Court Opinion

ID: 9757767
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 22:58:21.949635+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:28:44.059253
License: Public Domain

FLAHERTY, Justice,
concurring.
It is not the law of this Commonwealth that a conviction may stand where an element of the case, in this case identity, is not established by competent evidence. “Fundamental due process requires that no adjudication be based solely upon hearsay evidence.” Com., Unemployment Comp. Bd. v. Ceja, 493 Pa. 588, 619, 427 A.2d 631, 647 (1981) (Mr. Justice Flaherty, concurring). Undeniably, the police officer’s testimony regarding Miss Reddish’s identification of appellant was hearsay, which does not come under any recognized exception to the hearsay rule. In my view, the out-of-court declarant’s presence in the courtroom is of no moment, as it is the Commonwealth’s burden, in a criminal trial, to prove, by competent evidence, all the elements of the crime charged beyond a reasonable doubt. Nevertheless, on this record, where there was ample competent identification testimony, the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Thus, I concur in the result.