Court Opinion

ID: 9644698
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 21:02:18.816635+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:11:16.616669
License: Public Domain

Dissenting Opinion by
Mr. Justice Musmanno:
What a defendant battles for in a criminal case is wholly different from what he defends against in a civil case. The issues are different, the facts frequently differ, and they are certainly presented in a different way. Obviously, the objectives are different.
In fighting for his name and liberty in a criminal prosecution, the defendant might well be unconcerned about details of financial bookkeeping, his eye being focused on the main objective of clearing his.name. What is money against honor and liberty? In a civil case, however, a defendant can battle for every dime and penny unhaunted and uninhibited by the shadow of a criminal conviction which could blast his whole life. Thus, it is entirely unfair and improper to introduce during a civil trial the judgment of a criminal court as being conclusive of the issues raised in the civil court.
The Majority Opinion admits that: “In Pennsylvania, judgments in criminal cases for years were held inadmissible to establish the facts in a civil case,” but gives no reason for changing that fundamental *501rule of justice. It merely states that “the tendency of recent decisions is away from” such a rule. That to me is not enough to justify so drastic a change in the law which touches upon a man’s liberties.
I do not share the apprehension voiced in the Majority Opinion that to contest the issue of money in a civil case after a criminal conviction “would be to fly in the face of reason,” and it “would be a general indictment of the whole American jury system.” This presupposes that a jury may never err and that a jury’s verdict is like a precious vase which must not be handled for fear of breakage. In every session of this court the vase of verdicts is studied and often sent back to the factory for refusing.
The Majority states that where the lesser misdemeanors are involved, the record of the conviction may not be introduced in a civil suit involving the same subject matter. If the conviction may not be introduced where the offense is a lessor one, why should it be introduced where the offense is grave and calls for severe penalties and, in the event of an adverse civil verdict the judgment will also be a severe one?
I dissent.