Commonwealth v. Racco

Citations

• 225 Pa. 113
• 73 A. 1067
• 1909 Pa. LEXIS 616

Syllabus

<p>Criminal law — Murder—Cross-examination of prisoner — Credibility.</p> <p>1. Where a prisoner indicted for murder takes the stand on his own behalf, he may be asked on cross-examination, in order to test his credibility, whether he had not been convicted and sentenced to prison for larceny, assault and battery and wounding, and for obtaining money under false pretenses; and if he answers no, it may be shown by other witnesses, for the purpose of contradicting him and impeaching his credibility, that he had made declarations to the effect that he had been convicted and sentenced for such crimes.</p> <p>2. As the Pennsylvania statuté permitting a prisoner to testify imposes no limit upon the scope of his cross-examination, the subject is largely within the discretion of the trial judge, and unless such discretion is so abused that substantial injury results to the prisoner, it will not be reviewed by the appellate court.</p> <p>3. Although the record is the best, and sometimes the only competent evidence of a conviction, yet when it is merely collateral to the main issue, and arises only as affecting the credibility of the witness, he may testify to it, especially when of all others he knows the exact truth, without regard to the record. Buck v. Com., 107 Pa. 486, overruled.</p> <p>4. Testimony of a witness that the prisoner had confessed to him the commission of other crimes, is not admissible to establish the prisoner’s guilt under the indictment on which he is being tried; but if he takes the stand on his own behalf, and denies on cross-examination that he had committed such other crimes, the testimony as to his confession of such crimes is admissible to impeach his credibility.</p>