Court Opinion

ID: 9706128
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 01:32:13.390219+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:26:54.574252
License: Public Domain

CONCURRING AND DISSENTING OPINION BY
BENDER, J.:
¶ 1 I am in agreement with our Dissenting Colleague, Judge Del Sole, with respect to the appealability of the order in question and therefore join the Dissenting Opinion in that regard. However, I would like to add my view on this and other matters germane to the present case.
¶ 2 In my opinion, by both rule and legal theory, the right of the Commonwealth to appeal from an adverse pre-trial order was intended to be a right limited to the exceptional circumstance and not the common one; that is, a right to be exercised in cases where the pre-trial ruling was sufficiently detrimental to the Commonwealth’s case that going forward with the prosecution would be virtually pointless, or at least a rather perilous proposition. The right of the Commonwealth to appeal from a pretrial order first arose via caselaw, yet from the moment the right was first recognized that right was fraught with ambiguity and seemingly destined for controversy.
¶3 In Commonwealth v. Bosurgi, 411 Pa. 56, 190 A.2d 304 (1963), our Supreme Court first recognized the Commonwealth’s right to an immediate appeal from an adverse pre-trial order. There they held that the Commonwealth was entitled to appeal from a pre-trial order the effect of which was to terminate the prosecution. However, in a manner consistent with a person hedging his position, the Court further allowed such an appeal where even though the order would not result in termination it would handicap the Commonwealth by preventing it from presenting “all its available evidence.” Id. at 308. Thus, in effect, while the Court imposed a seemingly rigid standard for appeal on the one hand, it softened it immediately. As such, lower courts were left the task of determining under which circumstances the Commonwealth was entitled to take an immediate appeal — not an easy task when one must try to decipher an opinion that, as noted by no less of an authority than then Chief Justice Nix, was “not the model of clarity.”5
¶ 4 Even though Bosurgi itself was somewhat equivocal as to the standard necessary to constitute an appealable order, subsequent cases seemed to settle on the language “terminates or substantially handicaps its prosecution” as the applicable guideline. Bosurgi itself may have occasioned this interpretation when it stated that the pre-trial order “may well mark the difference between success and failure *912in the prosecution.” Id. at 308. In any event, by 1985, more than twenty years after Bosurgi, in Commonwealth v. Dugger, 506 Pa. 537, 486 A.2d 382 (1985), the Supreme Court used the “terminates or substantially handicaps” language in such a manner as to convey the impression that it was by then well established as a recitation of the standard by which the appeala-bility of an adverse pre-trial order would be measured. One earlier case that grappled not only with the applicable standard, but also the process to be employed in determining if the standard was met, was the predecessor of Dugger, Commonwealth v. Lapia, 311 Pa.Super. 264, 457 A.2d 877 (1983)(en banc), a decision of this Court sitting en banc that was decided along with Dugger. In Lapia we summarized the Bosurgi holding thusly:
when an order suppressing evidence terminates or substantially handicaps the prosecution, the order is immediately appealable by the Commonwealth. This is so because in practical effect, the order is final. If the Commonwealth were required to go to trial without the suppressed evidence, the defendant would probably, if not certainly, be acquitted.
Id. at 881.
¶ 5 The above passage is instructive on two fronts. Not only does it articulate this Court’s, and ostensibly the widely held, perception of the applicable standard in very understandable terms, but it also supplied the theoretical legal basis for the appealability of the order. According to Lapia, the Commonwealth was entitled to file an immediate appeal from an order where, because of the order, the defendant “would probably, if not certainly, be acquitted.” 6 Just as importantly, Lapia indicates why the Commonwealth was entitled to take the immediate appeal; under such circumstances, the order was, in effect, a final order. This is important. The appealability of an order, is a legal, jurisdictional question and requires legal authorization. Significantly, at the time of Bo-surgi, prior to the promulgation of Pa. R.A.P. 311(d), there was in effect no rule that allowed an appeal as of right from an interlocutory order, or its functional equivalent, but, of course, the right to appeal from a final order is the most fundamental of all precursors to an appeal and was firmly established, both then, and now.
¶ 6 Perhaps purposefully, the Bosurgi decision was somewhat vague with respect to the legal basis for its decision and, frankly, seemed to rely more heavily upon policy considerations than legal theory. Bosurgi at 308-09. Bosurgi does cite cases that equated orders that would terminate a prosecution as “final orders.” Of course, in this circumstance, the order has the well-recognized effect of putting a party “out of court,” and, as such, would be appealable under a well-known standard of finality. However, the same cannot necessarily be said of an order that merely “handicaps” the prosecution by preventing the introduction of some of the Commonwealth’s evidence. In this circumstance, presumably the case would proceed to trial after appeal even if the appeal were unsuccessful. In such a case, the adverse order would not put the Commonwealth “out of court,” and was not “final” in the traditional sense. Nevertheless, since the concept of “finality” was the legal premise upon which the right to appeal rested, the term “final order” took on a different meaning in this context and was slanted greatly toward protecting the Commonwealth’s opportunity to receive appellate review of adverse rulings in light of double jeopardy proscriptions.
*913¶ 7 The finality problem was eliminated when, in 1992, Pa.R.A.P. 311(d) was put in place. That rule provides:
In a criminal case, under the circumstances provided by law, the Commonwealth may take an appeal as of right from an order that does not end the entire case where the Commonwealth certifies in the notice of appeal that the order will terminate or substantially handicap the prosecution.
Thus, no longer was it necessary to torture the term “final order” to allow a Commonwealth appeal from an adverse pre-trial order. The Commonwealth was now extended a qualified appeal of right from an order that was defined as interlocutory.7 Nevertheless, under Pa.R.A.P. 311, the Commonwealth’s right to appeal was not purely discretionary, nor all encompassing. That is, by engrafting the familiar “terminates or substantially handicaps” language, the rule in question did not grant the Commonwealth the right to appeal any adverse pre-trial order, only those where the effect of the ruling was to “terminate or substantially handicap the prosecution.”8 Pa.R.A.P. 311(d). The usage of the term “substantially” to modify the term “handicap” should not be overlooked. Not only does the term literally modify the word handicap to mean significantly more than merely handicapping the prosecution, the placement of the term in proximity to the term “terminate” seemingly implies the imposition of a handicap that has nearly the same effect as termination. Additionally, as noted by Chief Justice Nix in his concurrence to Dugger:
If any diminution resulting from an adverse order of suppression is to be treated as justification for the Commonwealth’s right to appeal, the Bosurgi court’s use of the term “substantially handicapped” is rendered surplusage.
Dugger, 486 A.2d at 387.
¶ 8 Of course, since the term substantially handicap was also incorporated in the rule, Justice Nix’s observation would be just as applicable to interpretation of the rule as it was with respect to the standard evolving by caselaw. Thus, whether one considers the “final order” doctrine, or a fair interpretation of the rule’s language as authority for the right to appeal, in theory, the right to appeal is limited to situations where the order has the effect of terminating the prosecution, or nearly so. Yet, if this is the theoretical origin, the experience in practice has been much different. From the point of origin of termination or substantially handicaps, we have now slid down the proverbial slippery slope to a point where a relatively ancillary and somewhat trivial matter such as the admissibility of a complainant’s prostitution conviction can be immediately appealed.
¶ 9 In this case, there has been no suppression of key prosecution evidence. Indeed, the Commonwealth has not been precluded from introducing any evidence of Appellant’s guilt. Rather, the court has simply issued a ruling that the complainant’s prostitution conviction will be admis*914sible. While the court’s ruling would likely aid the Appellant’s defense if allowed to stand, can anyone argue with honest conviction that the ruling at issue here hampers the Commonwealth’s case so severely that prosecution would be pointless, or nearly so? Does anyone honestly believe that had the Commonwealth lost its appeal here, it would have concluded that prosecution would be pointless and would have dismissed the charges against Appellant. What’s next? Will the Commonwealth be permitted to ask pre-trial whether expected hearsay testimony will be admissible and then take an appeal if the decision goes against it?9
¶ 10 Of course, in reality, since the Commonwealth has been granted essentially unchecked authority10 to certify an appeal from an adverse pretrial order, any restriction placed upon the Commonwealth’s right to appeal is only as valid as the integrity of the various District Attorney’s Offices exercising their “right” to appeal. As this case and the cases of Commonwealth v. Shearer, 828 A.2d 383, 2003 WL 2141902511 and Commonwealth v. Santiago, 2003 PA Super 94, 822 A.2d 716 (filed 3/10/03), readily demonstrate, the exercise of the certification has completely lost touch with both the concept of finality for appeal purposes as well as the language of Rule 311. Either District Attorneys in Pennsylvania believe that the words substantially handicap in this context have been sufficiently diluted that it no longer has its literal meaning, or other pressures and interests have led District Attorneys to be intellectually dishonest in invoking this standard. In either event, we should not be surprised it has come to this.
¶ 11 In the aftermath of Bosurgi, this Court struggled with the process whereby the Commonwealth took its appeal from adverse pre-trial orders, specifically, the question of our empowerment to consider whether or not the order in question met *915the theoretical standard. Although there was some conflict among the decisions,12 in Commonwealth v. Lapia, this Court attempted to establish a consensus opinion and concluded that the certification by the Commonwealth that the order terminated or substantially handicapped the prosecution was not binding upon this Court and was not itself a sufficient basis for gaining an appeal. Rather, the Commonwealth’s certification could be rejected if it appeared to the Court that the order appealed from did not in actuality substantially handicap the prosecution. This position was short lived, however, and reversed in Lapia’s companion case, Commonwealth v. Dugger. There the Supreme Court held that the Commonwealth’s certification was binding and all that was required to gain an immediate appeal. Lest the impact of Dugger was lost upon District Attorneys across the state, Chief Justice Nix cut through the rhetoric of the Opinion to state its practical effect:
If the ruling of the Court today is intended as accepting an interpretation of Bosurgi which would in fact limit the right of appeal of the Commonwealth, providing for a certification which is conclusive and not subject to challenge renders the qualification of the right illusory. The effect of the majority’s opinion today under either situation is to provide an unfettered right of appeal to the Commonwealth whenever it sustains an unfavorable suppression ruling, regardless of the impact of that ruling upon the strength of its case.
Dugger, 486 A.2d at 887.
¶ 12 Chief Justice Nix’s words foretold the consequences of the Dugger decision and could not have been more prophetic. So it is that we find ourselves today entertaining appeals from “adverse” orders that can in no honest way be deemed to provide a substantial handicap to the Commonwealth’s case, at least, not as that term was described in earlier cases, because District Attorneys no longer view the wording of Rule 311(d) as invoking a standard for appealability. Rather, they now view their right to appeal pre-trial orders as “unfettered.”
¶ 13 In the face of this development one must ask why it is that we have reached this juncture. How often in our law is the unilateral decision of a party subjected to no scrutiny by the court? In this arena, once the Commonwealth certifies that the order substantially handicaps the prosecution, an appeal can be taken immediately and this Court is obligated to review the order appealed from regardless of the true detriment to the Commonwealth’s case. While we could have hoped that the decision to appeal would have been exercised in keeping with the intent of the rule, for some time there has been no check on the Commonwealth’s decision and the present case and the aforementioned Shearer rather conclusively demonstrate what this policy has produced, a situation which invokes *916the phrase regarding the inmates running the asylum.
¶ 14 In light of the above, I believe it is time to reexamine the process whereby an immediate appeal is taken from an adverse pre-trial order. Of course, allowing this Court the authority to disagree with the Commonwealth that the order in question substantially handicaps the prosecution and return the case without a decision would be fairly self-defeating since the trial would be delayed in any event by the appeals process. However, allowing the trial court to certify the order for appeal upon the Commonwealth’s application would provide a check upon the Commonwealth’s authority without unnecessarily delaying the trial. As such, I believe the rule should be modified to put such a procedure in place. If the trial court agreed that the ruling in question presented a substantial handicap, it could certify the order for immediate appeal. If it disagreed, however, it could deny the request and force the case to move forward. At that point, the trial court’s decision could be appealed, if the Commonwealth truly believed that the ruling in question effectively terminated the prosecution, but upon an estoppel basis. That is, if the Commonwealth lost the appeal, it would be precluded from prosecuting the defendant. This should be a sufficient deterrent to taking an appeal from an order that does not truly create a substantial handicap to the prosecution.
¶ 15 Revising the current procedure to the one espoused here would take the initial decision to appeal and place it where it belongs — with the trial court, a neutral party. The Commonwealth would still have recourse if it were sufficiently aggrieved by the court’s ruling, but would be forced to mean what it says when it certifies that the decision effectively terminates the prosecution. By so modifying the rule, we could prevent further erosion of a standard that has already been substantially eroded and return it to something resembling the actual language of the rule. An appeal of an adverse pre-trial order would be taken only when it truly had the effect set forth in the rule, and not essentially at the Commonwealth’s discretion.
¶ 16 As for the merits of the appeal, I agree with the Majority that the Rape Shield Law prevents the initial introduction of the complainant’s prostitution convictions, both those occurring before and after the incident at the bottom of this case. I do so because I agree that the term “past sexual conduct” refers to the time of the trial and not the time of the incident in consideration. And, indeed, should the complainant admit that she and Appellant have had consensual sex for compensation in the past, I would see no need for the introduction of the prostitution convictions. However, the Rape Shield Law should not be a “shield” to a complainant’s prevarications, or a license for the complainant to color his/her testimony knowing that strong impeachment testimony will be inadmissible under the Rape Shield Law. If the complainant chose, for whatever reason, to deny that she has had sex for compensation with Appellant in the past, I am of the opinion that the convictions would then become relevant as tending to bolster Appellant’s contentions and should then be admissible despite the Rape Shield Law.
¶ 17 The Majority’s analysis that the convictions would be admissible because their probative value is outweighed by the prejudicial impact is misguided because the evidence does not prejudice the criminal defendant. The Majority asserts “that the complainant was convicted of prostitution with someone other than Appellee is no more probative of the allegation that she prostituted herself with Appellee than *917it would be if she were on trial for the crime of prostitution.” Majority Op. at 15. This assertion may be true, but it neglects to recognize that the reason the conviction would be inadmissible if the complainant were on trial for prostitution is not necessarily because of an utter lack of the convictions’ probative value, but due to the prejudice of those prior convictions to her as a criminal defendant. Since it is Appellant on trial, not the complainant, this factor would be missing.
¶ 18 The Majority further opines “[t]his evidence does not exculpate Appellee. It is not probative of the complainant’s willingness to commit sexual acts with Appel-lee, for hire or for any other reason.” Id. at 909. However, to suggest that the complainant’s several convictions for prostitution do not tend to make Appellant’s version of the events more credible and probable is fanciful naivete. In search and seizure law we allow the proximity of an otherwise innocuous exchange between persons to influence the assessment of the transaction. If the exchange occurred in an area known for high drug activity, we acknowledge the validity of a police officer’s assumption that it is more probable that the current exchange witnessed by police is also a drug transaction. This is nothing more than typifying behavior based upon past experience, which is precisely Appellant’s position here. Similarly, evidence of modus operandi is admissible under the assumption that past behavior has been repeated.
¶ 19 The complainant’s past behavior indicates that she has actively engaged in sexual activity for monetary compensation, precisely what Appellant has asserted occurred in the incident in question, and previously. While conceivably the complainant has exercised discretion as to whom she sees, and perhaps did not see Appellant professionally, to suggest that her convictions do not support Appellant’s theoiy of the case is disingenuous. It may not conclusively prove the point. But it certainly bolsters Appellant’s version of events and, as such, is probative evidence.
¶ 20 For the foregoing reasons, I agree with Judge Del Sole that the present appeal should be quashed. However, I would suggest that the process whereby an appeal is certified under Pa.R.A.P. 311(d) be re-examined and revised in a fashion similar to that set forth above.

. Commonwealth v. Dugger, 506 Pa. 537, 486 A.2d 382, 387(1985).

. By way of implication, Lapia suggests if the order was not such that would probably lead to acquittal, the Commonwealth was not entitled to an immediate appeal.

. Interestingly, an appeal previously justified under the "final order” doctrine is now regarded under Pa.R.A.P. 311(d) as an "interlocutory appeal as of right.”

. In actuality, literally read, the rule does not require that the order terminate or substantially handicap the prosecution in order to be appealable. The rule’s language entitles the Commonwealth to appeal where it certifies that the order will terminate or substantially handicap the prosecution. However, unless the Rules Committee was merely providing the Commonwealth a plausible pretext for taking an appeal and further intended to provide the Commonwealth complete discretion in taking an appeal, then we can assume that the intention was to impose a threshold standard for appealability purposes.

. The harm to the defendant should be obvious. For a myriad of reasons, Pa.R.Crim.P. 600 requires a trial to commence within certain time restrictions. When an appeal is taken from a pre-trial order, the trial is necessarily delayed. If the defendant is incarcerated, he may remain there throughout the appeal even though he has not been adjudicated guilty of the crime charged. While, due to double jeopardy considerations, there was an inherent unfairness in not allowing any Commonwealth appeal from pre-trial order, allowing an appeal from too many pre-trial orders is certainly not a desirable outcome either.

. My Colleague, Judge Graci, in his Concurring Statement, takes issue with my assertion that the "Commonwealth has been granted essentially unchecked authority” to appeal an adverse pre-trial order. In response, I would simply note that I am not the only member of this Court that has characterized the current circumstance is such a fashion. In Commonwealth v. Santiago, 2003 PA Super 94, 822 A.2d 716 (filed 3/10/03), a panel of this Court made the following commentary regarding a Commonwealth certification under Rule 311:
Moreover, the Commonwealth, in order to be allowed to take an interlocutory appeal pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 311(d), certified in good faith that this ruling terminated or substantially handicapped its prosecution. How this assertion can be made is completely beyond the dictates of logic and the Commonwealth's obligation to act as an officer of the court. This is yet another example of the abuse of the Commonwealth v. Dugger, 506 Pa. 537, 486 A.2d 382 (Pa. 1985) rule that has given the Commonwealth a sense that it can carte blanche appeal any ruling that is adverse to it, simply by uttering a few magic words.
Id., at n. 14.

.In Shearer, another case presented to this en banc panel, the District Attorney of Butler County certified for appeal under PA.R.A.P. 311(d) the very preliminary order compelling a child witness to submit to psychological testing for purposes of determining the child’s competency to testify. Mind you, this was not an order finding the child incompetent to testify. Merely an order directing that the child be tested.

. In Commonwealth v. Smith, 212 Pa.Super. 403, 244 A.2d 787, 788 (1968), we found that the Commonwealth’s appeal was “improper in light of standard set forth in Bosurgi." Our decision was based upon the conclusion that the suppression order in question did not substantially handicap the Commonwealth’s prosecution. However, by the time of Commonwealth v. Deren, 233 Pa.Super. 373, 337 A.2d 600 (1975), a difference of opinion had developed as to our ability to look past the Commonwealth's allegation that the prosecution would be substantially handicapped by the order in question. In Deren, a majority of the panel concluded that we were not empowered to question the allegation of the Commonwealth. Thus, the stage was set for La-pia, and an effort to conclusively determine the matter.