Court Opinion

ID: 9644176
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 20:49:30.77136+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:11:09.408173
License: Public Domain

NIX, Justice,
concurring.
Although I agree with the result reached by the majority, I reach this conclusion without a determination as to whether or not the rationale of Chambers v. Mississippi, 410 U.S. 284, 93 S.Ct. 1038, 35 L.Ed.2d 297 (1973) is applicable to these facts. It is clear that appellant sought the introduction of this testimony to establish 1) that the caller was in fact the killer, and 2) that the tape recorded voice of that caller was the voice of someone other than appellant. Because I believe the jury was not in a position to make a determination as to whether or not the voice on the tape was that of appellant or someone else, I must conclude that the court’s action was proper in excluding this testimony.
The mere fact that the jury heard the appellant’s speaking voice during the course of the trial does not provide a sufficient basis for it to compare the recording of a telephone conversation. Not only is the speaking voice in direct conversation altered when an intermediary such as a telephone is employed, but in this instance, an additional imponderable of the taped recording of the telephonic message is present. Under these circumstances the court was correct in not permitting the jury to attempt the desired comparison.
Additionally, I support the view that the exception to the hearsay rule which permits declarations against penal interests should be adopted in this Commonwealth. I *246do not believe that this principle is applicable here. The majority is quite correct in observing “an anonymous statement subjects no one to responsibility and, therefore, the key to reliability ... is absent.” The suggestion by Mr. Justice ROBERTS in his dissent that there is no distinction between the anonymous statement and the instance where the declarant confides in one whom he trusts is fallacious. Even though the declarant might trust the person to whom the statement is made, he nevertheless realizes he is exposing himself to the possibility that his trust may be betrayed. No such consideration is present in the case of an anonymous declarant. To me, the critical element which supports the veracity of the utterance and justifies its admission under this exception is the fact that the declarant is aware of the potential harm to himself that the statement poses. The absence of this feature in the anonymous declaration is, in my judgment, fatal.
I agree that the judgment of sentence should be affirmed.