Com. v. Horvath
Decision Date | 07 August 2001 |
Citation | 781 A.2d 1243 |
Parties | COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, Appellant, v. Gregory Frank HORVATH, Appellee. |
Court | Pennsylvania Superior Court |
Jerry L. Spangler, Asst. Dist. Atty., Somerset, for Commonwealth.
Jerome J. Kaharick, Johnstown, for appellee.
Before JOYCE, OLSZEWSKI and POPOVICH, JJ.
¶ 1 This is an appeal from the order entered on January 9, 2001, in the Court of Common Pleas, Somerset County, which precluded the Commonwealth from using Gregory Horvath's prior summary convictions at trial. Upon review, we affirm.
¶ 2 On October 23, 2000, Horvath was convicted at a bench trial of four summary offenses relating to a high-speed automobile chase between Horvath, his friend and the victim. The summary convictions are as follows: disorderly conduct, 18 Pa. C.S.A. § 5503(a)(1); harassment, 18 Pa. C.S.A. § 2709(a)(2); reckless driving, 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3736(a); and driving at safe speed, 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3361. At the same trial, Horvath was charged with a misdemeanor offense of reckless endangerment, 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 2705. This charge was submitted to the jury. The jury was deadlocked as to guilt. Thus, a mistrial was entered. On December 11, 2000, Horvath was sentenced on the summary convictions. The Commonwealth elected to retry Horvath on the reckless endangerment charge. The Commonwealth intended to proffer to the jury the summary convictions and sentencing order to show proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity or absence of mistake or accident. See N.T., Argument, 1/9/2001. Horvath objected. On January 9, 2001, the lower court sustained Horvath's objection. The Commonwealth certified that the order terminated or substantially handicapped the prosecution,1 and the Commonwealth filed the instant timely appeal.
¶ 3 The Commonwealth presents the following issues for our review:
¶ 4 Rule 404(b) of Pennsylvania Rules of Evidence provides, in pertinent part, the following:
¶ 5 Prior to the adoption of the Pennsylvania Rules of Evidence in 1998, these principles were embodied in our decisional law.
¶ 6 In Commonwealth v. Lark, 518 Pa. 290, 543 A.2d 491 (1988), our Supreme Court summarized the law regarding the admission of prior bad acts as follows:
allows evidence of other crime be introduced to prove (1) motive; (2) intent; (3) absence of mistake or accident; (4) a common scheme, plan or design embracing commission of two or more crimes so related to each other that proof of one tends to prove the other; or (5) to establish the identity of the person charged with the commission of the crime on trial, in other words, where there is such logical connection between the crimes that proof of one will naturally tend to show that the accused is the person who committed the other.
Commonwealth v. Morris, supra at 493 Pa. [at] 175 . This list of "special circumstances" is not exclusive, and the Court has demonstrated it will recognize additional exceptions to the general rule where the probative value of evidence outweighs the tendency to prejudice the jury. Commonwealth v. Claypool, supra ( ).
513 Pa. at 350, 521 A.2d at 17. Another "special circumstance" where evidence of other crimes may be relevant and admissible is where such evidence was part of the chain or sequence of events which became part of the history of the case and formed part of the natural development of the facts. Commonwealth v. Murphy, 346 Pa.Super. 438, 499 A.2d 1080, 1082 (1985), quoting Commonwealth v. Williams, 307 Pa. 134, 148, 160 A. 602, 607 (1932). This special circumstance, sometimes referred to as the "res gestae" exception to the general proscription against evidence of other crimes, is also known as the "complete story" rationale, i.e., evidence of other criminal acts is admissible "to complete the story of the crime on trial by proving its immediate context of happenings near in time and place." McCormick, Evidence, § 190 (1972 2d ed.); Carter v. United States, 549 F.2d 77 (8th Cir.1977); United States v. Weeks, 716 F.2d 830 (11th Cir.1983); see also Commonwealth v. Coyle, 415 Pa. 379, 389-91, 203 A.2d 782, 787 (1964)
(. )
¶ 7 Turning to the specifics of the Commonwealth's appeal, we first note our well-settled standard of review:
[A]n appellate court may reverse a trial court's ruling regarding the admissibility of evidence only upon a showing that the trial court abused its discretion. Because the trial court indicated the reason for its decision ... our scope of review is limited to an examination of the stated reason.
Commonwealth v. Minerd, 562 Pa. 46, 54, 753 A.2d 225, 229 (2000) (citations omitted). We must also be mindful that "a discretionary ruling cannot be overturned simply because a reviewing court disagrees with the trial court's conclusion." Commonwealth v. Cohen, 529 Pa. 552, 564, 605 A.2d 1212, 1218 (1992) (citation omitted).
¶ 8 The Commonwealth contends that the lower court should have permitted the introduction of the summary convictions into evidence under the "same transaction" exception. The Commonwealth reasons that the reckless endangerment...
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