Court Opinion

ID: 9649814
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 15:10:04.690342+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:12:15.170367
License: Public Domain

ROBERTS, Justice
(dissenting).
I dissent. The majority today holds that the Commonwealth can, over objection, call a witness whose testimony is completely unnecessary, can use a photograph of her deceased husband to prompt her to tears, and can do so knowing that she has reacted in precisely the same way at a former trial. This does not comport with my understanding of a fair and orderly trial.
*321At trial appellant objected to the proposed use of decedent’s wife’s testimony when she was called as a witness on the ground that it would be inflammatory. Factually, he based the objection on the events of an earlier trial at which she had “broken down” on the witness stand.
When inflammatory evidence is challenged, the decision whether to admit it must be made by weighing its probative value against its potential for prejudicing the jury. See, e. g., Commonwealth v. Powell, 428 Pa. 275, 241 A.2d 119 (1968); Shepard v. United States, 290 U.S. 96, 104, 54 S.Ct. 22, 25-26, 78 L.Ed. 196 (1933); Smith v. Spina, 477 F.2d 1140, 1146 (3d Cir. 1973); Bowers v. Garfield, 382 F.Supp. 503, 510 (E.D.Pa.) aff’d, 503 F.2d 1398 (1974). Professor McCormick states:
“Relevant evidence ... is evidence that in some degree advances the inquiry, and thus has probative value, and is prima facie admissible. But relevancy is not enough. There may remain the question, is its value worth what it costs? There are several counterbalancing factors which may move the court to exclude relevant evidence if they outweigh its probative value. In order of their importance, they are these. First the danger that the facts offered may unduly arouse the jury’s emotions of prejudice, hostility or sympathy.”
McCormick, Evidence § 185, at 438-39 (1972).
There can be no doubt in this case that the sight of decedent’s widow weeping on the witness stand could inflame the jury. Therefore, once the objection that her testimony might be inflammatory was made, the trial court was obligated to weigh the probative value of the evidence against its potential for prejudice. That weighing was clearly not done in this case because the evidence obtained from decedent’s widow was cumulative and had virtually no probative value. Before decedent’s widow was called as a witness, the Commonwealth had called a co-defendant whose testimony indicated that decedent was alive prior to the killing. Moreover, this testimony *322Was “corroborated by a friend of [decedent], Harry Coleman, who was present in the store during the robbery and described its occurrence like Barnes.” Brief for Commonwealth at 4. The testimony of these two witnesses was sufficient to establish, if necessary, that decedent was alive before he was killed by the three men who robbed him.
The only justification offered by the Commonwealth for calling decedent’s widow was “to establish the life in being of her husband prior to the crime.” Brief for Commonwealth at 16. Moreover, the Commonwealth claims in its brief that she was the only available person who could testify for this purpose, apparently forgetting its own witness, Harry Coleman, a friend of decedent who could identify him from the picture of the corpse shown decedent’s wife.
The majority asserts that our decision in Commonwealth v. Evans, 465 Pa. 12, 348 A.2d 92 (1975), controls this case. In Evans, decedent’s daughter was called to testify. While testifying she started to weep. Sustaining the trial court’s refusal to grant a mistrial when this occurred we stated: “The Commonwealth . must be permitted to [prove its case] by whatever material evidence it can muster.” (Emphasis added.) Id. at 17, 348 A.2d at 94-95. We concluded that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion for a mistrial.
McCormick states: “If the evidence is offered to prove a proposition which is not . . . probative of a matter in issue, the evidence is properly said to be immaterial.” McCormick, Evidence § 185, at 434 (1972). Apparently, the daughter’s testimony in Evans was material and probative and outweighed whatever inflammatory effect her testimony had on the jury. In Evans we did not suggest that the trial court should allow evidence such as was admitted here, which had virtually no probative value and which had a high inflammatory potential. *323The majority’s reading of Evans ignores well settled principles of law.
I cannot sanction the Commonwealth’s attempt to play on the jury’s sympathies in order to win a conviction. The testimony of decedent’s widow was unnecessary. Showing her the picture of her dead husband served no purpose but to cause her to grieve before the jury. Appellant objected to her testimony as being inflammatory, an objection which includes a challenge to the probative value of the challenged evidence. Because this evidence had great potential for inflaming the jury, and because it had virtually no additional probative value, I dissent.
NIX and MANDERINO, JJ., join in this dissenting opinion.