Com. v. McDaniel
| Decision Date | 12 June 1970 |
| Citation | 217 Pa.Super. 20,268 A.2d 237 |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania v. Larry J. McDANIEL, Appellant. |
| Court | Pennsylvania Superior Court |
Gerald E. Ruth, York, for appellant.
Harold N. Fitzkee, Jr., Dist. Atty., Gary M. Gilbert, Asst. Dist. Atty., York, for appellee.
Before WRIGHT, P.J., and WATKINS, MONTGOMERY, JACOBS, HOFFMAN, SPAULDING and CERCONE, JJ.
Appellant was convicted by a jury of aggravated assault and battery with intent to ravish. Following the trial, one of the jurors brought to the attention of the judge that during deliberations in the above matter, another juror had displayed to the panel a copy of the trial list for that session prepared by the District Attorney. That list indicated that in addition to the case being tried before them, appellant was charged with two other unrelated crimes.
The jurors were then called into a conference room and were deposed on this issue. As a result of the conference with the court, counsel questioned the jurors as to their awareness of the presence of the trial list. Several of the jurors admitted that they were aware that appellant was charged with other crimes during their deliberation as a result of this trial list. Nonetheless, the lower court denied appellant's motion for a new trial and entered judgment. This appeal followed.
The question in this case, therefore, is whether the judge should have granted a new trial as a result of the potential prejudice of the trial list.
It is clear that '(p)roof which shows or tends to show that the accused is guilty of a commission of other crimes and offenses at other times is incompetent and inadmissible.' Commonwealth v. Free, 214 Pa.Super. 492, 495, 259 A.2d 195, 197 (1969). Cf. Commonwealth v. Bruno, 215 Pa.Super. 407, 258 A.2d 666 (1969); Commonwealth v. Allen, 212 Pa.Super. 314, 242 A.2d 901 (1968); Commonwealth v. Trowery, 211 Pa.Super. 171, 235 A.2d 171 (1967).
Our decision in Commonwealth v. Free, supra, is particularly relevant here. In Free, seven of the twelve jurors had earlier participated in a voir dire in another prosecution against Free. They had, possibly, informed other members of the jury of this fact. We held that in such circumstances, where the potential prejudice was so great and the court was without opportunity to eliminate it, a new trial should be granted.
Similarly here, the trial list which indicated that appellant was accused of committing other crimes might well have prejudiced him by predisposing the jurors to believe the accused guilty, thus, effectively stripping him of the presumption of innocence.
The Commonwealth seeks to minimize the prejudice by arguing that the trial list was taken to the jury room without the knowledge or consent of court or counsel and that much of the information contained therein was available to the public generally.
The argument has perhaps been best answered by the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Marshall v. United States, 360...
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...v. Bobko, 453 Pa. 475, 309 A.2d 576 (1973); Commonwealth v. Trapp, 217 Pa.Super. 384, 272 A.2d 512 (1972); Commonwealth v. McDaniel, 217 Pa.Super. 20, 268 A.2d 237 (1970). See also Commonwealth v. Pierce, 451 Pa. 190, 303 A.2d 209 cert. denied, 414 U.S. 878, 94 S.Ct. 164, 38 L.Ed.2d 124 (19......
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...otherwise made aware of a defendant's criminal record, Commonwealth v. Bobko, 453 Pa. 475, 309 A.2d 576 (1973); Commonwealth v. McDaniel, 217 Pa.Super. 20, 268 A.2d 237 (1970). See also, Commonwealth v. Dukes, 460 Pa. 180, 331 A.2d 478 (1975); Commonwealth v. Rose, --- Pa.Super. ---, 401 A.......
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...prejudiced. This Court granted a new trial. See Commonwealth v. Trapp, 217 Pa.Super. 384, 272 A.2d 512 (1972); Commonwealth v. McDaniel, 217 Pa.Super. 20, 268 A.2d 237 (1970). In Commonwealth v. Pierce, supra, highly prejudicial and inflammatory news articles concerning Pierce's alleged con......
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