Commonwealth v. Paxton

821 A.2d 594, 2003 Pa. Super. 125, 2003 Pa. Super. LEXIS 528
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedMarch 27, 2003
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 821 A.2d 594 (Commonwealth v. Paxton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior 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. Paxton, 821 A.2d 594, 2003 Pa. Super. 125, 2003 Pa. Super. LEXIS 528 (Pa. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

OPINION BY

TAMILIA, J.:

¶ 1 William Benjamin Paxton appeals the July 9, 2001 judgment of sentence of two consecutive terms of life imprisonment without parole, plus an additional twenty (20) to forty (40) years imprisonment, imposed after a jury found him guilty of two counts first degree murder,1 two counts robbery,2 two counts abuse of corpse3 and one count each of criminal conspiracy4 and carrying a firearm without a license.5 Appellant shot his victims, who had been lured to the scene to purchase drugs, execution-style in the back of the head. Appellant and his co-defendant, Craig Alan Hairston, in an attempt to destroy evidence, then burned the victims’ car and bodies.

¶ 2 Appellant first argues his right to appeal has been impeded by the unexplained disappearance of one of four audiotapes on which he gave statements to the police. The tapes were entered into evidence and played for the jury but were not transcribed in the notes of testimony. Now, on appeal, appellant argues the tapes [596]*596should have been suppressed due to their coercive nature, but his avenue of redress has been hampered because one of the four tapes, number four (4), is missing and is unable to be located despite efforts by both the defense and the prosecution. Appellant concedes, however, that he does possess a transcript of the missing tape.6 He argues that the absence of the actual audiotape, however, precludes him from proving the existence of voice inflections and certain background noises that would establish the statement was coerced. Appellant argues

a dry transcript by its very nature cannot provide an equivalent picture when there is so much information that may be gleaned from outside the parameters of the mere words that were spoken. Vocal inflections and background noises could provide important and objective clues regarding the circumstances surrounding the interrogation. For instance, the audio tape could give indications of the physical exhaustion present in the voice of the person giving the statement. A tape would also demonstrate the tone of voice used by police detectives during the questioning. These clues to what actually transpired in the interrogation room can never be part of that same occurrence.
These aural clues are relevant to a determination of whether the statement given was done so through the free and unconstrained choice of the maker.

Appellant’s brief at 24. On the basis that the fourth audiotape is unable to be located, thereby impeding his appellate rights, appellant argues he is entitled to a new trial.

¶ 3 The cases relied upon by appellant involve situations in which the transcript of the proceedings has been unavailable. See Commonwealth v. Shields, 477 Pa. 105, 383 A.2d 844 (1978); Commonwealth v. Goldsmith, 452 Pa. 22, 304 A.2d 478 (1973); Commonwealth v. Homsher, 264 Pa.Super. 271, 399 A.2d 772 (1979); Commonwealth v. Dixon, 253 Pa.Super. 383, 385 A.2d 391 (1978); Commonwealth v. Fisher, 247 Pa.Super. 187, 372 A.2d 1 (1977). None of these cases presents a situation such as that with which we are now faced. Accordingly, we must consider generally what is necessary for “meaningful appellate review” to occur.

In order to ensure a defendant’s right to meaningful appellate review, this Court requires that he or she be furnished a full transcript or other equivalent picture of the trial proceedings. With this in mind, it is settled law that in order for a defendant to establish entitlement to relief based on the incompleteness of the trial record, he must first make some potentially meritorious challenge which cannot be adequately reviewed due to the deficiency in the [record].

Commonwealth v. Marshall, 571 Pa. 289, 812 A.2d 539, 551 (2002). Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure 1923, Statement in Absence of Transcript, states, in pertinent part, “if no report of the evidence or proceedings at a hearing or trial was made, or if a transcript is unavailable,'” the parties may agree to a statement of the proceeding as they best recollect. (Emphasis added.)

¶ 4 The jury, sitting as the trier of fact, is charged with evaluating and weighing not only the evidence presented but also the credibility of the witnesses. See Commonwealth v. Riley, 811 A.2d 610 [597]*597(Pa.Super.2002). The witnesses’ credibility may be assessed by the content of the testimony and the manner in which it is presented, e.g., did the witness “appear” forthright in his demeanor and delivery. It is not the role of an appellate court, however, to pass on the credibility of witnesses or to act as the trier of fact, and an appellate court will not substitute its judgment for that of the fact-finder. Commonwealth v. Lutes, 793 A.2d 949 (Pa.Super.2002).

115 This Court is never privy to live courtroom presentations of testimony but relies on trial transcripts of the proceedings. There is a purpose to that rule; were it otherwise, we could be swayed by witness demeanor, voice inflections, body movements, sighs of frustration, sorrow, joy or pain, thereby logically and improperly placing us in the unenviable and improper position of fact-finder. Our constitution identifies the jury, or in the case of a bench trial, the judge, as the assessor of credibility and fact. This same logic prevents us from finding merit to appellant’s argument he is denied his appellate rights by the Commonwealth’s (and his) inability to produce the actual audiotape of the statement made by him to the police. The suggested “exhaustion” that may be able to be identified in the appellant’s voice, and/or the “frustration” or “threatening tones” purportedly audible in the officers’ voices, are not for this Court’s ears. Those factors are for the trier of fact. The jury in this case heard all of the tapes with the various inflections, tones and background noises and chose what weight, if any, to place on them. We find, therefore, given this reasoning and the existence of a transcribed copy of the taped interview, the parties’ inability to produce one of four actual audiotapes does not preclude meaningful appellate review or violate appellant’s direct appeal rights. A new trial is not warranted on this basis.

¶ 6 In the alternative, appellant argues the tapes should have been suppressed as the statements he made to police, “were obtained under such coercive circumstances that appellant’s will was overborn [sic] and the statements were thereby rendered involuntarily made.” Appellant’s brief at 81. The inculpatory statements, according to appellant, were the result of psychological coercion. Appellant contends police “hounded” him over the course of two days, from 9:00 a.m.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
821 A.2d 594, 2003 Pa. Super. 125, 2003 Pa. Super. LEXIS 528, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-paxton-pasuperct-2003.