Court Opinion

ID: 9692914
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 16:12:11.934328+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:19:38.074081
License: Public Domain

WIEAND, Judge,
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent. Although I agree with the majority that the tactics employed by the prosecuting attorney evinced “an irresponsibility which conflicts with the public trust placed in its office,” I am unable to agree that the prosecutor’s misconduct was harmless. Not only did the prosecuting attorney blatantly display to the jury his file box which listed the names of Craig Murphy and four other defendants, with a check mark in front of Murphy’s name, *65but counsel for the Commonwealth repeatedly argued to the jury that there was “one down and four to go.” This was more than an error of judgment. It was an intentional series of remarks calculated to impair the defendant’s right to a fair trial by having the jury focus on an irrelevant and highly prejudicial fact, namely, that another jury had found Murphy, a confederate, guilty “on the testimony of the witnesses that you heard.” See: Commonwealth v. Beasley, 505 Pa. 279, 479 A.2d 460 (1984). Cf. Commonwealth v. Clayton, 506 Pa. 24, 483 A.2d 1345 (1984).
In my judgment, it was also error for the trial court to refuse a defense request, made after Officer William Thomas and Sgt. William Schmid had testified, to require the Commonwealth to produce for examination by defense counsel the written statements which these witnesses had given to police who were investigating the homicide. See: Commonwealth v. Hamm, 474 Pa. 487, 378 A.2d 1219 (1977); Commonwealth v. Grayson, 466 Pa. 427, 353 A.2d 428 (1976).
Finally, I am of the opinion that the extrajudicial statements made by Toby that she had seen “three guys in the park” and that “Muscles didn’t come out” were hearsay and did not fall within any exception to the hearsay exclusion. In the final analysis, however, these statements were so insignificant as to be inconsequential. The erroneous receipt of evidence of these statements, therefore, was harmless.
That appellant is guilty of participating in the taking of Reynolds’ life is probably true. In that event, he will be found guilty upon a retrial. In the meantime, my belief that he is probably guilty cannot be permitted to override my observation that he was denied a fair trial according to established legal principles. If the judiciary becomes so result oriented that it begins to shortcut established principles of law in order to achieve desired results, we will all be the poorer for it. In that event, the rule of law of which we are so proud will be brought into disrepute, and a government under law will be replaced by a government of men *66and women. I am of the opinion that appellant was deprived of a fair trial in this case. Therefore, I would reverse the judgment of sentence and remand for a new trial.