Commonwealth v. Miller

4 Pa. D. & C.4th 652, 1989 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 140
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lancaster County
DecidedJune 8, 1989
Docketno. 901 of 1988
StatusPublished

This text of 4 Pa. D. & C.4th 652 (Commonwealth v. Miller) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lancaster County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Miller, 4 Pa. D. & C.4th 652, 1989 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 140 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1989).

Opinion

PEREZOUS, J.,

Presently before the court are the post-trial motions of defendant, Charles Walter Miller, to his convictions for rape, 18 Pa.C.S. §3121; statutory rape, 18 Pa.C.S. §3122; incest, 18 Pa.C.S. §4302; corruption of minors, 18 Pa.C.S. §6301; and indecent assault, 18 Pa.C.S. §3126.

Defendant has advanced three reasons to support his motion in arrest of judgment and five reasons to support his motion for a new trial. Defendant has briefed only two of the reasons supporting his motions. Therefore, pursuant to local rule 31 the reasons which have not been briefed by defendant are waived.

[653]*653On August 9, 1988, an omnibus pretrial motion was filed by defendant which included a motion to dismiss and a motion in limine. The commonwealth answered both of these motions. On August 22, 1988, the court in an order by the Honorable Louis J. Farina denied the motion in limine. On September 7, 1988, the court, under an order issued in open court by the writer of this opinion, denied the motion to dismiss. On September 8, 1988, pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. §3104, defendant presented “defendant’s offer of evidence of victim’s sexual conduct.” After argument on the record this offer was refused.

The commonwealth alleged at trial that on one occasion during July or August 1985, defendant sexually assaulted his 12-year-old daughter, Christy Miller. Defendant attempted to introduce a statement by the victim made after September.1985 to her sister, Veena Miller, that she had had sex with a boyfriend after September 1985 and it was her first sexual experience. Defendant claimed that the statement impeached the victim’s credibility since it was evidence that the victim had sex with no one during the summer of 1985. Defendant was therefore contradicting the victim’s assertion that she had sexual intercourse with her father during the summer of 1985. The commonwealth objected to the introduction of the statement and this objection was sustained.

In rebuttal the commonwealth introduced statements made by the victim to two of her friends. In each of these statements the victim said to her friends that her father had had sexual intercourse with her. The commonwealth contended that these statements were admissible as prior consistent statements which tended to bolster the victim’s credibility. Defendant’s objection that the statements were inadmissible hearsay was overruled.

[654]*654ISSUES

The first issue is whether the Rape Shield Statute, 18 Pa.C.S. §3104, prohibited the introduction of the victim’s statement to her sister that she had sexual relations with a boyfriend in September 1985 and it was her first time. On September 8, 1988, Mr. Boyd, defense counsel, and Ms. White, assistant district attorney, were in the judge’s chambers when the following occurred:

THE COURT: Let’s go on the record. There has been filed by counsel for the defendant an offer of evidence of the victim’s sexual conduct whereby Charles Miller would offer testimony by another of his daughters, Veena,, V-e-e-n-a, that the victim, her sister, Christy Miller, admitted to her that she, Christy, had sexual relations with a boy her age and it was her first time.

Thése relations taking place approximately in September of 1985.

Now, Mr. Boyd, do you wish to elaborate at all on that?

MR. BOYD: Yes. Well, it’s the defense’s position that the testimony would come in either on cross-examination of the victim, Christy Miller, or on the defense’s case in chief.

The sole purpose for which is to permit the jury to determine the credibility of the victim when — as to the time that this offense took place.

It would be our contention that if the testimony comes in and the testimony is that this incident with Christy and the boy her own age took place in or after September 1985 and the jury were to find or were to believe that this indeed was her first sexual encounter of this nature, that they would not be inclined to believe that she had a sexual relationship [655]*655with her father prior to that and it would be for that purpose that we would offer this testimony.

THE COURT: All right, Miss White?

MS. WHITE: It would be the commonwealth’s position that there was an in camera hearing held that the victim would testify that, in fact, this conversation did take place; that, in fact, she did say yes to the question, I had sex for the first time and that she would go on to explain that she did not consider being sexually abused by her father from the time she was a little girl as the same thing as having voluntarily and consensual sexual intercourse with someone that she has feeling for and wanted to participate with.

Consequently, that negates any inconsistent statement that the defense would want to raise any issue of credibility and would leave that evidence only in to show the moral turpitude of the victim, which is directly against the rape shield statute.

THE COURT: Off the record for a moment.

(Discussion off the record.)

THE COURT: Back on the record. I have reviewed Commonwealth v. Black at 331 Pa. Super. 548[, 487 A. 2d 396 (1985)] and based on the motion and offer of proof as has been stated, the court determines that they are not sufficient on their faces to show — to reveal — strike to reveal — to impeach the credibility of the prosecutrix and certainly not to reveal a specific bias against the defendant or a motive to falsely accuse the defendant.

Furthermore, the court also determines that the introduction of the proffered evidence by the defendant constitutes a collateral issue which would likely —which would be likely to distract the jury. And the court thereby refuses the offer of proof. MR. BOYD: Off the record.

(Discussion held off the record.)

[656]*656MR. BOYD: Then, Your Honor, defense would like the opportunity to present testimony during its case in chief as to the conversation alluded to earlier and argue at that time, out of the presence of the jury, or in chambers, that the sexual experience about which Veena Miller had a conversation with her sister, Christy Miller, took place after the time of the relationship between Christy and her father, the defendant in this case, and we would at that point argue then that this is not past sexual conduct as that term is used in section 3104 of the Crimes Code but that it is conduct which occurred after the date of the contacts between the defendant and his daughter, Christy, and therefore, would not come within the parameters of the rape shield statute.

And I would then make a point, if we demonstrated that, to proceed to reopen this issue.

THE COURT: All right. The record is protected to that extent and your course of action can be determined by the evidence that’s introduced in behalf of the commonwealth. Okay, Now, off the record.

The introduction into evidence of Christy Miller’s statement and her explanation of that statement would have had three consequences. The first would have been to cast doubt upon the credibility of the victim’s statement that defendant had had sexual relations with her in July/August 1985. The second would have been to introduce evidence of another sexual experience of the victim. The third would have been to introduce additional and possibly myriad allegations of sexual abuse of the victim by defendant.

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Related

Commonwealth v. Gore
396 A.2d 1302 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1978)
Commonwealth v. Wilson
148 A.2d 234 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1959)
Commonwealth v. Griffin
515 A.2d 865 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1986)
Commonwealth v. Black
487 A.2d 396 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1985)
United States ex rel. Jackson v. Martin
361 U.S. 844 (Supreme Court, 1959)
Gordon v. Rhay
361 U.S. 845 (Supreme Court, 1959)

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Bluebook (online)
4 Pa. D. & C.4th 652, 1989 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 140, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-miller-pactcompllancas-1989.