Com. v. Muller, T. ( 2019 )

J-S51021-18
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
:
v. :
:
:
TERRY MICHELLE MULLER, :
:
Appellant : No. 203 EDA 2018
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence December 14, 2017
In the Court of Common Pleas of Pike County Criminal Division at No(s):
CP-52-CR-0000567-2016
BEFORE: DUBOW, J., NICHOLS, J., and FORD ELLIOTT, P.J.E.
MEMORANDUM BY NICHOLS, J.: FILED MAY 24, 2019
Appellant Terry Michelle Muller appeals from the judgment of sentence
imposed after a jury found her guilty of unlawful restraint, false imprisonment,
endangering the welfare of children, simple assault, and harassment.1
Appellant claims that the trial court erred when overruling her objection to the
Commonwealth’s late disclosure of text messages and videos recovered from
her cellphone. We affirm.
Because the parties are familiar with the facts giving rise to Appellant’s
convictions, we do not restate them here. It suffices to note that an
investigation began when Appellant’s adopted daughter (Complainant) ran
away from home on January 20, 2015. Complainant, who was thirteen years
____________________________________________
1 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 2902(c)(1), 2903(c), 4304(a)(1), 2701(a)(1), 2701(a)(3),
2709(a)(1), and 2709(a)(3), respectively.
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old at that time, was found the following morning and reported that Appellant
and her husband (Codefendant) mistreated her.2
On August 2, 2016, Appellant was charged with offenses related to her
mistreatment of Complainant, and on August 5, 2016, was taken into custody.
Appellant remained in custody until November 2017, when she and
Codefendant proceeded to a joint jury trial.
We summarize the trial record relevant to this appeal. At the end of
testimony on the second day of trial, Appellant’s counsel objected to the
Commonwealth calling a witness to testify about an extraction of data from
Appellant’s phone. N.T., 11/16/17, at 118. Appellant’s counsel noted that an
investigator had downloaded the entire contents of Appellant’s phone to a
flash drive, but only printed out a “six or seven-line text message from the
thousands that were in there.” Id.
The following morning, the trial court held a conference with counsel.
See N.T., 11/17/17, at 5-15. During the conference, the Commonwealth
explained that the Pennsylvania State Police initially seized Appellant’s phone
on February 3, 2016, when executing a search warrant. An investigator
extracted the contents of Appellant’s phone to a flash drive and then returned
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2 Codefendant’s appeal is considered in a companion decision at 558 EDA
2018, J-S51022-18. A more complete summary of the trial evidence is set
forth in that decision.
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Appellant’s phone to Codefendant on February 10, 2016.3 The Commonwealth
asserted that it was entitled to admit the entire contents of Appellant’s phone
because the Appellant and Codefendant were in actual possession of
Appellant’s phone.
Appellant’s counsel responded that Appellant and Codefendant lost
Appellant’s phone when their home was sold at a tax sale and noted that
criminal charges against her were not filed until August of 2016. Appellant’s
counsel emphasized that the defense requested discovery, and that in
response, the Commonwealth provided them with two text messages found
on Appellant’s phone. Appellant’s counsel asserted that the Commonwealth’s
failure to provide information about the remaining contents of Appellant’s
phone violated its duty to disclose material information before trial.
The Commonwealth presented three arguments in support of its proffer.
First, the Commonwealth asserted that because Appellant had equal access to
the phone, it was under no obligation to disclose the entire contents of
Appellant’s phone or identify all of the materials it intended to use at trial.4
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3 The “Lantern System” was used to extract all of the data from Appellant’s
phone. The Lantern System also produced a report of the data recovered from
Appellant’s phone. The contents of Appellant’s phone and the accompanying
report were placed onto a flash drive. See N.T., 11/17/17, at 18-20. The
flash drive was included in the record transmitted to this Court.
4 The Commonwealth cited Commonwealth v. Maldonodo, 173 A.3d 769(Pa. Super. 2017) (en banc), to support its arguments based on “equal
access.”
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Second, the Commonwealth suggested that Appellant was aware that the
Pennsylvania State Police extracted the contents of her phone, but did not file
a motion requesting copies of the extracted data. Third, the Commonwealth
questioned Appellant’s assertions that Appellant lost her phone, noting, in
part, that Appellant’s counsel used photographs from Appellant’s phone during
cross-examination of the Commonwealth’s witnesses.5
The trial court overruled Appellant’s objections, and the Commonwealth
presented testimony regarding the entire contents of Appellant’s phone and
an extraction report. The Commonwealth moved into evidence the flash drive
containing a copy of the entire contents of Appellant’s phone as Exhibit 21.
Additionally, the Commonwealth played nine videos recovered from
Appellant’s phone during its case-in-chief and used some of the videos during
its closing argument.6
____________________________________________
5 Appellant responded that the photographs she used during cross-
examination were produced and preserved for a prior dependency proceeding
involving Complainant.
6 Our review reveals that the videos documented Appellant verbally
disciplining Complainant in a harsh tone. Two of the videos show Complainant
eating ramen noodles with her fingers while Appellant is heard talking to
Complainant. In addition to playing the videos during its case-in-chief, the
Commonwealth replayed some of the videos during its closing arguments.
Appellant did not object to the specific publication or testimony regarding any
of the videos or the Commonwealth’s use of the videos at trial, and has not
identified the specific portions the Commonwealth played at trial.
The record does not indicate whether the Commonwealth provided Appellant
with copies of the flash drive, the extraction report, or the specific videos
before presenting them at trial.
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Appellant and Codefendant testified in their own defense. They denied
abusing, mistreating, or depriving Complainant of any necessities or comforts.
They admitted placing restrictions on Complainant, but asserted that those
restrictions were necessary in light of Complainant’s mental health and
behavioral issues.7 Appellant’s biological children also testified for the
defense.
On November 20, 2017, the jury found Appellant guilty of all charges.
On December 14, 2017, the trial court sentenced Appellant to an aggregate
term of 68 to 156 months’ imprisonment.
Appellant timely filed a notice of appeal and complied with the trial
court’s order to submit a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) statement. The trial court filed a
Rule 1925(a) opinion addressing its decision to admit the text messages and
videos as follows:
At trial, Appellant objected, essentially in the form of a motion in
limine, to the Commonwealth’s introduction of certain specific text
messages and of portions of videos, featuring Appellant and
[Complainant], obtained from . . . Appellant’s cell phone. The cell
phone was seized pursuant to a search warrant executed by the
state police. Detective Christian Robinson testified that he was
contacted by Corporal Smith to run a forensic extraction on
Appellant’s cell phone. He also testified as to how the data was
obtained from Appellant's cell phone using the Lantern software
system. He testified that the extraction report was performed on
February 8, 2016. He testified that the extraction process would
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7 Appellant claimed that a therapist suggested that she take videos to show
Complainant’s defiant and aggressive demeanor, because Complainant did not
display those traits during therapy sessions. See N.T., 11/20/17, at 21.
Appellant stated that she showed the videos to the therapist. Id.-5-
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have no effect on or alter the contents of the cell phone in any
way. He testified that the contents of the reports generated by the
Lantern software system would be an exact replica of the contents
of the cell phone. He testified that after he had completed the
forensic extraction, he returned the cell phone in its original state
to Corporal Smith. Finally, he testified that he copied the reports
generated by the Lantern software system in their entirety onto
the flash drive used by the Commonwealth at trial. The cell phone
was returned to [Codefendant] on February 10, 2016.
Appellant argues on appeal that the Commonwealth should have
been precluded from introducing the entire contents of the cell
phone into evidence at trial because it did not provide the data to
Appellant during discovery. At trial, the Commonwealth argued
that . . . Appellant was and is still actually in possession of the
cell phone and therefore, its contents were admissible. Appellant
argued that she has not possessed that cell phone since her arrest
on August 5, 2016. Appellant has been incarcerated since that
time, and her home has since been sold at tax sale. Appellant
further argued that, since criminal charges were not filed until
August 5, 2016, she was not on notice of pending charges or the
obligation to preserve any relevant information.
In Brady v. Maryland, the United States Supreme Court held
that “the suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to
an accused upon request violates due process where the evidence
is material either to guilt or to punishment, irrespective of the
good faith or bad faith of the prosecution.” 373 U.S. 83, 87
(1963). There are three components Brady violation: 1) the
evidence at issue must be favorable to the accused either because
it is exculpatory or it is impeaching, 2) the evidence must have
been suppressed by the State, either willfully or inadvertently, and
3) prejudice must have ensued.
The Commonwealth has no duty to provide evidence in a form that
the defendant demands for the convenience of the defense.
Commonwealth v. Robinson, 122 A.3d 367, 373 (Pa. Super.
2015). “If the Commonwealth is secure from a post-trial Brady
challenge on the grounds that the evidence was disclosed and
accessible to defense counsel, it cannot simultaneously be
precluded from entering portions of that evidence due to sheer
speculation that counsel, despite that equal access, would
presumptively fail to examine that material.” [Maldonodo, 173
A.3d at 783-84 (footnote omitted)]. . . .
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The thumb drive contained the entire contents of Appellant’s cell
phone; therefore, when the phone was returned to [Codefendant]
by the state police on February 10, 2016, the evidence was equally
available to Appellant. The evidence was no longer in the
“exclusive control” of the Commonwealth. This is not an issue of
the Commonwealth’s constitutional duty of disclosure. It was
known to Appellant that the Commonwealth had the entire
contents of Appellant[’s] cell phone well before trial commenced.
The cell phone was in Appellant[’s] possession from February 10,
2016 until August 5, 2016.
During trial, the Commonwealth noted that discovery was
provided to Appellant on January 24, 2017. Appellant did not file
a motion to compel or specifically request that the Commonwealth
disclose the extraction report and/or the entire contents of the
thumb drive. Furthermore, based on Detective [Christian]
Robinson’s testimony as to the extraction process, the contents of
the cell phone were not altered in any way before it was returned
to [Codefendant]. [Codefendant] himself picked up the cell phone
from the state police, and therefore, the evidence was disclosed
and accessible to Appellant and counsel.
Once the Commonwealth had put the entire contents of the thumb
drive into evidence, Appellant was free to display other text
messages and play other videos and/or parts of videos previously
published by the Commonwealth for the jury’s consideration.
Trial Ct. Op., 3/13/18, at 3-5.
Appellant raises the following issues on appeal:
[1]. The trial court abused its discretion by allowing into evidence
the contents of a flash drive holding the entire contents of the
Appellant’s cell phone, consisting of thousands of text messages,
photographs, and video, on the Commonwealth’s assertion that
the Appellant had access to the contents of the cell phone, over
the Appellant’s objection, without conducting a fact-finding
hearing to determine the truth of the Commonwealth’s assertion.
[2]. The failure of the trial court to determine the facts as to
whether the Appellant did have access to her cell phone after the
commencement of this prosecution before ruling on Appellant’s
objection to the introduction of undisclosed evidence was an abuse
of discretion as the trial court had no factual basis on which to
make its ruling.
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Appellant’s Brief at 10. Because Appellant’s issues are closely related, we
address them together.
Appellant argues that under Pa.R.Crim.P. 573(B)(1), the
Commonwealth had a mandatory obligation to disclose the entire contents of
Appellant’s phone once Appellant filed a general request for discovery. Id. at
17-18. According to Appellant, the videos were material. Appellant notes that
the Commonwealth, during trial and closing argument, “selected and played
for the jury nine videos . . . carefully selected from the many” contained on
the phone. Id. at 17. Appellant claims that because the Commonwealth
disclosed two text messages in response to her request for discovery, the
Commonwealth implied that the remaining data on Appellant’s phone was not
material. Id. at 17.
Appellant also asserts that the trial court erred in accepting the
Commonwealth’s arguments in support of its proffer. First, Appellant
contends there were insufficient facts for the trial court to determine that she
had equal access to the contents of the phone. Id. at 18. Appellant
emphasizes that she lost the phone. Second, Appellant disputes the
Commonwealth’s suggestion that Appellant’s counsel should have requested
copies of the information recovered from the phone. Id. at 19. Third,
Appellant argues that the Commonwealth misled the trial court into believing
she still had the phone. Id. at 20-21.
As to prejudice, Appellant notes that “[t]he videos were more in the
nature of demeanor evidence than substantive evidence, in that they showed
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[her] in a poor light, angry and raising her voice at [Complainant], rather than
establishing or corroborating any of the elements of the crimes charged.” Id.
at 21. Appellant contends that the videos were a significant part of trial
because she elected to testify and her credibility was at issue. Id. Appellant
adds that the late disclosure of the videos prevented her from developing a
defense and presenting evidence in response to the videos.8 Id. at 22.
In sum, Appellant contends that the Commonwealth acted in bad faith
when it failed to disclose the entire contents of Appellant’s phone before trial.
Appellant, therefore, claims that the trial court should have excluded the
contents of her phone as a sanction for the Commonwealth’s discovery
violation. Id. at 20.
“Decisions involving discovery matters are within the sound discretion
of the trial court and will not be overturned absent an abuse of that discretion.”
Commonwealth v. Santos, 176 A.3d 877, 882 (Pa. Super. 2017) (citation
and quotation marks omitted), appeal denied, 189 A.3d 986 (Pa. 2018). “An
abuse of discretion is not merely an error of judgment, but is rather the
overriding or misapplication of the law, or the exercise of judgment that is
manifestly unreasonable, or the result of bias, prejudice, ill-will or partiality,
as shown by the evidence of record.” Id. (citation and quotation marks
omitted).
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8Appellant does not raise any arguments that the presentation of the text
messages resulted in prejudice.
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The purpose of the discovery rules is to prevent a trial by ambush that
violates a defendant’s right to due process. Commonwealth v. Ulen, 650
A.2d 416, 419 (Pa. 1994) (discussing the prior version of Pa.R.Crim.P. 573).
Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 573 provides, in relevant, part:
(B) Disclosure by the Commonwealth.
(1) Mandatory. In all court cases, on request by the defendant,
and subject to any protective order which the Commonwealth
might obtain under this rule, the Commonwealth shall disclose
to the defendant’s attorney all of the following requested items
or information, provided they are material to the instant case.
The Commonwealth shall, when applicable, permit the
defendant’s attorney to inspect and copy or photograph such
items.
(a) Any evidence favorable to the accused that is material
either to guilt or to punishment, and is within the possession
or control of the attorney for the Commonwealth;
* * *
(e) any results or reports of scientific tests, expert opinions,
and written or recorded reports of polygraph examinations
or other physical or mental examinations of the defendant
that are within the possession or control of the attorney for
the Commonwealth; [and]
(f) any tangible objects, including documents, photographs,
fingerprints, or other tangible evidence[.]
* * *
(2) Discretionary With the Court.
(a) In all court cases, except as otherwise provided in Rules
230 (Disclosure of Testimony Before Investigating Grand
Jury) and 556.10 (Secrecy; Disclosure), if the defendant
files a motion for pretrial discovery, the court may order the
Commonwealth to allow the defendant’s attorney to inspect
and copy or photograph any of the following requested
items, upon a showing that they are material to the
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preparation of the defense, and that the request is
reasonable:
* * *
(iv) any other evidence specifically identified by the
defendant, provided the defendant can additionally
establish that its disclosure would be in the interests of
justice.
* * *
(E) Remedy. If at any time during the course of the proceedings
it is brought to the attention of the court that a party has failed to
comply with this rule, the court may order such party to permit
discovery or inspection, may grant a continuance, or may prohibit
such party from introducing evidence not disclosed, other than
testimony of the defendant, or it may enter such other order as it
deems just under the circumstances.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 573(B)(1)(a)(e)-(f), (2)(a)(iv), (E).
The duties to disclose information imposed by Brady and Rule 573 are
overlapping, but they are not identical. See Maldonodo, 173 A.3d at 774;
see also Commonwealth v. Sullivan, 820 A.2d 795, 802-03 (Pa. Super.
2003). The focus of Brady is the prompt disclosure of evidence that is
favorable to the defense, which is incorporated in Rule 573(B)(1)(a). Rule
573 is broader to the extent it requires disclosure of inculpatory information.
See Sullivan, 820 A.2d at 803-04.
Nevertheless, this Court has often analyzed claims involving Rule 573
using principles from Brady. Id. For example, in the context of Brady, it is
well settled that “no Brady violation occurs where the parties had equal access
to the information or if the defendant knew or could have uncovered such
evidence with reasonable diligence.” Commonwealth v. Morris, 822 A.2d
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684, 696 (Pa. 2003) (citation omitted). In the context of Rule 573, this Court
has also noted: “Where evidence is equally accessible to both the prosecution
and the defense, the latter cannot employ [the discovery rules] against the
Commonwealth.” See Santos, 176 A.3d at 883 (citations omitted).
Furthermore, Rule 573 does not require the Commonwealth to divulge
its trial tactics or how it may use certain information, and defense counsel has
a duty to investigate available information for possible evidence. See
Maldonodo, 173 A.3d at 783-84; Commonwealth v. Monahan, 549 A.2d
231, 235 (Pa. Super. 1988). Similarly, Rule 573 does not entitle a defendant
to information in a form most helpful or convenient to the defendants. See
Maldonodo, 173 A.3d at 783; Robinson, 122 A.3d at 373-74. Nevertheless,
courts have cautioned that “[b]ecause we are dealing with an inevitably
imprecise standard [regarding materiality], and because the significance of an
item of evidence can seldom be predicted accurately until the entire record is
complete, the prudent prosecutor will resolve doubtful questions in favor of
disclosure.” Maldonodo, 173 A.3d at 781-82 (citation omitted).
Even if the Commonwealth violates the disclosure requirements of Rule
573,
[t]he trial court has broad discretion in choosing the appropriate
remedy for a discovery violation. . . . A defendant seeking relief
from a discovery violation must demonstrate prejudice. A
violation of discovery “does not automatically entitle [an]
appellant to a new trial.” Rather, [the defendant] must
demonstrate how a more timely disclosure would have affected
his trial strategy or how he was otherwise prejudiced by the
alleged late disclosure.
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Commonwealth v. Brown, 200 A.3d 986, 993 (Pa. Super. 2018) (citations
omitted). This Court has suggested that in most cases, “[a] continuance is
appropriate where the undisclosed statement or other evidence is admissible
and the defendant’s only prejudice is surprise.” Commonwealth v. Smith,
955 A.2d 391, 395 (Pa. Super. 2008) (en banc) (citation omitted).
Instantly, as noted by the trial court, Appellant was aware that the
Pennsylvania State Police seized and analyzed her phone, and that the
Commonwealth recovered evidence from her phone. Additionally, the record
supports the trial court’s findings that Appellant’s phone was returned to
Codefendant before criminal charges were filed, and that Appellant was aware
that her phone could have contained unfavorable evidence.
Yet, there is also no dispute that Appellant requested discovery after the
charges were filed, and that the Commonwealth had in its possession the
Lantern report and the entire contents of Appellant’s phone. In response to
Appellant’s request for discovery, the Commonwealth provided copies of two
text messages that it extracted from Appellant’s phone. The record contains
no indication that the Commonwealth provided Appellant with a copy of the
extraction report or a copy of the flash drive in response to Appellant’s request
for pretrial discovery, or before seeking admission of the contents of
Appellant’s phone at trial.
Under these circumstances, we do not read Maldonodo and Robinson
as broadly as the Commonwealth and the trial court. In Maldonado and
Robinson, the Commonwealth disclosed information before trial, i.e.,
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recordings of the defendant’s Spanish language prison calls in Maldonodo,
and a recording of a victim’s interview in Robinson. See Maldonodo, 173
A.3d at 771; Robinson, 122 A.3d at 373. In Maldonodo, the Commonwealth
specifically identified two phone calls it believed were inculpatory, but
disclosed all of the recordings the defendant’s 466 prison phone calls.
Maldonodo, 173 A.3d at 771-72. The issue in those cases was whether the
Commonwealth had duties to provide the defense with additional information,
such as a certified translations of the prison calls or a transcript of the video
recording. See Maldonodo, 173 A.3d at 781; Robinson, 122 A.3d at 373.
This Court, in both Maldonodo and Robinson, reversed the trial court’s
pretrial ruling precluding the Commonwealth from presenting evidence based
on the failure to provide additional information. See Maldonodo, 173 A.3d
at 771; Robinson, 122 A.3d at 369. In so doing, this Court noted that the
Commonwealth had no duty to assist the defendant in finding evidence
favorable to the defendant when the Commonwealth provided the information
to the defense. See Maldonodo, 173 A.3d at 783; Robinson, 122 A.3d at
371.
The present case, however, raises different issues and facts than those
addressed in Maldonodo and Robinson. First, the information here
contained evidence that was unfavorable to the defense. Second, the
Commonwealth did not provide the information in its possession during
discovery. Indeed, there is no indication in the record that the Commonwealth
even provided Appellant’s counsel with a courtesy copy of the flash drive when
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it moved the contents of Appellant’s phone into evidence. Third, unlike
Maldonodo, the Commonwealth initially indicated that that it intended to use
two text messages at trial, but then moved the entire contents of Appellant’s
phone into evidence.
Therefore, we do not find Maldonodo and Robinson to be controlling
authorities in this case. Accordingly, we do not agree with the trial court’s
legal reasons for excusing the Commonwealth of any duty to disclose
unfavorable evidence under Rule 573.
Even if the Commonwealth violated Rule 573, however, Appellant’s
claims of surprise and prejudice do not merit relief. See Brown, 200 A.3d at
993; accord Smith, 955 A.2d at 395. The fact that Appellant was, or should
have been, aware of the additional unfavorable videos on the phone belies
Appellant’s claim of surprise. Moreover, Appellant did not request a
continuance to review the additional evidence, and she explained the videos
during her own testimony. Cf. Smith, 955 A.2d at 395. Lastly, although
Appellant suggests that that she could have more effectively rebutted the
videos if the Commonwealth disclosed the evidence in a more timely fashion,
Appellant does not establish that her trial preparation or strategy would have
been different had the information been disclosed. Under these
circumstances, we conclude Appellant has not established that that the
admission of the entire contents of her phone constituted reversible error
under Rule 573. See Santos, 176 A.3d at 882.
Judgment of sentence affirmed.
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Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 5/24/2019
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