Commonwealth v. Merkel

15 Pa. D. & C.3d 428, 1980 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 367
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Berks County
DecidedAugust 20, 1980
Docketno. 78077501-6
StatusPublished

This text of 15 Pa. D. & C.3d 428 (Commonwealth v. Merkel) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Berks County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Merkel, 15 Pa. D. & C.3d 428, 1980 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 367 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1980).

Opinion

ESHELMAN, J.,

— At the conclusion of the trial in the instant case a jury found defendant guilty of homicide by vehicle1 and recklessly endangering another person,2 and the court found defendant guilty of racing on highways3 and reckless driving.4 Written motions for a new trial and in arrest of judgment were timely filed and subsequently briefed and argued. For the reasons set forth below defendant’s motions are denied.

. Looking at the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict winner we find that on June 22, 1978, shortly before 5:30 p.m., defendant was driving a blue Chevrolet Nova southbound on the Pricetown Road, a two lane public highway located in Berks County, Pa. At the intersection of Route 73 and the Pricetown Road (popularly known as Breezy Corners) a white Chevrolet Nova, operated by one Kevin C. Caruso, pulled up behind defendant and proceeded to follow him. Both drivers then accelerated their vehicles to a speed of 80-85 miles per hour and proceeded to race on the highway in tandem.

Approximately 1.4 miles south of Breezy Corners the two drivers, still traveling at high speeds, [430]*430mounted a small hill and came upon one Bonnie L. Trainer as she was driving her Maverick automobile out of a private driveway and onto the southbound lane of the Pricetown Road. Defendant applied his brakes and veered to the left, i.e., northbound, lane in an attempt to avoid impact; however, this manuever occurred as Ms. Trainer was entering the northbound lane and the two cars collided. The force of the collision pushed Ms. Trainer’s vehicle back into the southbound lane where it was struck by Mr. Caruso’s Nova approximately one second later. Ms. Trainer died as a result of this accident.

Defendant first argues that his rights under Com. v. Campana, 452 Pa. 233, 304 A. 2d 432 (1973) (Campana I), vacated and remanded, 414 U.S. 808 (1973), on remand, 455 Pa. 622, 314 A. 2d 854 (1974) (Campana II), cert. denied, 417 U.S. 969 (1974), and sections 109 and 110 of the Crimes Code, 18 Pa.C.S.A. §§109 and 110, have been violated. We disagree.

Campana I held that a prosecutor must bring in a single proceeding all known charges against a defendant arising from a single criminal episode. Campana II held that this rule is based upon the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s supervisory powers. The Campana rule has been implemented by section 110 of the Crimes Code. See Com. v. Erisman, 247 Pa. Superior Ct. 476, 372 A. 2d 925 (1977); Com. v. Green, 232 Pa. Superior Ct. 134, 335 A. 2d 493 (1975). In essence, Campana and section 110 set forth a rule of compulsory joinder of offenses: Com. v. Splain, 242 Pa. Superior Ct. 503, 364 A. 2d 384 (1976).

The record before us reveals that a criminal complaint was filed on July 5, 1978 charging defendant [431]*431with two misdemeanors and three summary offenses. On August 2, 1978 the summary offense of driving too fast for conditions5 was dismissed by the district justice at the close of the preliminary hearing. The remaining charges were bound over for trial. All the offenses that arose from the accident involving defendant and Ms. Trainer were consolidated and charged pursuant to one criminal complaint. No additional charges were ever brought against defendant. Under the facts of the case at bar the purpose of Campana and section 110 has been complied with, viz., “to protect the private citizen from harassment and oppression through repeated efforts by authorities to obtain a conviction, and to protect society’s interest in avoiding piecemeal litigation of criminal cases which drains judicial and professional resources.” Com. v. Thornton, 247 Pa. Superior Ct. 94, 97-98, 371 A. 2d 1343, 1345 (1977). We conclude that defendant’s argument on this point is without merit.

Defendant contends that the trial court erred in refusing defendant’s request to charge the jury that expert testimony is of a “low grade.” The testimony in question is that of Corporal Robert M. Flannigan who testified at trial as an expert on automobile skid marks.

“Opinion evidence is correctly.classified as low grade’ in situations where the expert testifies not from personal observation but expresses an opinion in response to a hypothetical question. . . . The same classification is warranted where the expert’s opinion, based on theoretical assumptions, is rebutted by direct evidence. . . .” Com. v. Thomas, 448 Pa. 42, 51, 292 A. 2d 352, 357 (1972) (citations [432]*432omitted); Com. v. Jackson, 481 Pa. 426, 392 A. 2d 1366 (1978). Corporal Flannigan arrived on the scene shortly after the accident had,occurred. He personally measured the skid marks left on the Pricetown Road by defendant’s vehicle and he testified about these marks at trial. The defense offered Mrs. Janice Gail Care, defendant’s mother, who photographed these same marks the day after the accident but gave no testimony to rebut any of Corporal Flannigan’s findings. Therefore, this case lacks the basis needed before a “low grade” evidence instruction may be given to the jury. There was no error in denying defendant’s request for said change.

Defendant maintains that the trial judge erred in refusing to admit an allegedly exculpatory declaration. This declaration was an oral motion, made by an assistant district attorney at the prehminary hearing in this case, to dismiss the summary offense of driving too fast for conditions. The trial court refused to allow this statement into evidence.

The decision whether to admit or exclude evidence is within the sound discretion of the trial court: Com. v. Hart, 479 Pa. 84, 387 A. 2d 845 (1978). We think the statement was properly excluded on the grounds that it was irrelevant and lacked probative value. Its admission would only have confused the jury. Cases cited to us by defendant in support of his argument deal with , either prosecutorial misconduct or inculpatory statements made by witnesses prior to trial. These cases are factually distinguishable from the case at bar and do not dissuade ús from the conclusion that no error was committed.

Defendant assigns as error the trial judge’s instruction to the jury on the summary offense of [433]*433racing on the highways.6 Additionally, defendant claims the court should not have found him guilty of this offense. The argument on both points is predicated, in part, upon the Commonwealth’s failure to show that defendant did not have a permit to race on the Pricetown Road: 75 Pa.C.S.A. §3367(c).

Section 3367(c) of the Vehicle Code reads: “The department or local authorities within their jurisdiction may issue permits for special activities which would otherwise be prohibited by this section.” This subsection does not set forth an element that must be proved — or disproved — by the Commonwealth in this case. Our conclusion is buttressed by the rule of construction of criminal statutes set forth in Com. v. Neal, 78 Pa. Superior Ct. 216, 219 (1922):

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Related

Commonwealth v. Erisman
372 A.2d 925 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1977)
Commonwealth v. Morris
407 A.2d 1350 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1979)
Commonwealth v. Stoffan
323 A.2d 318 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1974)
Commonwealth v. Jackson
392 A.2d 1366 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1978)
Commonwealth v. Hart
387 A.2d 845 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1978)
Commonwealth. v. Green
335 A.2d 493 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1975)
Commonwealth v. Campana
304 A.2d 432 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1973)
Commonwealth v. Sojourner
408 A.2d 1108 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1979)
Commonwealth v. Dandar
378 A.2d 319 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1977)
Commonwealth v. Thornton
371 A.2d 1343 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1977)
Commonwealth v. Thomas
292 A.2d 352 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1972)
Commonwealth v. Splain
364 A.2d 384 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1976)
Commonwealth v. Campana
314 A.2d 854 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1974)
Commonwealth v. Neal
78 Pa. Super. 216 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1922)

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Bluebook (online)
15 Pa. D. & C.3d 428, 1980 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 367, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-merkel-pactcomplberks-1980.