Court Opinion

ID: 9707200
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 02:05:02.584193+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:29.092575
License: Public Domain

PAPADAKOS, Justice,
dissenting.
I cannot agree with the majority’s conclusion that the trial court erred in its denial of Appellant’s Motion in *608Limine, or that our decision in Commonwealth v. Majorana would permit the introduction of Appellant’s proposed explanatory testimony to rebut the Commonwealth’s evidence. I agree with the holding in Majorana based on those facts; however, I am convinced that on the record before us it must be concluded that Majorana is simply not applicable to the facts of the instant case. I, therefore, respectfully dissent.
As the majority points out, in Majorana the appellant attempted to introduce evidence of a consensual sexual encounter between the victim and himself two hours before the alleged rape. The purpose of the evidence was to explain the presence of semen in the victim’s body. We concluded that the Rape Shield Law did not preclude the Appellant from explaining the presence of semen and sperm in the victim’s body, because “the act offered in explanation was not a prior ‘separate incident’ but an alternative account of the events of that evening offered to counter the prosecution’s medical testimony. For that limited purpose, it was admissible”. 503 Pa. at 611, 470 A.2d at 84-85.
In the instant case, the offer by Appellant was that at some unascertainable time prior to the incident in question, the victim had engaged in sexual relations with Shan Brennan and others. Defense counsel stated on the record:
... We have a statement from one person who stated to our investigator that he was having sexual intercourse with her or having sexual relations with her and he couldn't remember whether he had sexual relations with her that weekend or not.
I fail to see how this could possibly be relevant without definite evidence of an act close enough in time to the act with which the Appellant is charged. In Majorana, we substantially limited the use of evidence of this nature by requiring that it be related close enough in time to the alleged rape and mandating that the evidence be relevant to the incident in question. The proposed evidence is vague and tentative, at best, and does not even establish that another sexual act occurred. Majorana dictates that evi*609dence of a victim’s prior sexual relations “should be admitted, subject to the usual rules of admissibility of evidence, in particular, the balancing of probative value against prejudicial effect.” Id., 503 Pa. at 611, 470 A.2d at 85. To permit the Appellant to introduce evidence of such a vague and unspecified nature would result in substantial prejudice to the victim and would reintroduce the very evils which the Rape Shield Law was designed to prevent.
Moreover, Appellee countered Appellant’s offer of proof in support of his motion in limine by explaining that when the investigator went to the school to talk to Shan Brennan, he misunderstood the question and said yes he had sexual relations with the victim. However, when it was later explained to this fifteen year old what was meant by sexual relations, he told his parents that he never had sexual relations with the victim, and his parents had so informed defense counsel the day before the pre-trial hearing (N.T. 9).
A trial court’s rulings on evidentiary questions are controlled by the discretion of the trial court and this Court will reverse only for clear abuse of that discretion or error of law. Commonwealth v. Capitolo, 508 Pa. 372, 498 A.2d 806 (1985); Commonwealth v. Cargo, 498 Pa. 5, 444 A.2d 639 (1982).
Offers of proof are received by the court — not the jury. The court weighs the offer of proof and determines its legal efficacy. Commonwealth v. Capitolo, supra, 508 Pa. at 380, 498 A.2d at 810. If the offer can pass muster with the trial judge, the jury may then hear and “appraise Appellant’s evidence.” Id., 508 Pa. at 380, 498 A.2d at 810.
The majority ignores our scope of review in this instance. There was no abuse of discretion or error of law committed by the trial court. There is ample support in the record for the trial judge’s determination to deny Appellant’s offer of proof contained in his motion in limine and in the notes of testimony at pages 3 to 15. The offer is insufficient in that it lacks a relevant, material connection between the alleged intercourse prior to the rape and the presence of internal *610bruising and seminal acid phosphatase in the victim’s panties, the offer was, therefore, properly rejected. Since I do not believe that Majorana is applicable to the facts of this case, I would affirm the order of Superior Court.
LARSEN and HUTCHINSON, JJ., join in this dissent.