Arnold v. Commonwealth

I do not agree that admission of the informant’s recorded summary of his meeting with the appellant was harmless error beyond a reasonable doubt. The informant’s credibility was crucial to the Commonwealth’s case, and the recorded summary served to corroborate his testimony. I cannot say that it had no impact on the jury’s decision.

The appellant’s conviction of distribution of marijuana rested on the testimony of the informant. The informant’s testimony was corroborated in part by the tape recording of his conversation with the appellant when the informant allegedly made the purchase. The…