COMMONWEALTH V. SERGE 896 A.2d 1170 (2006) CASE BRIEF

COMMONWEALTH V. SERGE

896 A.2d 1170 (2006)

NATURE OF THE CASE: Serge (D) was sentenced to life imprisonment following his conviction for first-degree murder. The Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas affirmed the judgment. D appealed the judgment.

FACTS: D shot his wife three times, killing her inside their home. D was arrested that morning and charged with one count of first-degree murder, and one count of third-degree murder. The Commonwealth (P) filed a Motion in limine, seeking to present the prosecution's theory of the fatal shooting through a CGA based on both forensic and physical evidence. The trial court required P to authenticate the animation as both a fair and accurate depiction of expert reconstructive testimony and exclude any inflammatory features that may cause unfair prejudice. To safeguard against potential prejudice, the trial court required the pretrial disclosure of the CGA. D alleged that he had acted in self-defense as his wife attacked him with a knife. D also argued that his extreme intoxication at the time of the shooting rendered him incapable of formulating the specific intent to kill. P alleged that the killing was intentional, and that D, a former Lieutenant of Detectives with the Scranton Police Department, 'used his decades of experience as a police officer to tamper with the crime scene to stage a self-defense setting.' P asserted that D had moved his wife's body and strategically positioned her near a knife that he had placed on the floor, as depicted in the CGA. The trial court thoroughly instructed the jury of the purely demonstrative nature of the CGA both before the animation was presented and during the jury charge prior to deliberation. In particular, the court noted that the CGA was a demonstrative exhibit, not substantive evidence, and it was being offered solely as an illustration of P's version of the events. D was found guilty of first-degree murder. The Superior Court affirmed. D appealed.

ISSUE:

RULE OF LAW:

HOLDING AND DECISION:

LEGAL ANALYSIS:

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