Court Opinion

ID: 9544220
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 16:53:16.469813+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:12:25.453379
License: Public Domain

BECK, Judge,
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent. I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that the Commonwealth did not violate Rule 305(B).
Appellant argues that the Commonwealth violated the Rule by not supplying her with the control cards on which sewer and refuse bill receipts were initially noted. The Commonwealth has a duty to provide evidence that is truly exculpatory. Commonwealth v. Gee, 467 Pa. 123, 354 A.2d 875 (1976). Exculpatory evidence is that which extrinsically tends to establish innocence of the crimes charged. Id.
The control cards consisted of a master account card, on which the totals of a day’s receipts were entered, and individual account cards maintained for each customer. The sewer and refuse accounts manager initially received the payments and made the appropriate entries on these cards before directing appellant to remove the cash and *253checks from the register and to deposit the money with the bank. It was appellant’s contention at trial that the sewer and refuse accounts manager was responsible for the thefts. If this were true, a discrepancy would have existed in the master account and the total of the individual account cards. The amount on the master account card would have been less than the total of the individual cards since subsequently received checks would have been entered accurately on the individual account cards (to avoid improper billings), but not on the master account card. Thus, this evidence tends to establish appellant’s innocence. As such, the Commonwealth had a duty to provide this evidence to appellant after her discovery request was made. The remedy for the Commonwealth’s breach of this duty is a new trial.
Accordingly, I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that appellant had specifically to request this evidence. The evidence is truly exculpatory and the Commonwealth was therefore obligated to make this evidence available after appellant’s request.