Commonwealth v. Stufflet

419 A.2d 124, 276 Pa. Super. 120, 1980 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2179
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedMarch 14, 1980
Docket1986
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 419 A.2d 124 (Commonwealth v. Stufflet) 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. Stufflet, 419 A.2d 124, 276 Pa. Super. 120, 1980 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2179 (Pa. Ct. App. 1980).

Opinions

HOFFMAN, Judge:

Appellant contends, inter alia,1 that the lower court improperly (1) admitted prejudicial statements allegedly made by appellant about sale of marijuana; and (2) permitted the verdicts to be recorded despite a lack of unanimity among the jurors. We agree with appellant’s second contention and, accordingly we reverse and remand.

While walking her dog on July 13, 1977, the victim, a 14-year-old girl, encountered appellant who was standing [123]*123on the porch of the home of her neighbor and friend, Jeffrey Keenan. She had seen appellant only once previously, when he had asked her for directions a few hours earlier at her home. Appellant called to the victim and the two engaged in a conversation on the porch steps. Appellant then asked the victim whether she used marijuana. As the conversation continued, appellant suddenly and violently grabbed the victim and carrier her into the Keenan home. Appellant forced the victim into a first floor bedroom and sexually assaulted her. She escaped shortly thereafter, however, by kneeing appellant in the groin and running out the back door.

Appellant was tried before a jury on charges of indecent assault2 and attempted rape.3 When the jury returned from its deliberations, the foreman announced guilty verdicts on both charges. Appellant’s counsel then requested a poll of the jury. Juror number one affirmed the guilty verdict as to attempted rape but stated that she found appellant “Not guilty, innocent” on the charges of indecent assault. Colloquies conducted with the juror both in chambers and in open court elicited from her statements that appellant was guilty of indecent assault as well as statements that he was not guilty of that charge. The trial judge nonetheless ordered [124]*124that the verdict slip containing guilty verdicts on both charges be recorded. After denial of his posttrial motions, appellant took this appeal.

Appellant contends first that the lower court erred in allowing the prosecutor to refer to and the victim to testify to her conversation with appellant just before the time regarding marijuana. The victim’s testimony was as follows:

A. [The victim:] Well, I was taking my dog down past Jeffrey Keenan’s house and a man calling attracted my attention, and I turned around and walked up to the step.

Q. What steps were these?

A. The steps to the porch in front of Jeffrey Keenan’s house.

Q. Did you have any conversation with Mr. Stufflet on the steps of Mr. Keenan’s home?

A. Yes.
Q. What was the conversation you had with Mr. Stufflet?

A. Terry said, “Do you smoke pot,” and I said, “No.” He goes, “Do you know anybody who does,” and I said “No.”

Mr. Eshelman: I’m going to object Your Honor. The same objection I made at side bar previously.

The Court: Same ruling.

By Mr. Welz: Q. Continue please.

A. Then he said, “Do you know anybody that smokes it,” and I said “No.” He said, “Could you sell some for me” and I said, “No.”

Mr. Eshelman: Can I have a continuing objection to this, Your Honor?

The Court: You do.

N.T., November 15, 1977.

Evidence imputing prior criminal conduct to the defendant is generally admissible only where its probative [125]*125value outweighs its prejudicial effect. See, e. g., Commonwealth v. Williamson, 243 Pa.Super. 139, 144, 364 A.2d 488, 491 (1976). More specifically, however, our Supreme Court has held that “such evidence is admissible where ‘such prior conviction or criminal act formed a part of a chain, or was one of a sequence of acts, or became part of the history of the event on trial, or was part of the natural development of the facts.’ ” Commonwealth v. Brown, 462 Pa. 578, 591, 342 A.2d 84, 90 (1975) (quoting Commonwealth v. Williams, 307 Pa. 134, 148, 160 A. 602, 607 (1932)). “This is often classified as proving a part of the ‘same transaction’ or the ‘res gestae.’ ” Commonwealth v. Stevens, 237 Pa.Super. 457, 463, 352 A.2d 509, 512 (1975) (citing McCormick, Evidence § 190, at 448 (2d ed. 1972)). Thus, in Stevens, where appellant was charged with robbery, we held admissible testimony that appellant had raped the victim prior to the robbery. We stated that the evidence of the rape “was properly admitted under the ‘same transaction’ exception because it was an integral part of the immediate context of events surrounding the alleged robbery.” Id., 237 Pa.Super. at 464, 352 A.2d at 513.

In the case at bar, appellant’s references to sale of marijuana occurred during the conversation which immediately preceded the criminal incident in issue. Were the victim precluded from stating these facts, she could not clearly have described the events leading up to the crime. In these circumstances, the implication of other criminal conduct by appellant constituted an aspect of the “res gestae” of the crime in question. The evidence was needed to complete the story of the crime. Moreover, the prejudicial effect of this evidence was not so great as to outweigh the legitimate purpose for which it was admitted. Appellant did not explicitly admit to sale or purchase of marijuana, and the jury could reasonably have inferred that his statements were made only to attract the attention of the victim. In addition, the crime referred to in the allegedly prejudicial remarks differed completely from the crimes charged and was not so prejudicial as the rape to which the victim was permitted to testify in Stevens. We therefore conclude that [126]*126the value of the challenged testimony in clarifying the victim’s narrative of the crime outweighed the prejudicial effect of the passing reference to sale of marijuana. See Commonwealth v. Williamson, 243 Pa.Super. 139, 144, 364 A.2d 488, 491 (1976). Thus, the lower court did not err in admitting the victim’s testimony or in permitting the prosecutor to refer to that admissible testimony in his opening remarks to the jury.4

Appellant further contends that the verdict slip should not have been recorded because the verdict was not unanimous as evidenced by the contradictory responses of juror number one upon being polled. We agree. After her initial response, the following colloquy with juror number one occurred.

(in chambers)

THE COURT: Have a seat. Mrs. Baldwin, when you were called individually, when you were polled as you were, you stated guilty on the charge of attempted rape but not guilty on the charge of indecent assault. Is that the way you intended?

MRS. BALDWIN: Yes.

THE COURT: How do you intend it to be?

MRS. BALDWIN: Guilty on both ways.

THE COURT: All right.

[ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY]: Did she sign the verdict slip?

THE COURT: Yes, she signed the verdict slip.

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Commonwealth v. Stufflet
419 A.2d 124 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1980)

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Bluebook (online)
419 A.2d 124, 276 Pa. Super. 120, 1980 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2179, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-stufflet-pasuperct-1980.