Commonwealth v. Reid

642 A.2d 453, 537 Pa. 167, 1994 Pa. LEXIS 166
CourtSupreme Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedMay 24, 1994
Docket93 E.D. Appeal Docket 1991
StatusPublished
Cited by131 cases

This text of 642 A.2d 453 (Commonwealth v. Reid) 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. Reid, 642 A.2d 453, 537 Pa. 167, 1994 Pa. LEXIS 166 (Pa. 1994).

Opinions

OPINION OF THE COURT

CAPPY, Justice:

We have before us an automatic direct appeal from the Judgment of Sentence of death and consecutive terms of imprisonment imposed upon Appellant, Anthony Reid, by the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County.1 Sentence was imposed following the jury’s verdict that Appellant had, beyond a reasonable doubt, committed murder of the first degree, carried a firearm without a license, and possessed an instrument of crime. On the record before us, we affirm the judgments of sentence imposed by the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Criminal Division.

In December 1989, Appellant was initially brought to trial on all of the charges made against him in connection with the death of a young man named Mark Lisby. The jury in that trial found Appellant guilty of criminal conspiracy,2 but was unable to reach a verdict on the remaining charges. On retrial, Appellant was convicted of murder of the first degree,3 carrying a firearm without a license,4 and possessing an instrument of crime.5 A separate penalty hearing was held regarding the murder conviction. The jury found one aggravating circumstance,6 and no mitigating circumstances, and fixed Appellant’s penalty at death. Appellant was immediately sentenced to death by the trial court,7 and sentencing on the remaining counts was deferred pending the receipt of post-[172]*172trial motions, which were subsequently filed, argued and denied.

Thereafter, Appellant was sentenced to two and one-half to five years imprisonment on the possession of an instrument of crime count, and two and one-half to five years imprisonment on the carrying a firearm without a license count, both to run consecutive to each other and the sentence of death. In addition, Appellant was sentenced to five to ten years imprisonment on the criminal conspiracy count, consecutive to all other sentences, based upon his conviction of that offense at his earlier trial on December 9, 1989. It is the judgment of sentence imposed for criminal conspiracy at Appellant’s first trial, together with the judgments of sentence imposed on retrial of the remaining charges, that are currently before this Court.

As in all cases where we affirm the judgment of sentence of death, this Court must conduct an independent review of the sufficiency of the evidence on the charge of murder in the first degree without regard to whether the Appellant has challenged his convictions on that ground. Commonwealth v. Zettlemoyer, 500 Pa. 16, 26-27 n. 3, 454 A.2d 937, 942 n. 3 (1982), cert. denied, 461 U.S. 970, 103 S.Ct. 2444, 77 L.Ed.2d 1327 (1983), reh’g denied, 463 U.S. 1236, 104 S.Ct. 31, 77 L.Ed.2d 1452 (1983). The test for establishing sufficiency is whether the evidence, and all reasonable inferences deducible therefrom, viewed in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth as verdict-winner, are sufficient to establish all the elements of the offenses beyond a reasonable doubt. Commonwealth v. Rhodes, 510 Pa. 537, 510 A.2d 1217 (1986). The evidence presented by the Commonwealth clearly satisfies this test. A synopsis of the case sub judice, as competently described by the trial court, is essentially as follows.

On July 9,1988, Mark Lisby, the victim, took approximately Five-Hundred Dollars worth of “caps” (cocaine capsules) from his nephew Terrance Lisby. The next day, Mark Lisby informed Terrance Lisby that he had used the “caps” and did [173]*173not have the money to pay him. Terrance Lisby worked for Lawrence Boston, and both of these men were attempting to obtain membership in the Junior Black Mafia (“JBM”). Lawrence Boston and Terrance Lisby were working for Kevin Bowman, who was a member of the JBM. Once Mark Lisby realized that Kevin Bowman would be angry about the missing drugs, he met with Kevin Bowman to explain the situation and offered to replace the lost income the following week.

On or about July 11, 1988, Lawrence Boston, who had not been paid, appeared at the doorway of the Lisby household located at 2444 North Stanley Street in Philadelphia. He was accompanied by the Appellant, Anthony “Tone Bey” Reid, who was a member of the JBM. After a brief conversation, Mark Lisby, Appellant and Lawrence Boston left the house and began walking west on Cumberland Street. As the three men approached the intersection of Cumberland Street and 31st Street, Appellant, Anthony Reid, shot Mark Lisby once in the center of his chest, once in the upper right chest just beneath the collar bone, and once in the back of his right leg. Mark Lisby died as a result of these gunshot wounds.

Through appellate counsel, Appellant asserts numerous claims of error and prejudice during his trial. We will address these claims seriatim.

First, Appellant claims that the trial court committed a constitutional violation, an error of law, or abused its discretion by precluding Appellant from utilizing county funds to obtain a particular psychologist as a mitigation expert in the penalty phase of his trial.

The record reveals that Appellant was provided with psychological examinations and adjudged competent to stand trial. Upon his conviction of murder in the first degree, he sought to present the testimony of Dr. Gerald Cook during the penalty phase of his trial for purposes of mitigation. Dr. Cook’s fee for testifying would have been $1,000. The trial court determined that Appellant did not have a constitutional right to choose a particular psychiatric advocate, and offered Appellant an opportunity to be examined by a neutral court-appointed [174]*174psychiatrist. See Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68, 105 S.Ct. 1087, 84 L.Ed.2d 53 (1985). The trial court had access to other psychiatrists who were employed by the city on contract from Temple University Hospital, and who were available to perform the examination. Appellant refused this offer.

We perceive no constitutional violation, error of law, or abuse of discretion in the trial court’s decision in this instance. The trial court did not preclude Appellant from being examined by a psychologist for purposes of mitigation. It merely precluded the excessive use of public funds for Appellant to hire his own particular psychologist. Under these circumstances, Appellant’s constitutional rights were not violated, and the interest of an accurate disposition was preserved. Id.

Second, Appellant claims that the trial court committed a constitutional violation, an error of law, or abused its discretion by informing the jury, that under the law of this Commonwealth, a minor reaches majority upon attaining the age of 18 years, and that the United States Supreme Court has upheld a sentence of death for defendants as young as age sixteen.

Appellant was twenty years of age when he lolled Mark Lisby. The record reveals that Appellant’s age was presented to the jury as a mitigating circumstance during the penalty phase in accordance with 42 Pa.C.S.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
642 A.2d 453, 537 Pa. 167, 1994 Pa. LEXIS 166, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-reid-pa-1994.