Commonwealth v. Mason

518 A.2d 282, 358 Pa. Super. 562, 1986 Pa. Super. LEXIS 12871
CourtSupreme Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedNovember 5, 1986
Docket1110, 1154, 1158, 1216, 1266, and 1275
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 518 A.2d 282 (Commonwealth v. Mason) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Mason, 518 A.2d 282, 358 Pa. Super. 562, 1986 Pa. Super. LEXIS 12871 (Pa. 1986).

Opinion

DEL SOLE, Judge:

The procedural history of this case reveals that on June 13, 1979, the Philadelphia County Investigating Grand Jury of November 29, 1978 issued indictments charging each of *566 the six Appellants with the following criminal offenses arising from two separate firebombing incidents of Philadelphia residences on December 3,1977: three separate counts of murder; 1 two separate counts of arson, endangering persons and endangering property; 2 causing a catastrophe and risking a catastrophe; 3 and criminal conspiracy. 4

Pursuant to the Investigating Grand Jury Act (the Act), 5 a probable cause hearing was scheduled but thereafter continued pending disposition of Appellants’ motions to quash which challenged the constitutionality of the Act for failure to provide a preliminary hearing following indictment. The motions were subsequently denied. However, since the Legislature had amended the Act to provide for a preliminary hearing after indictment, such a hearing was conducted at the conclusion of which Appellants were held for trial on all charges. Appellants also filed motions to dismiss based on alleged prosecutorial misconduct during the grand jury proceedings. These motions were denied.

Following the denial after hearing of Appellants’ suppression motions, a jury trial commenced on June 12, 1980. On June 27, 1980, guilty verdicts were returned on all counts against all Appellants with the exception of Appellant Smith. Appellants Jones, Mason and Ford were found guilty of first degree murder whereas Appellants Lamar and Miller were convicted of second degree murder. A mistrial was declared as to Appellant Smith because the jury was deadlocked. On retrial however, Smith too was found guilty on all counts and specifically second degree murder.

*567 Post-trial motions were filed and denied. Each Appellant was sentenced to consecutive terms of life imprisonment for the three murder convictions and consecutive sentences of imprisonment imposed for the other convictions. Timely appeals from the judgments of sentence were filed, consolidated, and are presently before this Court for review. 6

A summary of the relevant facts indicates that on the evening of December 8, 1977, members of the “Taylor Street” gang prepared to retaliate for the firebombing of a members home by the rival “Pierce Street” gang. Appellant Ford reportedly phoned the home of Fitzgerald Lawrence telling him to purchase some gasoline. Present at the Lawrence home, and on an extension phone was Alex Harper. Ford told Harper to obtain bottles sufficient for firebombs. Shortly thereafter, Ford and other members of the Taylor Street gang arrived at the Lawrence home. It was alleged that the members included Appellants Smith, Lamar, Miller, and Jones. Ford gave Lawrence keys to a car in order to obtain gasoline while Lawrence’s brother Tyrone along with Harper and another individual, Keith Woodward, prepared for the arrival of the gasoline by obtaining bottles and tearing rags. Lawrence returned and the four filled six to ten “Colt 45” bottles with gas and placed rags into the bottlenecks. Ford reportedly then directed Lawrence to drive Lamar and an unidentified male to 2809 Mountain Street. Two other cars apparently went *568 to a Gadson residence at 1380 Bancroft Street. Both homes were firebombed. At the Bancroft Street address, a woman and two children died in the fire. The Mountain Street residence failed to ignite as the bottle failed to break.

After grand jury indictment, Harper, Woodward, and both Lawrence brothers agreed to testify on behalf of the Commonwealth in return for favorable sentencing consideration on related crimes.

At trial, Fitzgerald Lawrence testified concerning the events of December 3, 1977 as well as to a conversation with Appellant Mason while both were incarcerated for unrelated crimes after the firebombings. Lawrence testified that Mason had admitted his participation in the firebombings.

Initially it is noted that:

[o]ne must either file post-verdict motions within ten days under Pa.R.Crim.P. 1123(a) or seek permission to file post-verdict motions nunc pro tunc under the Post Conviction Hearing Act as required by Pa.R.Crim.P. 1123(f). As we recently reiterated in Commonwealth v. Jackson, 336 Pa.Super. 609, 623, 486 A.2d 431, 439 (1984), “[o]ur Court will review only those issues which have been properly preserved for review, i.e., errors which have been raised specifically in written post-trial motions pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 1123(a).”

Commonwealth v. Rosko, 353 Pa.Super. 307, 310, 509 A.2d 1289, 1290 (1986).

Additionally, “[w]e have not considered oral presentation adequate to preserve the issue since Commonwealth v. Blair, [460 Pa. 31, 331 A.2d 213 (1975)]”.... Commonwealth v. Gravely, 486 Pa. 194, 198 n. 1, 404 A.2d 1296 n. 1 (1979). “The only exception to this strict enforcement of the terms of Rule 1123(a) is the situation where an appellant, after failing to file proper motions, submits a brief raising alleged error and the post-verdict court, without objection, disposes of the appeal on the basis of the merits of the issues belatedly raised.” Commonwealth v. Bil *569 hardt, 269 Pa.Super. 95, 98, 409 A.2d 81, 82 (1979). This exception does not exist for cases in which post-verdict motions were filed after September 4, 1979. Id., 269 Pa.Superior Ct. at 95 n. 1, 409 A.2d at 82 n. 1.

Our review of the record fails to locate any written post-trial motions on behalf of Appellant Ford. He does not qualify for an exception to this rule and we therefore conclude that the issues which he attempts to raise at this time are not preserved for review and the judgment of sentence as to Appellant Ford is affirmed.

Appellants first contend the trial court erred in excluding any reference to the psychiatric history of Fitzgerald Lawrence, either through cross-examination or by independent medical testimony.

[t]he crucial determination that a trial judge must make in ruling on the admissibility of evidence of a witness’s mental instability is whether it is related to the subject of the litigation or whether it affects the testimonial ability of the witness so as to impeach him.* The evidence can be said to affect the credibility of a witness when it shows that his mental disorganization in some way impaired his capacity to observe the event at the time of its occurrence, to communicate his observations accurately and truthfully at trial, or to maintain a clear recollection in the meantime. See Commonwealth v.

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Bluebook (online)
518 A.2d 282, 358 Pa. Super. 562, 1986 Pa. Super. LEXIS 12871, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-mason-pa-1986.