Opinion
246 MDA 2023 J-S43038-23
06-14-2024
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA Appellant v. THOMAS EUGENE MCGOWAN
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37
Appeal from the Order Entered January 12, 2023 In the Court of Common Pleas of Bradford County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-08-CR-0000610-2022
BEFORE: McLAUGHLIN, J., KING, J., and COLINS, J. [*]
MEMORANDUM
COLINS, J.
The Commonwealth appeals from the order of the Court of Common Pleas of Bradford County ("trial court") granting the petition for writ of habeas corpus filed by Appellee, Thomas Eugene McGowan, and dismissing the charges against Appellee. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.
On August 15, 2022, the Commonwealth charged Appellee with possession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, and possession of drug paraphernalia related to two incidents where Appellee allegedly sold heroin to a confidential informant ("CI") in June 2022. At the September 21, 2022 preliminary hearing in this matter, the Commonwealth presented the testimony of Bradford County Detective Michael Lamanna, who had training with drug investigations, including the use of CIs. N.T., 9/21/22, at 2-4.
35 P.S. §§ 780-113(a)(16), (a)(30), and (a)(32), respectively.
Detective Lamanna testified that, on an unspecified date in June 2022, he met with a CI with the goal of conducting a pre-arranged controlled buy of heroin from Appellee at an apartment building at 925 South Main Street in Towanda Township, where Appellee resided. Id. at 4-5, 9. According to Detective Lamanna, the CI was searched for contraband before entering the apartment and was then provided with $100 of pre-recorded buy money. Id. at 5. Detective Lamanna transported the CI to an area close to the target location, and the detective watched the CI walk down the driveway for 925 South Main Street. Id. at 5, 9. Shortly after the CI arrived at that building, Detective Lamanna observed Appellee show up at the building. Id. at 11. Upon returning to Detective Lamanna's vehicle, the CI handed the detective a bag of suspected heroin; the CI was later searched, and the pre-recorded buy money was not discovered on the CI's person. Id. at 5-7. Detective Lamanna testified that the CI informed him that the heroin was purchased from Appellee. Id. at 7, 10. Although Detective Lamanna visually confirmed that the substance that was purchased appeared to be heroin, the laboratory test results had not been received as of the date of the preliminary hearing. Id. at 6-7.
The CI did not testify at the preliminary hearing. At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, the magisterial district judge bound the charges over for trial. Id. at 17.
Appellee filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the trial court asserting that the Commonwealth failed to establish a prima facie case of the identity of the individual who sold heroin to the CI when it relied solely on the hearsay testimony of Detective Lamanna. The Commonwealth filed a responsive brief, in which it argued that it had presented sufficient evidence that the crimes were committed and that Appellee had committed them. The Commonwealth asserted that it held a well-recognized qualified privilege to withhold the identity of its confidential source and that it had no duty to disclose the identity in this case where the defendant had not even requested to reveal the CI's identity. The Commonwealth further asserted that, if the trial court determined that the CI's identity should be disclosed, the Commonwealth would make the CI available to testify at a hearing on the habeas petition.
The trial court granted the habeas petition in a January 12, 2023 order. In an accompanying opinion, the trial court relied on Commonwealth v. Harris, 269 A.3d 534 (Pa. Super. 2022) ("Harris I"), aff'd __A.3d__, 2024 WL 2120894 (Pa., filed May 13, 2024), in which this Court held that, pursuant to Rule of Criminal Procedure 542(E), the Commonwealth is precluded "from relying on hearsay alone at a preliminary hearing to establish a prima facie case that the defendant committed a crime." Id. at 548. In rejecting the Commonwealth's argument that it was not required to divulge the CI's identity in order to prevail at the preliminary hearing, the trial court stated that "[a]lthough the Commonwealth has a qualified privilege to withhold the identity of a confidential source, said privilege does not extend to not presenting non-hearsay evidence in support of material elements of a crime at a preliminary hearing." Trial Court Opinion, 1/12/23, at 6.
The Commonwealth then filed this timely appeal, in which it raises the following two issues:
Although the charges were dismissed by the trial court without prejudice, we nevertheless have jurisdiction over this appeal. See Harris I, 269 A.3d at 538-39 (citing Commonwealth v. Merced, 265 A.3d 786, 790-91 (Pa. Super. 2021)).
A. Did the Suppression Court err in granting the Writ of Habeas Corpus on the grounds/reasoning of Harris/McClelland?
B. Did the Suppression Court err in finding that the Commonwealth did not present a prima facie case at the preliminary hearing?Commonwealth Brief at 3 (lower court answers and suggested answers omitted).
See Commonwealth v. McClelland, 233 A.3d 717 (Pa. 2020). In McClelland, our Supreme Court held that, under Pa.R.Crim.P. 542(E), the Commonwealth may not rely exclusively on hearsay evidence to establish a prima facie case against a defendant at the preliminary hearing. Id. at 734-36.
"[A]n appellate court will review a grant or denial of a petition for writ of habeas corpus for abuse of discretion, but for questions of law, our standard of review is de novo, and our scope of review is plenary." Commonwealth v. Harris, __A.3d__, 2024 WL 2120894, at *5 (Pa., filed May 13, 2024) ("Harris II"). Here, we are presented with a question of law regarding the evidentiary sufficiency of the Commonwealth's prima facie case. Commonwealth v. Sutton, __A.3d__, 2024 WL 1163627, at *2 (Pa. Super., filed March 19, 2024). "We review a decision to grant a pre-trial petition for a writ of habeas corpus by examining the evidence and reasonable inferences derived therefrom in a light most favorable to the Commonwealth." Commonwealth v. Dantzler, 135 A.3d 1109, 1111 (Pa. Super. 2016) (en banc).
"At a preliminary hearing, the Commonwealth bears the burden of proving the prima facie case, which is met when it produces evidence of each of the material elements of the crime charged and establishes probable cause to warrant the belief that the accused committed the offense." Sutton, 2024 WL 1163627, at *3 (quoting Commonwealth v. Wroten, 257 A.3d 734, 742 (Pa. Super. 2021)); see also Pa.R.Crim.P. 542(D) ("At the preliminary hearing, the issuing authority shall determine from the evidence presented whether there is a prima facie case that (1) an offense has been committed and (2) the defendant has committed it."). "The evidence supporting a prima facie case need not establish the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, but must only demonstrate that, if presented at trial and accepted as true, the judge would be warranted in permitting the case to proceed to a jury." Sutton, 2024 WL 1163627, at *3 (quoting Wroten, 257 A.3d at 742). Under Rule 542(E),
Hearsay as provided by law shall be considered by the issuing authority in determining whether a prima facie case has been established. Hearsay evidence shall be sufficient to establish any element of an offense, including, but not limited to, those
requiring proof of the ownership of, non-permitted use of, damage to, or value of property.Pa.R.Crim.P. 542(E).
To the extent Rule 542(E) uses the term hearsay, it should be understood as referring only to inadmissible hearsay, i.e. an out-of-court statement offered for the truth of the matter asserted that does not fall under a hearsay exception. See Harris II, 2024 WL 2120894, at *6 n.8. Hearsay, as used in this memorandum, also refers only to inadmissible hearsay.
In its first issue, the Commonwealth argues that the trial court erred in dismissing the charges against Appellee in the "unique situation" here where it relied on the hearsay testimony of a CI at the preliminary hearing. Commonwealth Brief at 11-12. The Commonwealth states that it enjoys the qualified privilege to protect the CI, whose identity is known only to law enforcement at this time. While conceding that the privilege is not absolute, the Commonwealth asserts that it exists until the defendant makes a motion to disclose and prevails on that motion; here, Appellee has not even made such a request. The Commonwealth notes the policy rationale underlying the qualified privilege and states that upholding the trial court's ruling here would "resonate throughout" the law enforcement community and "the frequency and willingness of CIs to work with law enforcement would" be greatly diminished. Id. at 13.
In order to overcome the qualified privilege, "a defendant must first establish, pursuant to [Pa.R.Crim.P.] 573(B)(2)(a)(i), that the information sought is material to the preparation of the defense and that the request is reasonable." Commonwealth v. Ellison, 213 A.3d 312, 316 (Pa. Super. 2019) (citation omitted). "Only after the defendant shows that the identity of the confidential informant is material to the defense is the trial court required to exercise its discretion to determine whether the information should be revealed by balancing relevant factors, which are initially weighted toward the Commonwealth." Id. (citation omitted).
The Commonwealth distinguishes Harris I and the cases upon which it relies, including McClelland, as they involve the interpretation of 2013 amendments to Rule 542, see Harris I, 269 A.3d at 542, and did not address the qualified privilege that long predated the amendments under review in those cases. The Commonwealth contrasts Harris I, which involved the testimony of a shooting victim who failed to appear at two preliminary hearing listings and may never appear at trial, id. at 537, from the present case, where the Commonwealth avers that it remains in contact with the CI and has every intention of calling that individual to testify at trial.
This Court recently addressed this precise issue, on very similar facts, in Sutton. In that case, a detective testified at the preliminary hearing that, on two occasions, he verified that there were no drugs or money on a CI's person, supplied the CI with pre-recorded buy money, observed the CI enter and exit Sutton's residence, and the CI then handed over suspected methamphetamine with no other contraband or money found on their person. 2024 WL 1163627, at *1. The detective then repeated the CI's out-of-court statement to him that Sutton was the individual who sold the methamphetamine. Id. After the charges were bound over, the trial court granted Sutton's habeas petition and dismissed the charges pursuant to Harris I. Id. at *2.
We reversed, distinguishing Harris I on the basis that it did not involve the use of a CI and holding that our earlier decision "does not vitiate jurisprudence that has promoted an accountable, prescribed system recognizing a qualified privilege of keeping informants' identities confidential and permitting use of their statements to law enforcement at preliminary hearings." Id. at *4. We stated that Harris I does not represent "a sweeping, policy-changing holding that would undo" the qualified privilege at the preliminary hearing stage of the proceedings, recognizing that "such a result would hamper the effects of law enforcement to enforce the laws against the illegal use of controlled substances." Id. at *5-6.
We concluded in Sutton that the trial court erred by granting the habeas petition, a ruling that effectively required the Commonwealth to disclose the CI's identity at the preliminary hearing, particularly where "the Commonwealth certified with the trial court that the CI will be produced at trial" and Sutton "had not established at the preliminary hearing that the qualified privilege rubric required disclosure" of the CI's identity. Id. at *4; see also id. at *6-7. We additionally noted that the Commonwealth had established a "connection" between Sutton and the controlled buys where the detective testified at the preliminary hearing that he had witnessed the CI enter Sutton's residence possessing only pre-recorded buy money and exit possessing only methamphetamine. Id. at *6.
Subsequent to our decision in Sutton and the briefing of this appeal, our Supreme Court issued its decision affirming Harris I. The Court held in Harris II that,
based on the plain language of Rule 542, [] inadmissible hearsay alone may not be used to prove a prima facie case as to the defendant's identity. This means the Commonwealth at a preliminary hearing is required to produce some non-hearsay or admissible hearsay evidence to sustain its prima facie burden as to the defendant's identity.Harris II, 2024 WL 2120894, at *8. Like this Court's decision, Harris II did not address our qualified privilege jurisprudence. Nor does Harris II represent "a sweeping, policy-changing holding that would undo" the qualified privilege, Sutton, 2024 WL 1163627, at *6, as our Supreme Court's decision was confined to a textual analysis of the interplay between Rule 542(D) and (E). Therefore, we conclude that Harris II does not impair our holding in Sutton providing that the Commonwealth is permitted to rely on the out-of-court statements of a CI as related to a law enforcement officer.
Harris II was a divided decision, and the lead opinion only carried a majority to the extent it was based upon "an examination of the plain text of Rule 542" and not to the extent it "justifie[d] its conclusion for reasons other than the text of Rule 542." 2024 WL 2120894, at *8 (Donohue, J., concurring).
Accordingly, pursuant to Sutton, we conclude that the trial court erred in determining that the Commonwealth did not present a prima face case merely because it relied on hearsay testimony of Detective Lamanna regarding Appellee's involvement in the delivery of heroin. The Commonwealth produced other, non-hearsay evidence at the preliminary hearing, including Detective Lamanna's testimony that he searched the CI before entering and upon exiting the apartment and found that the CI had obtained heroin while inside the apartment during the controlled buy. Furthermore, Detective Lamanna provided non-hearsay testimony establishing Appellee as the perpetrator of the crimes, including his knowledge that Appellee resided at 925 South Main Street and the detective's observation of Appellee arriving at that property shortly after the CI arrived. Cf. Harris II, 2024 WL 2120894, at *8 (providing that the Commonwealth may not rely on "inadmissible hearsay alone . . . to prove a prima facie case as to the defendant's identity"). Finally, as in Sutton, the Commonwealth states that it will produce the CI at trial.
Therefore, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, see Dantzler, 135 A.3d at 1111, we conclude that the evidence was sufficient to establish a prima facie case that Appellee committed the charged offenses. See Sutton, 2024 WL 1163627, at *6-7; Commonwealth v. Strope, No. 249 MDA 2023, 2024 WL 1715348, at *3 (Pa. Super., filed April 22, 2024) (holding, under Sutton, that trial court erred when ruling that Commonwealth had failed to establish a prima facie case that Strope committed controlled substance offenses where Commonwealth relied on detective's hearsay testimony repeating CI's statement that Strope sold drugs to CI in addition to non-hearsay evidence establishing Strope's identity as the wrongdoer and Commonwealth represented that CI would testify at trial) (non-precedential decision cited for its persuasive value, see Pa.R.A.P. 126(b)).
Because Appellee only challenged the issue of whether the Commonwealth's proof was sufficient to establish his identity as the individual who committed the crimes in his habeas petition, we need not address whether the Commonwealth presented sufficient evidence to establish each of the elements of the three charged crimes. See Harris II, 2024 WL 2120894, at *5-6 (observing that Rule 542(D) places on the Commonwealth "dual" and "independent" burden at a preliminary hearing to "'prove a prima facie case' both with respect to the elements of the crimes and the defendant's identity") (quoting Pa.R.Crim.P. 542(D); emphasis in original).
Order reversed. Case remanded. Jurisdiction relinquished.
Judgment Entered.
[*] Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.