For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 12
Commonwealth v. Yale 1
ave you had a case with evidence that someone
other than your client might be the doer?2
Have
and
" The Other Dude Did It " Defense
H
you wondered how to get that evidence admitted
showing that " the other dude did it, " and therefore your
client is not guilty? This is a fairly common experience that,
until recently, presented the defense with a complicated
path to admission of that evidence.
Now, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Commonwealth
has simplified that process for us. All we need do
is to show that the evidence of the other person's guilt
is relevant to our defense, and secondly that it is not
excludable.
v. Yale,3
" We hold that evidence of a third person's guilt offered
by a defendant is admissible if it is relevant pursuant to
Pa.R.E. 401 and not otherwise excludable pursuant to
Pa.R.E. 403. " 4
In other words, whenever there is evidence that someone
other than the client may have committed the offense at
issue, that evidence will be subject to the normal rules
of relevance, to wit: Rule 401 - does it tend to make the
12 For The Defense l Vol. 6, Issue 3
Isla Fruchter
existence of any fact more or less likely? This is, of course,
subject to the limiting factors of Rule 403 - the evidence
will be excluded if the probative value of the third person
guilt evidence is outweighed by any danger of " confusing
the issues, misleading the jury, undue delay, wasting time,
or needlessly presenting cumulative evidence. "
Notice that " unfair prejudice " is not a factor in this
balancing test as it would normally be in Rule 403 or
in Rule 404(b). As the Court explains, prejudice and
the constitutional requirements of Due Process are not
symmetrical for defendants and the Commonwealth. Only
the Commonwealth has the duty and burden to prove the
defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. And the
defendant, whose liberty is at stake, has the constitutional
right to present a complete defense.5
The Court rejected the Superior Court's (and the
Commonwealth's) test for admissibility of third-party
evidence. They each described a level of equivalence for the
defense and the Commonwealth, based on an erroneous
reading of Rule 404(b). However, based on the Yale Court's
holding, no longer must the evidence proffered by the
http://www.pacourts.us/assets/opinions/Supreme/out/J-73-2020mo%20-%20104761822133996364.pdf?cb=1
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3
Contents
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 1
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 2
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - Contents
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 4
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For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 6
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