Court Opinion

ID: 9839250
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-12 17:09:02.130702+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:12:53.987492
License: Public Domain

J-S24016-23

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT OP 65.37

  S.A.B.                                       :   IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
                                               :        PENNSYLVANIA
                       Appellant               :
                                               :
                                               :
                v.                             :
                                               :
                                               :
  C.A.B.                                       :   No. 67 MDA 2023

              Appeal from the Order Entered December 14, 2022
      In the Court of Common Pleas of Schuylkill County Civil Division at
                              No(s): A-331-22

BEFORE:      BENDER, P.J.E., LAZARUS, J., and STEVENS, P.J.E.*

MEMORANDUM BY LAZARUS, J.:                     FILED: SEPTEMBER 12, 2023

       S.A.B. (Stepmother) appeals from the order, entered in the Court of

Common Pleas of Schuylkill County, denying her petition seeking a protection

from abuse (PFA) order on behalf of minor-child, E.B. (born July 2011),

against E.B.’s Father, C.A.B. (Father). After review, we affirm.

       On November 11, 2019, Stepmother filed a petition for a temporary PFA

order on behalf of herself and, her stepson, E.B. Stepmother had resided with

E.B. and Father for at least five years prior to the time she filed the PFA

petition.   See PFA Petition, 11/9/22, at 2.1        The PFA petition alleges, in
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* Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court.

1 Stepmother has standing to seek a PFA order on behalf of herself and minor

child, E.B. See 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 6106(a) (providing “[a]n adult [] may seek
relief under this chapter for that person . . . [and an] adult household member
[] may seek relief under this chapter on behalf of minor children [] by filing a
petition with the court alleging abuse by the defendant.”).
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relevant part, that on “Halloween night[, October 31, 2022, Father] grabb[ed

E.B.’s] neck and shoved him and made [E.B.] run [because Father did] not

get[] want he want[ed]. [E.B.] is afraid of [Father] and the house is infested

with roaches and [] has dog feces and [] urine all over[. Father] also does

drugs around [E.B].” Id. On November 9, 2022, the trial court held an ex-

parte hearing pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S. § 6107(b), after which it entered

temporary PFA orders on behalf of Stepmother and E.B.2

       On December 14, 2022, the trial court held a final PFA hearing. During

the hearing, Father and C.M., a volunteer fireman who served as crossing

guard on the night in question, testified regarding the Halloween incident

alleged in the PFA Petition. B.M., E.B., S.B., B.P.,3 and Father also testified at

the hearing with regard to an incident (“truck incident”) that occurred after

the PFA petition had been filed, in which Father allegedly drove his truck at a

high rate of speed while in close proximity to E.B. while near E.B.’s school.

       C.M. testified that, as he was serving as a crossing guard on Halloween

night, he saw Father touch E.B. Id. at 58. C.M. testified,

       I was standing there and they were all gathered together as a
       family and [E.B.] went to go and [Father] grabbed ahold of [E.B.]
       and pulled him back. . . . I wouldn’t say [it was an] appropriate
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2 On March 1, 2019, Stepmother was granted a temporary restraining order

against Father. However, Stepmother failed to appear at the final PFA hearing
on March 13, 2019, and the trial court dismissed the petition. See PFA
Petition, 11/9/22, at 2.

3 B.M. is a teacher at E.B.’s school.  Stepmother is the mother of S.B. and
B.P., neither of whom are Father’s biological children.

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       [touching], but it was like[,] get back here[,] more or less. . . .
       [Father] didn’t hurt [E.B.] He [] grabbed [E.B.] by the arm and
       [] pulled him back a little. [Father] did yell a little bit. . . . [E.B.]
       did cry a little bit. [E.B] let out a yell.

Id. at 58-59.

       Father testified that on Halloween night he went trick or treating with

Stepmother and Father’s five children, including E.B. Id. at 60. He “grabbed

[E.B.] because [Stepmother] was trying to take him[. He] told [Stepmother]

that she wasn’t going to get [E.B.], so [he] grabbed [E.B.,] took him[,] and []

told him to run because [Stepmother] was trying to grab him.” Id. at 61; see

id. (Father testifying he grabbed E.B.’s arm and denied hitting E.B.).

       B.M. was the first to testify regarding the truck incident.          She was

parking her car on Mill Street, in St. Clair Borough, about half a block from

E.B.’s school, when she saw a male driving a truck behind her. Id. at 7-8.

B.M. parked her own car and the truck “stomped on the gas and took off at []

a high rate of speed[, and] seemed to be in a big hurry.” Id. at 7; see id. at

9 (B.M. testifying truck traveled substantially over 15 miles per hour).4 B.M.

testified that the truck disregarded a stop sign and then she lost sight of the

vehicle. Id. at 7, 12. Upon exiting her vehicle, B.M. saw “[E.B.] running down

the street screaming and crying.” Id. at 12; see id. (B.M. characterized E.B.’s

scream as “traumatic”); id. at 15 (B.M. testifying she did not know E.B. until

day in question). B.M. conceded that she did not see E.B. as the truck passed
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4 In Pennsylvania, school zone speed limits are 15 miles per hour.Although
B.M. testified that she was unsure whether the incident occurred within the
school zone, 15 miles per hour was provided as a reference to discuss the
speed at which Father had been operating his truck. Id. at 8-9.

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him and that she did not see anybody dodging or flying out of the way to avoid

the truck. Id. at 10-11, 14.

      Next, E.B. was called to testify. Marc Lieberman, Esquire, counsel for

Stepmother, stated, “[E.B.] is a minor child, so I would suggest that the

courtroom [] be cleared.”      Id. at 18.   The trial court denied the request,

reasoning, “The only staff in the courtroom, other than the next two litigants,

are court staff. No, I’m not having court staff leave my courtroom. The two

litigants from the other hearing I don’t think have any impact on this child.

No, I’m not going to do that.” Id. Attorney Lieberman responded, “Uh -- ”

and then E.B. took the stand. Id.

      E.B. testified that while he was standing on the sidewalk near his school,

he saw Father driving his black truck. Id. at 20-21; id. at 26 (E.B. testifying

other children also on sidewalk and no crossing guard present). E.B. testified

“I was walking to school and I s[aw] the truck go by and [it] made a U-turn

and I was running and I s[aw] a flash go by and I . . . .” Id. at 22. Thereafter,

the court told E.B. to “Take a deep breath.” Id.

      E.B. testified that he was afraid when the truck was coming towards him

and that the truck was moving quickly. Id. E.B. failed to respond when asked

how close the truck was when it was coming toward him. Attorney Lieberman

stated, “I think the child is a little bit overtaken. Perhaps we can [give him]

a moment to have a sip of water or . . . just relax for a few minutes.” Id. at

23. E.B. accepted the water. Id. Attorney Lieberman then asked, “[I]s it

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okay if I start asked you [questions]?” and E.B. responded in the affirmative.

Id. at 24. Thereafter, the following exchange took place:

       [Attorney Lieberman]: And did [] the vehicle slow down at all
       when it was coming at you or was it still moving at a high rate of
       speed?

       [E.B.]: (no response from the witness)

       [Court]: If you don’t remember, you can tell us.

       [Attorney Lieberman]: Is it that you don’t remember what
       happened or is there some other reason why you’re not telling us
       what happened?

       [E.B.]: (no response from the witness)

       [Attorney Lieberman]:          Are you afraid of anybody in this
       courtroom right now?

       [E.B.]: (no response from the witness)

       [Attorney Liberman]: Do you just feel like not talking and you
       don’t want to tell the Judge what happened? . . . I’m not going to
       pursue this, Your Honor.

Id. at 24-25.

       The court inquired as to whether James Heidecker, Esquire, counsel for

Father, had any questions for E.B. Attorney Heidecker stated that he had “a

couple of questions” and began cross-examination of E.B. Id. at 25. E.B.

testified that he had been living with Father and Stepmother until around

October 2022, and currently lives with Stepmother. Id. at 25.5 E.B. testified

that as the truck drove by, he saw Father’s face and Father did not say

____________________________________________

5 Throughout cross-examination, E.B. responses consisted of mainly “yes” or

“no” answers. E.B. did not provide a precise date as to when Father stopped
living in the residence with E.B. and Stepmother.

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anything to him. Id. at 27-28; id. at 27 (E.B. testifying truck did not swerve).

E.B. testified that he is not afraid of Stepmother. Attorney Heidecker twice

asked E.B. whether E.B. was scared of Father. The first time, E.B. was silent

in response. The second time, E.B. responded, “I don’t know.” Id. at 30.

E.B. also testified that he went over the case with Stepmother prior to today’s

hearing and Stepmother went over what E.B. should say. Id. at 29; see id.

(E.B. responding affirmatively when asked whether there is a lot of friction

between Stepmother and Father; Stepmother and Father are not getting

along); id. at 28 (E.B. testifying it is tough to be away from Father).

      S.B., who attends the same school as E.B., witnessed the truck incident.

S.B. testified that

      [Father] was speeding down the road and he was slowing down to
      talk to [me and E.B.] . . . [Father] said “I’ll see you later (kissing
      sound).” . . . And like the kid I am, I made fun of that. . . . And
      then I realized that [Father] almost hit [E.B.] with his truck.

Id. at 33; id. at 35 (S.B. testifying Father acted “how he always acts . . .

[r]ude.”). E.B. was “scared” and screamed. Id. at 34. S.B. stated that E.B.

was also upset and cried when Stepmother came to the school. Id. at 35.

      B.P. testified that he saw Father’s truck “keep driving without stopping,”

and that “[Father] was [] an inch away from [E.B.]; and then that’s when

[B.P.] told [E.B.] to run to the school because that’s where the teachers are.”

Id. at 46; see id. (B.P. testifying E.B. in danger due to Father’s truck). B.P.

testified that Father slowed down a little bit when he was close to E.B. but was

still going fast. Id. at 48; id. at 47 (B.P. testifying, “Everyone goes [] the

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speed limit, expect for [Father’s] truck. It went over the speed limit”). B.P.

also testified that Father stopped at the stop sign. Id. at 48. B.P. explained

that Father has a temper; “he has lots of them.” Id. at 49; see id. (B.P. has

seen Father lose his temper and has given B.P. a nosebleed).

       Father testified that he was driving his truck a block away from the

school and he did not try to run over any child.      Id. at 62; see id. at 63

(Father testifying witnesses were “lying;” Father did not drive at high rate of

speed); id. at 66 (Father testifying he was within 10-15 yards of E.B.); id. at

64. Father explained, “I was half a block away [from E.B.] and he s[aw] my

truck and he ran across the street. By the time I would get to where he was,

he was already halfway down the block. . . . I did make a U-Turn.” Id. at 65.

Father testified that the child witnesses lied because “[Stepmother] tell[s]

them to do things. They do what [Stepmother] says. So does [E.B.]” Id. at

64.

       Following the witnesses’ testimony, the court entered a final PFA order

on behalf of Stepmother, but denied the same with regard to E.B. The court

then stated, “You people [have] a lot of [] problems [] that are custodial in

nature” and declined to make a ruling regarding custody.             Id. at 67.

Stepmother timely appealed. Both she and the trial court have compiled with

Pa.R.A.P. 1925.6

____________________________________________

6  The record in this matter was transmitted to this Court prior to the
transcription of the notes of testimony. The trial court wrote its initial option
(Footnote Continued Next Page)

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       Stepmother raises the following questions for our review:

       1. Whether the [t]rial [c]ourt erred and abused its discretion in
          dismissing [Stepmother’s] motion for the courtroom to be
          cleared of a considerable number of persons who were
          witnesses in unrelated cases, other litigants, and unknown
          persons in the courtroom when young, child witnesses were
          testifying, including the child victim.

       2. Did the [t]rial [c]ourt err in not having appropriate safeguards
          in place when child witnesses or child victims are testifying in
          general. In this case, the child victim was in obvious and
          mortifying distress when being forced to testify in front of total
          strangers in the courtroom, whilst testifying from the witness
          stand.

       3. Did the [t]rial [c]ourt err in allowing the alleged perpetrator in
          the case to stare at the victim intensely and menacingly from
          a distance of just a few feet. Did the [trial c]ourt fail to ensure
          that a proper, appropriate, protected, and closed forum was
          provided as the child victim/witness[] was almost fully
          dumbstruck, and the [c]ourt failed to either recognize that, or
          remedy that.

Appellant’s Brief, at 4.7

       This Court’s standard of review of PFA orders is well settled.

       In the context of a PFA order, we review the trial court’s legal
       conclusions for an error of law or abuse of discretion. The PFA Act
       does not seek to determine criminal culpability. A petitioner is not

____________________________________________

from memory. Upon receipt off the transactions, the trial court filed a
supplemental opinion with substantially the same analysis and conclusion.
See Trial Court Supplemental Opinion, 3/9/23, at 1.

7 We note that Stepmother failed to follow the briefing requirements of
Pa.R.A.P. 2119(a), placing her argument for all three claims under one
argument heading. See Pa.R.A.P. 2119(a) (“The argument shall be divided
into as many parts as there are questions to be argued; and shall have at the
head of each part—in distinctive type or in type distinctively displayed—the
particular point therein[.]”).

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     required to establish abuse occurred beyond a reasonable doubt,
     but only to establish it by a preponderance of the evidence.

E.K. v. J.R.A., 237 A.3d 509, 519 (Pa. Super. 2020).

     S.A.B first claims that the trial court erred in denying her request to

clear the courtroom of a considerable number of individuals, some of whom

were witnesses in unrelated cases, and also of Father, of whom E.B. was

“palpably terrified and frightened.”      See Appellant’s Brief, at 13-14.

Specifically, Stepmother argues that the record and trial court opinion only

reflect the “spoken record of the hearing,” but fail to convey that prior to

entering the courtroom, E.B. was “determined” to testify and that E.B.’s

demeanor was altered as he entered the courtroom to see “numerous,

unknown individuals” as well as “his alleged abuser[ only ten feet away.]” Id.

     At the hearing, the trial court denied Stepmother’s motion to clear the

courtroom, reasoning that only two litigants from an unrelated case were

present. See N.T. Final PFA Hearing, supra at 18. In its opinion, the trial

court concluded that although the courtroom was “full,” the “hearing arena in

[the instant courtroom] is removed from the area where the other awaiting

litigants were located” and “nothing in [Stepmother’s statement], nor

anything of record, indicates that the other people in the courtroom in any

way affected [E.B.’s] testimony.”   Trial Court Opinion, 2/23/22, at 4.   We

agree.

     Instantly, Attorney Lieberman only requested the courtroom be cleared

due to E.B.’s status as a minor child. See N.T. Final PFA Hearing, supra at

18. Stepmother cannot now make an entirely new argument alleging that

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E.B. was terrified of Father as evidenced by E.B.’s demeanor changing upon

entering the courtroom. Moreover, E.B. may have been silent while testifying

for a multitude of reasons, including that Stepmother and Father were not

getting along, that E.B. disagreed with what Stepmother believed E.B. should

say, or that it has been hard for E.B. being away from Father. See id. at 28-

29.

      In light of the foregoing, the trial court did not err in denying

Stepmother’s motion to the close the courtroom.

      Next, Stepmother argues that the trial court failed to have in place

appropriate safeguards during E.B.’s testimony.        Specifically, Stepmother

claims that Attorney Lieberman, who had a clear view of E.B. during his

testimony, saw that E.B. was “palpably dumbstruck and appeared terrified.”

Appellant’s Brief, at 15 (emphasis in original). Stepmother also claims that

while E.B. was testifying, Father was “glaring menacingly at the eleven-year-

old child.” Stepmother is afforded no relief.

      The trial court stated, “had there been any action by [Father] to inhibit

the testimony of E.B.[,] it would have been immediately remedied. Nor did

[Attorney Lieberman] raise this concerning observation during proceedings.

This is just simply not what occurred, and [Attorney Lieberman’s] assertions

are inaccurate.” Trial Court Opinion, 2/23/23, at 5.

      During E.B.’s testimony, Stepmother failed to place on the record any

objection or statement regarding Father’s alleged menacing glare. Moreover,

pursuant to Pa.R.E. 611, the court should exercise reasonable control over the

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mode and order of examining witnesses so as to “make those procedures

effective for determining the truth” and “protect witnesses from harassment.”

Pa.R.E. 611(a)(1), (2). Here, however, the transcript contains no indication

that Father’s presence or conduct influenced E.B.’s testimony. Without any

record evidence that Father’s conduct inhibited E.B. from testifying fully and

truthfully, we are constrained to conclude that the trial court did not err in

failing to employ any safeguards.

      Finally, Stepmother argues that the trial court failed to sua sponte

consider an in-camera hearing for E.B.’s testimony, with or without both

parties’ counsel present.   Id. at 14.    Stepmother relies on 42 Pa.C.S.A.

§5985(a) (testimony of minor-victim may be transmitted by contemporaneous

alternative method, i.e., closed caption television) to support her argument.

Appellant’s Brief, at 16.    She states that although “closed-circuit child

testimony should not be automatic in every PFA case[,] . . . . [section 5985]

provides that the court must first determine whether testifying [] in an

open forum in the defendant’s presence will result in [emotional distress.]”

Id. at 17 (emphasis added). Stepmother concludes that “it should not be the

responsibility of a party to ensure that [] the truth[-]telling process properly

functions.” Id. We find this claim waived.

      During the hearing, Stepmother failed to request that E.B. testify by a

contemporaneous alternative method and failed to place an objection on the

record as to her belief that the trial court was required to raise this issue on

its own.   We also note that Stepmother failed to object when Attorney

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Heidecker proceeded with cross-examination of E.B, even though E.B. was

allegedly “terrified.” If raised at the hearing, the trial court could have ordered

that E.B. testify without Father present.       Accordingly, we find this claim

waived. See Interest of DC, 263 A.3d 326, 334 (Pa. 2021) (“this court will

not consider a claim of error when an appellant fails to raise the claim in the

trial court at a time when the error could have been corrected”); see also

Pa.R.A.P. 302(a) (“Issues not raised in the trial court are waived and cannot

be raised for the first time on appeal”).

      Order affirmed.

Judgment Entered.

Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary

Date: 9/12/2023

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