Court Opinion

ID: 9699893
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 20:55:06.277205+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:20:59.531321
License: Public Domain

DEL SOLE, Judge,
concurring and dissenting:
I join the Opinion of my colleague, Judge Johnson on the sentencing question. I disagree, however, with the majority’s remaining analysis which finds that the trial court did not err in dealing with questions involving the “alleged” confidential informant.
*110If the Commonwealth’s position, that this defendant committed the crime charged, is correct, then its argument that there was a confidential informant is disingenuous. The Commonwealth presented evidence that the “confidential informant” arranged the buy of drugs with the defendant as seller, was known by the defendant, was present at all times during the transaction, viewed and tested the quality of the drugs before the money was transferred, and was led to the drugs after the transfer. In addition, if the detectives testimony is to be believed, this defendant already threatened the “informant” raising serious doubt about the Commonwealth’s position that the “informant’s” identity must remain a secret.
However, if the defendant’s position is correct that he was not involved, the testimony of an eyewitness to the crime would be necessary for the defense.
While courts have acted to preserve the identity of confidential informants, that protection is generally associated with their involvement in providing probable cause for obtaining search warrants, or other aspects of the investigation process, not with participating in the commission of the crime charged. Our Supreme Court dealt with this issue in Commonwealth v. Carter, 427 Pa. 53, 233 A.2d 284 (1967). There the Court held unanimously that even where a trial court gave a missing witness instruction, it was reversible error to not require disclosure of the informant’s identity since the “confidential informant” was an eyewitness witness to the crime. That is precisely the issue before us.
While there is a need to protect the identity of informants in certain situations, that need must give way to the demands of a fair trial. As the Court said in Carter:
The defect in this argument [disclosure of an informant’s identity terminates usefulness and may lead to retribution] of the Commonwealth is that it overlooks one fact of overwhelming importance. That fact is the complete lack of justification for reducing the stringency of fair-trial safeguards for certain defendants merely because of the type of crime with which they are charged....
*111... We do not believe, however, that our notions of jurisprudence permit the prosecution to be the arbiter of the value to the defense of the testimony of a prospective witness. Under an adversary system of justice, each side is deemed uniquely suited to determine whether the testimony of a particular witness will advance its cause.
427 Pa. at pp. 68 & 64, 233 A.2d at pp. 289 & 290.
For these reasons, I cannot join the Majority’s decision finding no error by the trial court in dealing with the identification of the Commonwealth’s material witness. At the very least, the trial court should have given the missing witness instruction requested by the defendant.