Court Opinion

ID: 9644150
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 20:48:55.860885+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:29:35.682845
License: Public Domain

ROBERTS, Justice,
dissenting.
I dissent. During the trial of this case, appellant sought disclosure of certain materials in the possession of the prosecution because he believed they contained exculpatory evidence. The trial judge accepted the Commonwealth’s assertion that the materials contained no such evidence and on that basis denied appellant’s request. A trial judge may not rely solely on such a representation. If there is any basis for believing that the requested material contains exculpatory evidence, a trial judge should examine those materials in camera before ruling on the request.
In Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 1196-97 (1967), the Supreme Court held that:
“suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused upon request violates due process where the evidence is material either to guilt or to punishment, irrespective of the good faith or bad faith of the prosecution.”
Under Brady, the prosecution has a duty to produce evidence which is materially favorable to the accused. E. g., Williams v. Dutton, 400 F.2d 797 (5th Cir. 1968); see Commonwealth v. Powell, 449 Pa. 126, 295 A.2d 295 (1972); Lewis v. Court of Common Pleas, 436 Pa. 296, 260 A.2d 184 (1969).
*591Blanket acceptance by a trial court of the prosecution’s assertion that it possesses no such evidence does not adequately protect the rights of the accused. As Judge Frankel has observed:
“[t]he unfortunate defect in this course is that it leaves with one (the more powerful) of the adversaries a critical period of unilateral control that must . exact an unacceptable toll of unfair convictions.”
United States v. Gleason, 265 F.Supp. 880, 885 (S.D.N. Y.1967). A defendant’s constitutional right to the production of exculpatory evidence “cannot depend upon the benevolence of the prosecutor.” Williams v. Dutton, 400 F.2d at 800 (footnote omitted). Accord, United States v. Deutsch, 373 F.Supp. 289 (S.D.N.Y.1974).
This Court has recently been presented with a case in which the Commonwealth failed to disclose exculpatory evidence. In Commonwealth v. Topa, 471 Pa. 223, 369 A.2d 1277 (1977), the Commonwealth sought to use a voiceprint comparison to connect appellant with a murder. The district attorney, claiming to have no sample of appellant’s voice, sought a court order compelling appellant to provide a voice exemplar for comparison with a tape recording of a telephone call made to the state police. The court ordered the accused to make an exemplar, using the same words found on the tape of the telephone call. Throughout this and all subsequent proceedings, the Commonwealth failed to disclose the existence of a recording of appellant’s voice made when he was first questioned by the state police. Only at trial did the existence of this “secret tape” become known when the Commonwealth’s expert witness indicated that he had examined this tape. This witness further testified that a comparison of the “secret tape” with the incriminating telephone call was inconclusive. The Commonwealth’s failure to inform the defense of the tape’s existence deprived him of a fair trial. Id. (concurring opinion). As the *592Topa case illustrates, the Commonwealth can make mistakes or become overzealous in its efforts to secure a conviction.
The majority dismisses appellant’s claim with a quotation from United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97, 108-09, 96 S.Ct. 2392, 2399-400, 49 L.Ed.2d 342 (1976). The majority has completely misunderstood the issue in Agurs. The Court’s purpose was to establish a standard for evaluating Brady claims after a defendant has been convicted. The specific holding in Agurs is that in the absence of a focused request for exculpatory evidence by the defense, a high standard of materiality must be met before the prosecution’s failure to disclose evidence violates due process and requires a new trial.1 Agurs simply does not stand for the proposition that the determination whether the prosecution must disclose evidence to the defense under Brady is left to the unfettered discretion of the prosecutor. Indeed, the Court noted that “. . . if a substantial basis for claiming materiality exists, it is reasonable to require the prosecutor to respond either by furnishing the information or by submitting the problem to the trial judge.” 427 U.S. at 106, 96 S.Ct. at 2399.
Appellant here sought materials he believed contained exculpatory evidence.2 His request was necessarily *593broad because he could not know the contents of the requested material. When faced with such a request for production of exculpatory evidence, a trial judge has the duty to determine whether counsel can make the request with more specificity. The mere fact that the request is framed in general terms is no ground for its summary denial. See Jencks v. United States, 353 U.S. 657, 668 n.12, 77 S.Ct. 1007, 1013 n.12, 1 L.Ed.2d 1103 (1957).
In my view, if there is a basis for believing that the requested material contains exculpatory matter, the trial judge should review such material in camera. State v. Brown, 98 Idaho 209, 560 P.2d 880 (1977); see United States v. Agurs, supra; Flanagan v. Henderson, 496 F.2d 1274 (5th Cir. 1974); United States v. Barket, 64 F.R.D. 573 (W.D.Mo.1974). But see e. g., United States v. Cobb, 271 F.Supp. 159 (S.D.N.Y.1967). In camera examination may reveal that the requested material contains neutral or damaging evidence, in which case it need not be produced. Or it may disclose the existence of exculpatory evidence which must be given the accused. The examination itself enhances the fairness of the trial proceedings.3
*594The trial court’s summary response to appellant’s request here was inadequate. It left to the Commonwealth’s unfettered discretion the determination whether it possessed exculpatory evidence. I would vacate the judgment of sentence and remand the case to the trial court for in camera inspection of the requested material. If the court’s inspection revealed material evidence a new trial should be ordered.4 If, however, it revealed no such evidence, the judgment of sentence should be reinstated. See Flanagan v. Henderson, supra. State v. Brown, supra. I therefore dissent from the majority’s refusal to grant such relief.
MANDERINO, J., joins in this dissenting opinion.

. “[I]f the omitted evidence creates a reasonable doubt that did not otherwise exist, constitutional error has been committed.” 427 U.S. at 112, 96 S.Ct. at 2401-02. The Court also discussed the standards of materiality which apply when (1) the prosecution uses or condones the use of perjury, id. at 103, 96 S.Ct. at 2397, and (2) the prosecution fails to disclose exculpatory evidence after a focused request by the defense, id. at 105, 96 S.Ct. at 2398. See generally Note, The Prosecutor’s Constitutional Duty to Disclose Exculpatory Evidence, 14 Am.Crim.L.Rev. 319 (1976).

. Appellant sought disclosure of all “records, memos, statements and reports of investigation, [and] photographs pertaining to the police department’s investigation and the death of one Charlotte Jamison . . . and all reports of the incident which occurred at Sonny’s Bar,” because he believed they contained exculpatory evidence. Appellant was not seeking nor *593could he have obtained these materials during pre-trial discovery of evidence held by the Commonwealth. There has been substantial debate concerning the propriety and scope of pre-trial discovery in criminal cases. See Y. Kamisar, W. LaFave, and J. Israel, Modern Criminal Procedure 1207-16 (4th ed. 1974). However, here appellant sought only that evidence which the prosecution had a constitutional duty to produce, not the entire investigative file, as the majority asserts.

. Defense counsel is certainly better able to evaluate whether the requested evidence is exculpatory. See Alderman v. United States, 394 U.S. 165, 89 S.Ct. 961, 22 L.Ed.2d 176 (1969); Dennis v. United States, 384 U.S. 855, 86 S.Ct. 1840, 16 L.Ed.2d 973 (1966); Jencks v. United States, 353 U.S. 657, 77 S.Ct. 1007, 1 L. Ed.2d 1103 (1957); Commonwealth v. Grayson, 466 Pa. 427, 353 A.2d 428 (1976). However, as the majority correctly observes, Brady, does not require that the prosecution make a complete accounting of its investigation to the defense. See United States v. Agurs, supra; Moore v. Illinois, 408 U.S. 786, 92 S.Ct. 2562, 33 L. Ed.2d 706 (1972). See generally Pa.R.Crim.P. 310. Thus, the only feasible check upon the prosecutor’s discretion is in camera review by the trial court after the defense makes a focused Brady request.

. When the defense has requested specific items, the prosecution’s failure to disclose requires reversal if the evidence “might have affected the outcome of the trial.” United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. at 104, 96 S.Ct. at 2398.