Court Opinion

ID: 9650886
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 15:54:08.376699+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:12:26.764906
License: Public Domain

FLAHERTY, Justice,
dissenting.
I dissent. In Commonwealth v. Russell, 477 Pa. 147, 383 A.2d 866 (1978), we held (Mr. Justice Pomeroy dissenting) that it was error for a jury to have been instructed to view the exculpatory testimony of a convicted and sentenced alleged accomplice “with disfavor because it comes from a *605corrupt and polluted source,” to accept the testimony “only with caution and care,” and to consider whether the testimony was “supported by independent evidence.” The majority in Russell reasoned that while an accomplice testifying for the prosecution may have an interest in inculpating others due to a reasonable expectation of leniency for himself, “[t]his basis is inapplicable, however, when the accomplice testifies on behalf of the defense. One implicated in a crime cannot reasonably expect such leniency by exonerating others, particularly where, as here, the witness has already been sentenced for committing the crime.” Id., 477 Pa. at 153, 383 A.2d at 868-869. The Russell holding relied upon the very doubtful rationale that, absent a reason to falsify testimony to achieve leniency for oneself, an accomplice testifying for the accused lacks a motive to commit perjury. As Mr. Justice Pomeroy noted in his dissent, however, many other motives could lead one to the same end: “. feelings of friendship, loyalty or even fear of future revenge . such a person moreover, would have nothing to lose by lying for a colleague, having already been convicted and sentenced himself.” Id., 4T1 Pa. at 156, 383 A.2d at 870.
A trial judge has the discretion to charge a jury fairly according to the particular circumstances of a case to promote the jury’s understanding of the issues involved. Commonwealth v. McComb, 462 Pa. 504, 341 A.2d 496 (1975). A defendant has the right to have an accomplice testify in his behalf, and it is an accepted practice for courts to give cautionary instructions regarding an accomplice’s testimony. The decision to give such a cautionary instruction is merely part of the general conduct of a trial over which a judge’s powers are discretionary. See United States v. Nolte, 440 F.2d 1124 (5th Cir. 1971). Where the accomplice’s testimony is offered for the defense, the possibility of perjury is sufficient to warrant exercise of judicial discretion to advise a jury to accept the testimony only with caution, provided that the jury is clearly informed that with it, alone, rests the ultimate authority to accept all, part, or none of the testimony, despite the cautionary instruction. Certainly, a judge *606could not properly charge that such a witness must be disbelieved, or that a witness’s testimony must be corroborated to be believed, or that the testimony must be believed true beyond a reasonable doubt before it may be considered, for such would invade the jury’s province and defeat the presumption of innocence. Cool v. United States, 409 U.S. 100, 93 S.Ct. 354, 34 L.Ed.2d 335 (1972). Having come to regard the rationale in Russell as suspect, and viewing that case as too far restricting judicial discretion with respect to the jury charge, the holding in Russell should be overruled.
The instruction challenged in the case now before us clearly informed the jury of its ultimate authority to accept all, part, or none of the accomplice’s testimony. Following the portions of the charge quoted in the opinion of Mr. Justice Roberts, the judge stated:
However, you may accept and you may believe all of Mr. Gethers’ testimony even though it is not supported by any other evidence. It is solely again within your province and your province alone to determine what weight if any will be given to his testimony.
You may, if you so decide, accept all of it as being true and accurate and credible. On the other hand, you may accept only part of it as being credible and true and accurate, or on the other hand, you may reject all of it as being untrue or inaccurate. That is a matter that is solely within your province and your province alone.
This instruction did not penalize the defense for producing a convicted perpetrator as a witness. Nor did giving the “accomplice charge” amount to convicting the defendant before the jury had a chance to deliberate, since the charge did not suggest that the defendant participated in the crime. The judge merely guided the jury by outlining the factors to be taken into consideration in weighing the witness’s testimony, and thereby alerted the jury to potentially unreliable testimony, thus promoting accurate evaluation of the credibility of the witness.
LARSEN and KAUFFMAN JJ., join in this dissenting opinion.