Skip to main content

Commonwealth v. Morgan

Citations

  • 739 A.2d 1033
  • 559 Pa. 248
  • 1999 Pa. LEXIS 2950

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

  • holding that character witnesses may not be cross-examined with prior bad acts not resulting in convictions
  • ruling that counsel’s decision not to call character witnesses constituted reversible error where there was no medical evidence presented nor any eyewitnesses to the offenses, and the prosecution’s case was based upon the credibility of witnesses
  • holding it is improper to cross examine character witnesses with respect to their knowledge of uncharged criminal allegations against defendant
  • “we find that allowing character witnesses to be cross- examined as to their awareness of allegations that the defendant has previously engaged in criminal acts is unduly prejudicial”
  • “Where a character witness has testified as to a relevant trait of the defendant's good character, that witness may be impeached, on credibility grounds, just like any other witness.”
  • witnesses may not be cross-examined concerning crimes that did not result in conviction

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).

Judges: Flaherty, Zappala, Cappy, Castille, Nigro, Newman, Saylor

Read full opinion on CourtListener

Cited by

11 cases in this archive cite this case.

Cites

18 cases in this archive are cited by this case.

Other cases with this name

Sourced from CourtListener / Free Law Project (CC0).

This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.