Com. v. Causey

• Decision Date: 18 September 2003
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Jamal CAUSEY, Appellant. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Yusef Causey, Appellant.
• Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court

833 A.2d 165

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Jamal CAUSEY, Appellant.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Yusef Causey, Appellant.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Submitted June 2, 2003.

Filed September 18, 2003.

Salvatore C. Adamo, Philadelphia, for Jamal Causey, appellant.

Daniel A. Rendine, Philadelphia, for Yusef Causey, appellant.

Catherine L. Marshall, Asst. Dist. Atty., Philadelphia, for Com., appellee.

BEFORE: MUSMANNO, BOWES and CAVANAUGH, JJ.

OPINION BY CAVANAUGH, J.:

¶ 1 Brothers Jamal and Yusef Causey were jointly tried and convicted by a jury of aggravated assault, conspiracy and related charges for the shooting of Eric Holt. Jamal Causey was sentenced to serve a term of from eleven and one-half to forty years imprisonment and Yusef Causey was sentenced to serve a term of from fifteen and one-half to fifty-two years imprisonment. They separately appeal from their respective judgments of sentence. Jamal Causey appeals at 3479 EDA 2001 and Yusef Causey appeals at 1000 EDA 2002. We affirm.

¶ 2 The facts were aptly set forth by the trial court as follows:

...The shooting in this case occurred at approximately 9:00 P.M. on the evening of June 14, 1997. [Jamal Causey] and his brother Yusef Causey, were in a burgundy Subaru automobile when they drove past a Chinese restaurant at the intersection of 52nd Street and Chester Avenue. At this time Yusef was driving the vehicle and [Jamal] was seated in the passenger seat. As they drove past the restaurant, they spotted the victim, Eric Holt, who was waiting for his takeout order to be filled. [Yusef] stopped the car, got out and approached the victim and said that he wanted to talk to him. The victim said that he didn't want to talk. At that point, the two [Yusef and the victim] got into a fistfight. The fight lasted several minutes before bystanders separated the two, and broke it up. [Jamal] and Yusef then drove away.

Approximately five minutes later, the two [brothers] returned in the same automobile, but [Jamal] was now driving, and Yusef was in the passenger seat. The victim saw them drive up and stop in front of him. He then saw the two reach down, and saw Yusef come up with a handgun, point it at him and heard him say, "What's up now?" At that point, the victim turned and began to run away. As he was running, he heard gunshots, and felt a bullet hit him in the lower back. The victim ran to a nearby delicatessen, where his cousin happened to be. This cousin called a friend who had a van, and they took him to the emergency room of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was treated for a gunshot wound.

Trial Court Opinion at 1-2 (footnote and references to N.T. omitted).

APPEAL AT 3479 EDA 2001

¶ 3 Jamal Causey raises six issues for our review. He first claims that the trial court erred when it partially granted the Commonwealth's motion in limine to preclude defense counsel from cross-examining the victim regarding the circumstances of a prior drug conviction. The court permitted defense counsel to inquire into the consequences the victim might face if he failed to comply with the conditions of his sentence of probation as relevant of his potential bias in testifying favorably for the prosecution. However, the court prohibited defense counsel from establishing that the victim's conviction was for a drug-related offense on the ground that the offense was not one of crimen falsi.¹

¶ 4 The admissibility of evidence is a matter addressed to the sound discretion of the trial court and we may reverse rulings on the admissibility of evidence only upon a showing that the trial court abused its discretion. Commonwealth v. D.J.A., 800 A.2d 965, 975 (Pa.Super.2002). A defendant has a right to "impeach by showing bias[,]" i.e., to challenge the witness's self-interest "by questioning him about possible or actual favored treatment by the prosecuting authority[.]" Commonwealth v. Evans, 511 Pa. 214, 512 A.2d 626, 632 (1986). Additionally, the credibility of a witness may be impeached by evidence that he has prior crimen falsi convictions, meaning those that bear on a witness's honesty and truthfulness. See Commonwealth v. Moore, 715 A.2d 448, 451-52 (Pa.Super.1998)

(citing Commonwealth v. Yarris, 519 Pa. 571, 549 A.2d 513, 521 (1988)).

¶ 5 Appellant cites to no authority which would support a finding that conviction of a drug-related offense can be considered a crimen falsi conviction which bears upon a witness's honesty or truthfulness and our research has uncovered no authority for such a proposition. Accordingly, we find no abuse of discretion. Rather, we find that the court carefully and properly reasoned that the victim could be cross-examined with the fact that he was on probation as reflecting possible bias, but not about the fact that the conviction was for drugs because the nature of the offense did not bear upon the victim's honesty or truthfulness. Moreover, the thrust of appellant's argument on appeal is that under the federal rules of evidence, a court must undertake a balancing of the equities test to determine whether a non-crimen falsi conviction of a witness may properly be disclosed to the jury. Appellant baldly claims, without any supporting argument which might show that the victim's conviction of a drug offense was somehow probative or relevant, or that its non-disclosure was somehow prejudicial, that he was denied a fair trial because the trial court did not conduct a balancing test analysis. We would simply remind appellant, whatever the merit of his claim, that he was not tried in federal court and that Pennsylvania courts are not bound by the federal rules of evidence. See Commonwealth v. Blasioli, 552 Pa. 149, 713 A.2d 1117, 1119 n. 1 (1998)

. The claim is dismissed.

¶ 6 Appellant next claims that the court erred by failing to grant a mistrial when the Commonwealth elicited testimony from Detective Shaun Gushue that a photograph of appellant was presented to the victim for identification. The basis of appellant's request was that the existence of the photograph and its use in identifying him was not disclosed to the defense during pre-trial discovery. Appellant now relies on the principles set forth by the United States Supreme Court in Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963) to support his argument that the denial of a mistrial was error. We disagree.

¶ 7 In Brady, the United States Supreme Court held that "the suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused upon request violates due process where the evidence is material either to guilt or to punishment irrespective of the good faith or bad faith of the prosecution." 373 U.S. at 87, 83 S.Ct. 1194. Subsequently, the Court held that the duty to disclose exists even where no request has been made. United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97, 96 S.Ct. 2392, 49 L.Ed.2d 342 (1976). The duty encompasses impeachment evidence as well as directly exculpatory evidence. United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 105 S.Ct. 3375, 87 L.Ed.2d 481 (1985). "[S]uch evidence is material `if there is a reasonable probability that, had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different.'" Strickler v. Greene, 527 U.S. 263, 281, 119 S.Ct. 1936, 144 L.Ed.2d 286 (1999) (quoting Bagley, 473 U.S. at 682, 105 S.Ct. 3375). "[T]he question is whether `the favorable evidence could reasonably be taken to put the whole case in such a different light as to undermine confidence in the verdict.'" Strickler, 527 U.S. at 290, 119 S.Ct. 1936 (quoting Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U.S. 419, 435, 115 S.Ct. 1555, 131 L.Ed.2d 490 (1995)). "[A]s Brady and its progeny dictate, when the failure of the prosecution to produce material evidence raises a reasonable probability that the result of the trial would have been different if the evidence had been produced, due process has been violated and a new trial is warranted." Commonwealth v. Strong, 563 Pa. 455, 761 A.2d 1167, 1171 (2000) (citing Bagley, supra).

In sum, there are three necessary components to demonstrate a Brady violation: "[t]he evidence at issue must be favorable to the accused, either because it is exculpatory, or because it is impeaching; that evidence must have been suppressed by the State, either willfully or inadvertently; and prejudice must have ensued." Strickler, 527 U.S. at 281-282,

119 S.Ct. 1936.

¶ 8 We conclude that Appellant's reliance on Brady is wholly misplaced. First, the evidence was not suppressed by the Commonwealth but was, in fact, disclosed during trial. Second, neither the photograph nor its use in the identification process were exculpatory or impeaching. The record reveals that the victim knew appellant for five years prior to the shooting. When the victim was interviewed in the hospital the day following the shooting, he told the police that appellant and his brother were his assailants.² The detective subsequently procured a photograph of appellant. The detective re-interviewed the victim a week later with photograph in hand. At that time, the victim confirmed that the photograph of appellant was that of "the person who was driving the car that night he [the victim] was shot."

¶ 9 We conclude that appellant was not denied his rights to due process under the strictures of Brady and its progeny. There has been simply no legitimate showing made of a reasonable probability that, had the evidence been disclosed to the defense earlier, the result of the proceeding would have been different. This, however, does not end our inquiry as the evidence was certainly discoverable under the applicable rules of criminal procedure, but was not timely disclosed.

¶ 10 The pertinent Rule provides:

(B) Disclosure by the Commonwealth.

(1) Mandatory. In all court cases, on request by the defendant, ... the Commonwealth shall disclose to the defendant's attorney all of the following requested items or information, provided they are

...