Cohen, 529 Pa. 552, 563, 605 A.2d 1212, 1218 (1992)). Here, consistent with the Commonwealth's argument, the development of the ordinary use of the type of weapon used to kill Mr. Richardson was a matter committed to the trial court's sound discretion. As that court aptly observed, any prejudice incurred by the defendant from the subject of [the ballistics expert's] testimony has as much to do with the brutal circumstances of the crime as to the prosecutor's... line of questioning. Commonwealth v. Kennedy, No. CP-51-CR-0310461-2003, slip op. at 13 (C.P. Phila. June 8, 2007). Upon our review of the record, we also observe that the Commonwealth did not unduly belabor the point during the examination.