 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Commonwealth v. Boczkowski3/23/2004
ence is inadmissible. The Rule defines an excited utterance as: "A statement relating to a startling event or condition made while the declarant was under the stress of excitement caused by the event." In Commonwealth v. Stallworth, 781 A.2d 110, 119-20 (Pa. 2001), this Court held that for a statement to be considered an excited utterance, it must be made spontaneously and without opportunity for reflection:
spontaneous declaration by a person whose mind has been suddenly made subject to an overpowering emotion caused by some unexpected and shocking occurrence, which that person has just participated in or closely witnessed, and made in reference to some phase of that occurrence which he perceived, and this declaration must be made so near the occurrence both in time and place as to exclude the likelihood of its having emanated in whole or in part from his reflective faculties.... Thus, it must be shown first, that [the declarant] had witnessed an event sufficiently startling and so close in point of time as to render her reflective thought processes inoperable and, second, that her declarations were a spontaneous reaction to that startling event. Commonwealth v. Stokes, 532 Pa. 242, 615 A.2d 704, 712 (1992), quoting Commonwealth v. Green, 487 Pa. 322, 409 A.2d 371, 373-74 (1979).
In Commonwealth v. Pronkoskie, 383 A.2d 858, 862-63 (Pa. 1978), this Court further held that there is no clear-cut rule as to the time sequence required for a statement to qualify as an excited utterance, but rather that fact-specific determination is to be made on a case-by-case basis.
Here, Maple testified that Todd's statement was made spontaneously and not in response to any question from her. It is certainly reasonable to presume that a five-year-old child's hearing his mother screaming would be a shocking experience. As to the delay in time, Todd was taken from his bed in the middle of the night and put to bed in his neighbor's home where he awoke early the next morning. While eating breakfast with Maple and his siblings, he stated, unsolicited, that he had heard his mother screaming loudly in the bathroom and his father told him to leave the bathroom. Given that the child spent the lapse in time sleeping, it is unlikely that his statement was affected by reflection or any outside influences. In addition, the evidence that Elaine had died in the bathtub corroborated that the child was in a position to see and hear the event that he related to Maple. Commonwealth v. Counterman, 719 A.2d 284, 299 (Pa. 1998). Thus, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding that the statement was admissible as an excited utterance.
Appellant next claims that the trial court erred in refusing to allow cross-examination of Detective James Cvetic as to alleged prior acts of misconduct. The scope of cross-examination is a matter left to the sound discretion of the trial court, and the trial court's rulings will not be disturbed absent an abuse of discretion. Commonwealth v. Harris, 817 A.2d 1033, 1056 (Pa. 2003) (citing Commonwealth v. Rizzuto, 777 A.2d 1069, 1081 (Pa. 2001)). Here, appellant sought to introduce evidence that, in an unrelated 1996 homicide case, Detective Cvetic had failed to turn over evidence because he was aware that the District Attorney is required to disclose such evidence to the defense. Appellant argues that this evidence was relevant in this case because Detective Cvetic had discarded a sample of water taken from appellant's hot tub and evidence from the prior case would have demonstrated a course of conduct on the part of the detective toward capricious, illegal and/or arbitrary conduct. The trial court disallowed the evidence, finding it collateral and irrelevant. Common
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Pennsylvania DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|