Commonwealth v. Erie, 361 Pa. Superior Ct. 44

Summary

The Pennsylvania Superior Court held that the defendant was denied effective assistance of counsel when trial counsel failed to preserve an issue concerning the exclusion of the complainant's juvenile court records and court orders. The court concluded that the evidence was relevant to potential bias or motive to fabricate and that its exclusion violated the defendant's confrontation rights. The judgment of sentence was vacated and the case was remanded for a new trial.

Holdings

1. Evidence of a witness's possible motive to fabricate or bias is admissible notwithstanding an interest in protecting the witness's juvenile privacy when exclusion would deny the accused effective cross-examination.
2. Trial counsel was ineffective for failing to preserve in post-trial motions the meritorious claim that exclusion of the complainant's Juvenile Court records and orders denied Erie effective cross-examination.

Questions Presented

1. Whether trial counsel was ineffective for failing to preserve an objection to the exclusion of the complainant's Juvenile Court record and court orders relevant to a possible motive to fabricate.
2. Whether exclusion of the complainant's juvenile records and court orders violated Erie's Sixth Amendment right of confrontation and Article I, Section 9 of the Pennsylvania Constitution.
3. Whether the judgment of sentence should be vacated and the case remanded for a new trial.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded