Court Opinion

ID: 9711746
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 04:38:17.682966+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:07.245685
License: Public Domain

NIX, Chief Justice,
dissenting.
I am constrained to disagree with the holding that the Sixth Amendment of the Federal Constitution which provides the accused with the right of confrontation in criminal prosecutions was offended by the procedures followed in the instant matter. I also must take issue with the conclusion that Article I, section 9 of our state constitution required the appearance of this seven-year-old child who was allegedly the victim of sexual assault and abuse by the *422instant petitioner for cross-examination during this preliminary stage of the proceedings.
Under our long-standing law, the test of sufficiency of the evidence to hold a defendant for trial upon charges has been the showing of prima facie evidence that a crime has been committed and that the defendant was the perpetrator of that offense. Commonwealth v. Ruza, 511 Pa. 59, 511 A.2d 808 (1986); Commonwealth v. Wojdak, 502 Pa. 359, 466 A.2d 991 (1983); Commonwealth v. Prado, 481 Pa. 485, 393 A.2d 8 (1978); Commonwealth ex rel. Maisenhelder v. Rundle, 414 Pa. 11, 198 A.2d 565 (1964). To satisfy this requirement the evidence presented by the Commonwealth must show that the existence of each of the material elements of the charge is present. The evidence should be such that, if presented at the trial in court and accepted as true, the judge would be warranted in allowing the case to go to the jury. Commonwealth v. Wojdak, supra; Commonwealth v. Prado, supra. However, the weight and credibility of the evidence are not factors at this stage, and the Commonwealth need only demonstrate sufficient probable cause to believe the person charged has committed the offense. Commonwealth v. Wojdak, supra 502 Pa. at 369, 466 A.2d 1000. As the Superior Court has noted in several opinions in which they sustained a trial court’s preliminary finding of prima facie evidence based on hearsay evidence:
The question at a preliminary hearing is not whether there is sufficient evidence to prove the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; rather, the question is whether the prosecution must be dismissed because there is nothing to indicate that the defendant is connected with the crime.
See Commonwealth v. Rick, 244 Pa.Super. 33, 36, 366 A.2d 302; see also, Commonwealth v. Davis, 308 Pa.Super. 204, 454 A.2d 92 (1982); Commonwealth v. Branch, 292 Pa.Super. 425, 437 A.2d 748 (1981).
The fact that this child of tender years was abused was established at the preliminary hearing, and that issue is not being challenged. The present carp of petitioner is that he *423was denied the opportunity to confront the victim and cross-examine her as to petitioner’s involvement in the molestation. That the victim identified her abuser was established by the testimony of the police officer involved. The question is whether the defendant’s right to confrontation required that the identification be made by the victim at the time of the preliminary hearing. The instant constitutional issue being raised is whether petitioner was entitled to a face-to-face confrontation at the preliminary stage of the “criminal prosecution.” The protection afforded defendant at this preliminary stage does not encompass the right to confront and cross-examine potential Commonwealth witnesses. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Prado, supra; Commonwealth ex rel. Maisenhelder v. Rundle, supra.
The majority’s application of the stringent evidentiary standards guaranteed by the defendant’s right to confront the witnesses against him is unwarranted in the setting of a preliminary hearing and here conflicts with the overriding interest this Commonwealth has shown in protecting child-witnesses in abuse cases. Therefore, I must vigorously disagree with the majority’s conclusion that either the Sixth Amendment of the Federal Constitution or Article I, section 9 of the constitution of this Commonwealth dictates such a result.
McDERMOTT, J., joins this dissenting opinion.