Court Opinion

ID: 9764344
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 03:19:23.054805+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:29:55.934991
License: Public Domain

POMEROY, Justice,
concurring.
I agree with the majority that the trial court erred in allowing the admission into evidence of the testimony of the victim’s wife and the photographs of the victim with his crippled daughter. It was also, I think, improper to allow the Commonwealth to present evidence of the victim’s good reputation in the community when there had been neither an attack by the defendant on the victim’s reputation nor a defense asserted based on the victim’s quarrelsome nature. Compare Commonwealth v. Irwin, 475 Pa. 616, 381 A.2d 444 (1977). And, I too am unable to conclude that these errors were harmless. Thus I agree that appellant is entitled to a new trial and concur in the order of the court.
*420My divergence from the majority opinion has to do with the concept of harmless error which it expresses, and which I venture to think is itself seriously harmful to our system of criminal jurisprudence. I remain of the view1 that trial errors which do not violate a constitutional right of the accused are not subject to the stringent “Chapman” test2 embraced by Mr. Justice ROBERTS in his opinion for the majority. Hence this opinion.
I.
It has long been a recognized principle that appellate courts will affirm criminal convictions despite error in the trial court so long as the error did hot affect the appellant’s right to a fair trial. See generally 1 Wigmore, Evidence § 21 (3rd Ed. 1940). This recognition of improper but “harmless” trial court rulings lies in the generally accepted view that “[A] defendant is entitled to a fair trial but not a perfect one.” Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123, 135, 88 S.Ct. 1620, 1627, 20 L.Ed.2d 476, 484 (1968), quoting Lutwak v. United States, 344 U.S. 604, 619, 73 S.Ct. 481, 97 L.Ed. 593, 604 (1953). Thus an appellate court should seek to avoid the “setting aside convictions for small errors or defects that have little, if any, likelihood of having changed the result of the trial.” Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 22, 87 S.Ct. 824, 827, 17 L.Ed.2d 705, 709 (1967). The standard by which the prejudicial effect of trial errors might be gauged, however, has been the subject of considerable debate in recent years.3
*421At an earlier stage of our legal history it was generally held that even the most technical and trivial of trial errors would give rise to a new trial.4 Errors of constitutional magnitude would normally require automatic reversal.5 Then, in the now famous case of Chapman v. California, supra, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that errors of a constitutional dimension did not require automatic reversal so long as there was no “reasonable possibility that the evidence complained of might have contributed to the conviction.” 386 U.S. at 24, 87 S.Ct. at 828, 17 L.Ed.2d at 710, quoting Fahy v. Connecticut, 375 U.S. 85, 84 S.Ct. 229, 11 L.Ed.2d 171 (1963). The opinion in Chapman, however, expressly reserved to the individual states the standard by which errors of a non-constitutional nature might be judged.6 The test which Pennsylvania courts should apply in such a situation is here in issue. I cannot agree with Mr. Justice ROBERTS that a “harmless beyond a reasonable doubt” standard should be adopted as the proper gauge of harmlessness.
II.
In support of the adoption of the Chapman test for state evidentiary purposes, Mr. Justice ROBERTS concludes that such a stringent test is necessary because (1) it will maintain *422the integrity of the standard of proof in criminal trials;7 (2) the difficult distinction between constitutional and non-constitutional errors will no longer have to be made in deciding whether an error is or is not harmless; (3) the dichotomy in the treatment of errors of constitutional and non-constitutional magnitude is meaningless and should be abrogated; and (4) the danger that a defendant’s right to a fair trial might be denigrated can thereby be avoided. Such considerations are of importance in considering what the standard for the review of trial court errors should be; they do not, however, in my view support the position of Mr. Justice ROBERTS. As Mr. Justice Rutledge noted in Kotteakos v. United States, 328 U.S. 750, 760, 66 S.Ct. 1239, 1245, 90 L.Ed. 1557, 1564 (1945), the general object of the harmless error doctrine is
“ . . .to preserve review as a check upon arbitrary action and essential unfairness in trials, but at the same time to make the process perform that function without giving men fairly convicted the multiplicity of loopholes which any highly rigid and minutely detailed scheme of errors, especially in relation to procedure, will engender and reflect in a printed record.”
I believe that adoption of a Chapman standard for the review of trial court errors of a non-constitutional nature, rather than striking a balance among these interests, will inevitably result in the needless reversal of convictions in which guilt has been conclusively established.
First, I do not believe that a standard of review of trial court errors that is less stringent than the Chapman test endangers the Winship requirement that the prosecution prove all elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. The Winship rule applies not to every iota of evidence introduced in a trial, but rather to the sum of the evidence bearing on an element of the crime; that is, when looking at the record as a whole, can it be said that the Commonwealth has proved every fact necessary to constitute the crime with *423which the defendant is charged beyond a reasonable doubt? It is entirely possible for the Winship standard to be met despite the fact that some minor error has occurred. Second, unlike Mr. Justice ROBERTS, I have confidence in the ability of our appellate courts to distinguish, when necessary, between errors of constitutional and non-constitutional dimension. See e. g., Commonwealth v. McDowell, 460 Pa. 474, 333 A.2d 872 (1975); Commonwealth v. Ransom, 446 Pa. 457, 288 A.2d 762 (1972); Commonwealth v. Mills, 447 Pa. 163, 286 A.2d 638 (1971); Commonwealth v. Blackman, 446 Pa. 61, 285 A.2d 521 (1971). Third, while I share Mr. Justice ROBERTS’ dislike of differing standards of review for errors of constitutional and non-constitutional proportions, I see no virtue in eradicating the differences by further extending a rule which has been criticized as unduly rigid.8 And finally, while I agree that a defendant’s right to *424a fair trial must be insured, I disagree that a standard less strict than Chapman will necessarily denigrate such a right. We certainly have a commensurate duty to avoid the waste of time, money and resources entailed in an overly zealous reversal of trials which are basically fair.9
III.
It remains to discuss the standard which I believe strikes the proper balance among the many considerations of the harmless error controversy, and then to apply such standard to the case at bar.
In determining whether a trial error has in fact prejudiced a defendant’s rights, an appellate court generally has three options from which to choose. See Government of Virgin Islands v. Toto, 529 F.2d 278 (3rd Cir. 1976); Traynor, supra at 34. First, a court might affirm if convinced that it is more probable than not that the error did not affect the jury’s verdict. Such a test, however, is no doubt too lax and, *425as Chief Justice Traynor has noted, allows an appellate judge to stray into an inquiry as to the correctness of the result reached below rather than focusing on the effect the error might have had on the jury. See Traynor, supra at p. 35. Second, a court might affirm where it is convinced that it is highly probable that the error did not contribute to the verdict. See Government of Virgin Islands v. Toto, supra; U. S. v. Savage, 430 F.Supp. 1024 (M.D.Pa.1977). Lastly, a court might affirm where it is almost certain that the error in no way affected the verdict. This, of course, is the standard adopted in Chapman.
In choosing among these alternatives, I am guided largely by the reasoning of Chief Justice Traynor. With him, I am convinced that the middle course — a standard of high probability — strikes the best balance between the state’s interest in efficient and realistic operation of the judicial system and the defendant’s right to a fair trial. In Chief Justice Tray-nor’s words:
“What about the appellate court, when it is called upon to determine whether or not an error affected the judgment? How much of a true believer should it be? What degree of probability should it require that the judgment is contaminated? Should it affirm if it believes that it is more probable than not that the error did not affect the judgment? Highly probable that it did not? Almost certain that it did not?
* * * * * *
“The nebulous test of reasonableness is unlikely to foster uniformity either in the application of standards, should there be any, or in the pragmatic exercise of discretion. Discretion is at least under better control within tests that focus on the degree of probability as more probable than not, highly probable, or almost certain. I should welcome a test of high probability for harmlessness. Given an error that affected a substantial right, the judgment below is suspect. Unless the appellate court believes it highly probable that the error did not affect the judgment, it should reverse.
*426“Any test less stringent entails too great a risk of affirming a judgment that was influenced by an error. Moreover, a less stringent test may fail to deter an appellate judge from focusing his inquiry on the correctness of the result and then holding an error harmless whenever he equated the result with his own predilections.
“There are objections also to the two tests that are more stringent than that of high probability. If the test were the mere presence of error, appellate courts could reverse, as many did in the nineteenth century, for any error, no matter how trivial. The end result was public disaffection with the judicial process. Almost as stringent is a test that would require reversal unless the court was almost certain that the error did not affect the judgment. This test, adopted by Baron Parke in Crease v. Barrett, still prevails in England. It is also the test prescribed by the United States Supreme Court when error is of constitutional dimension.”10 Traynor, pp. 34 — 35 (footnotes omitted).
I think the time has come for us to articulate a standard by which non-constitutional error will be judged in the Pennsylvania appellate process. The standard, in my view, should be that such an error will result in the reversal of a conviction where the reviewing court cannot say, with a high degree of probability, that the error has not influenced the determination of the jury; otherwise, the judgment should be affirmed.
IV.
When the evidence in this case is reviewed with the above standard in mind,11 I cannot conclude that it is highly *427probable that the errors which crept into this case did not contribute to the verdict of guilty against Stanton Story. It is true that the prosecution adduced proof quite apart from that here challenged which, while not overwhelming, was ample to establish Story’s guilt. On the other hand, the Commonwealth’s case was tainted from the outset by totally irrelevant material in the form of the testimony of the widow of Patrick Wallace, the victim, the photograph of the victim on the beach with his young child, the fact that the *428child was crippled, and the fact that Wallace, a police officer, enjoyed a splendid reputation. These factors were calculated to excite the sympathy of the jury, and formed a mental picture in the minds of the jurors before they heard any of the operative facts of the case.12 I think it quite possible that these images did in fact have the purpose intended; they made impossible the unemotional approach with which jurors should undertake the difficult and important task of reaching objective and reasoned verdicts. By insisting on creating this kind of “profile” of the slain man, the prosecution, with the permission of the court, engaged in the kind of “overkill” which unhappily causes verdicts to be set aside in the interest of assuring, not a perfect trial, but a trial Which meets the ordinary standards of fairness. It is for this reason that I concur in the judgment of the Court.

. See, e. g., Commonwealth v. Light, 458 Pa. 328, 339, n.7, 326 A.2d 288, 294, n.7 (1974) (plurality opinion); Commonwealth v. Moore, 453 Pa. 302, 310, n.1, 309 A.2d 569, 572, n.1 (1973) (dissenting opinion of Pomeroy, J.).

. “ . . [B]efore a federal constitutional error can be held harmless, the court must be able to declare a belief that it was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.” Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 24, 87 S.Ct. 824, 828, 17 L.Ed.2d 705, 711 (1967).

. See Saltzburg, The Harm of Harmless Error, 59 Va.L.Rev. 988 (1973); Cameron and Osborn, When Harmless Error Isn’t Harmless, Law & Soc. Order, 23 (1971); R. Traynor, The Riddle of Harmless *421Error (1970); Gibbs, Prejudicial Error: Admissions and Exclusions of Evidence in the Federal Courts, 3 Vill.L.Rev. 48 (1957).

. See, e. g., R. Traynor, The Riddle of Harmless Error (1970); Kavanagh, Improvement of Administration of Criminal Justice by Exercise of Judicial Power, 11 A.B.A.J. 217 (1925); Wigmore, Criminal Procedure — “Good” Reversals and “Bad” Reversals, 4 Ill.L.Rev. 352 (1909).

. See, e. g., Whitus v. Georgia, 385 U.S. 545, 87 S.Ct. 643, 17 L.Ed.2d 599 (1967); Haynes v. Washington, 373 U.S. 503, 83 S.Ct. 1336, 10 L.Ed.2d 513 (1963); Rogers v. Richmond, 365 U.S. 534, 81 S.Ct. 735, 5 L.Ed.2d 760 (1958).

. “The application of a state harmless-error rule is, of course, a state question where it involves only errors of state procedure or state law.” 386 U.S. at 21, 87 S.Ct. at 826, 17 L.Ed.2d at 708-709.

. That standard is, of course, proof beyond a reasonable doubt. In Re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970).

. See R. Traynor, The Riddle of Harmless Error, (1970), (hereafter “Traynor”) where the former Chief Justice of California stated:
“The Chapman test itself comes close to automatic reversal. A court faithful to the Chapman test could hold that the violation of a constitutional right did not contribute to the judgment, and hence was harmless, only if it could declare a belief to that effect beyond a reasonable doubt, a belief approaching certainty. This degree of belief is equivalent to that currently required by the English courts under Stirland v. Director of Public Prosecutions.
“If courts conscientiously apply the Chapman test, they will usually find themselves compelled to balk at declaring a belief that there is no reasonable possibility that an error influenced the jury. The alternative is to give the test lip service while tacitly discounting it. The very severity of the test invites such discounting to preclude well-nigh automatic reversal. Appellate review would gain in forthrightness as well as reason if appellate courts could judge it highly probable, rather than almost certain, that an error did not affect the judgment. Under such a test a conscientious court would not be compelled to reverse when it believed it highly improbable that an error contributed to the judgment.
“The highly probable test would also be a rigorous one, although short of the excessive strictness of the Chapman test. It should prove rigorous enough to impel reversal for significant constitutional errors even in an appellate court unsympathetic with updated constitutional safeguards. The more rational the test of harmless error, the more likelihood there would be of its conscientious application.
“Concededly, the application of the highly probable test turns on an appellate judge’s reflection to the nth degree. Concededly also, some judges will be more perceptive than others. Nonetheless a *424realistic test, formulated in terms that compel a judge to evaluate the risk that an error affected the judgment, is bound to strengthen the usual professional discipline that attends judicial discretion. The highly probable test is much more likely to engender a reasoned judgment than is the Chapman test, under which judicial thinking ceases at the first base of reasonable possibility.” Tray-nor, pp. 43-45 (footnotes omitted, emphasis in original).
Indeed, it is open to speculation as to whether even the Supreme Court of the United States has adhered to the rigidity of the Chapman test. See, e. g., Brown v. United States, 411 U.S. 223, 93 S.Ct. 1565, 36 L.Ed.2d 208 (1973); Schneble v. Florida, 405 U.S. 427, 92 S.Ct. 1056, 31 L.Ed.2d 340 (1972) and Harrington v. California, 395 U.S. 250, 89 S.Ct. 1726, 23 L.Ed.2d 284 (1969) where that Court, while purporting to follow Chapman, affirmed convictions on the basis of “overwhelming” evidence despite Chapman’s emphasis on whether the error made any contribution whatsoever to the verdict.

. Implicit in the opinion of Mr. Justice ROBERTS is the view that the Chapman standard is constitutionally required to protect against the prejudice of trial court errors. The Supreme Court of the United States indicated, however, that the Chapman standard was fashioned in the absence of “appropriate congressional action.” 386 U.S. at 21, 87 S.Ct. at 824, 17 L.Ed.2d at 709 (1967). Thus, it is not at all clear that such a standard is constitutionally required even for errors of constitutional magnitude. Accordingly, I remain unconvinced that such a standard is the only permissible standard capable of guaranteeing a defendant’s right to a fair trial.

. We are not unmindful of the feelings of outrage which attend the cruel and senseless murders of innocent citizens or the concern of the victims and of society that the perpetrators be apprehended and punished. It is, however, precisely these emotions which can endanger an individual’s right to be presumed innocent. Courts have a duty to insulate a jury from such influences so as to assure as far as possible that a verdict is the result of a dispassionate consideration of the question whether the defendant did indeed perpetrate the acts of which he stands charged.

. In this regard I note that Mr. Justice ROBERTS cites Traynor, supra for the proposition that justice will be served by application of a uniform standard for both constitutional and non-constitutional errors. It is clear, however, that Justice Traynor does not support further extension of the Chapman rule, but rather supports the uniform adoption of the “high probability” standard.

. In my view, the determination of whether error was or was not harmless is to be made against the background of the entire eviden*427tiary record, not merely the “uncontradicted” evidence. The latter approach, espoused by Mr. Justice ROBERTS, is I think, unnecessarily rigid and restrictive.
A reviewing court must, of course, discount evidence where its reliability has been undermined by contrary evidence; the inquiry must be the likely effect of the error on the jury’s determination, regardless of whether the evidence might otherwise be sufficient to sustain a verdict of guilty. See, e. g., Commonwealth v. Bruno, 466 Pa. 245, 352 A.2d 40 (1976); Commonwealth v. Rankin, 441 Pa. 401, 272 A.2d 886 (1971).
I have no doubt that appellate courts in this Commonwealth possess the ability to scrutinize the record as a whole to arrive at an intelligent judgment as to whether or not it is highly probable particular errors influenced the jury’s verdict. The narrow approach of my brother ROBERTS, moreover, would be difficult of application, for who is to say what constitutes “contradiction”? For example, might an otherwise overwhelming case be contradicted simply by an unsupported defense assertion of alibi? This problem is pointed up by the division of the Supreme Court in Schneble v. Florida, supra, where the majority of the Court found overwhelming “uncontradicted” evidence so as to render the asserted error harmless, whereas a strong dissent by three members of the Court would have reversed the conviction on the ground that the prosecution’s case in chief depended upon a statement allegedly given by the appellant which the dissenters discredited on the ground it was contradicted by appellant’s claims of police coercion.
While I share Mr. Justice ROBERTS’ concerns that an appellate court respect the discretion of the factfinder to believe or disbelieve the offered evidence, a determination based solely upon a mechanical determination of what evidence is “uncontradicted” simply avoids what is admittedly a difficult appellate task but a task, nevertheless, which I believe is critical to a proper finding of “harmlessness”. As Chief Justice Traynor noted: “Concededly, once he [an appellate judge] undertakes to evaluate error, he is driven to reviewing the whole record, even to weighing the evidence. Nevertheless I believe that in the process it is possible for him deliberately to put aside the question of the correctness of the judgment. Given the will, he finds intuition and reasoning working as one to keep his *428inquiry in focus on the degree of probability that error influenced the result.” Traynor, supra at 36 (footnote omitted).