Commonwealth v. Evans

Summary

The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed Khalilh Jafar Evans’s judgment of sentence for false imprisonment of a minor. The court rejected challenges to the removal and ex parte questioning of a deliberating juror, the jury instruction defining substantial interference with liberty, and the sufficiency of the evidence. Evans was sentenced to three and one-half to ten years of imprisonment and required to register as a Tier I sex offender.

Holdings

1. The trial court acted within its sound discretion in removing Juror No. 8 after determining that she was refusing to continue deliberating in accordance with the court's instructions and replacing her with an alternate juror.
2. Evans waived his claim that the ex parte questioning of Juror No. 8 violated his right to counsel because he did not make a timely and specific objection in the trial court.
3. The jury instruction adequately and accurately explained the substantial-interference element of false imprisonment and was not confusing or prejudicial.
4. The evidence was sufficient to establish that Evans knowingly restrained the minor unlawfully so as to interfere substantially with her liberty under 18 Pa.C.S. § 2903(b).

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by removing Juror No. 8 during deliberations and replacing her with an alternate juror after she stated that she no longer wished to discuss the case.
2. Whether the trial court's ex parte questioning of Juror No. 8 violated Evans's right to counsel at a critical stage of the proceedings.
3. Whether the trial court gave a confusing or legally inadequate jury instruction concerning the requirement that the restraint interfere substantially with the complainant's liberty.
4. Whether the evidence was sufficient to prove false imprisonment of a minor under 18 Pa.C.S. § 2903(b).

Disposition

affirmed