Com. v. Cotto

• Decision Date: 19 February 1998
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Abraham Martinez COTTO, Appellant.
• Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court

Page 806

708 A.2d 806

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Abraham Martinez COTTO, Appellant.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued Dec. 4, 1997.

Filed Feb. 19, 1998.

Joseph C. Madenspacher, Dist. Atty., Lancaster, for Commonwealth, Appellee.

James J. Karl, Chief Public Defender, Lancaster, for Appellant.

Hugh Burns, Jr., Asst. Dist. Atty., Philadelphia, for Amicus Curiae.

Mark Scott-Sedley, Philadelphia, for Amicus Curiae.

Before CAVANAUGH, HOFFMAN and BROSKY, JJ.

CAVANAUGH, Judge:

This appeal requires that we decide the constitutionality of certain 1995 amendments to the Juvenile Act. Specifically, we consider arguments that the provisions regarding transfer of cases from adult criminal court to juvenile court are: (1) unconstitutionally vague; and (2) unconstitutional because they place the burden of proof for transfer on the juvenile. After careful review, we conclude the amendments conform with constitutional standards and affirm appellant's judgment of sentence.

Appellant, Abraham Martinez Cotto, was charged with six counts of armed robbery and two counts of criminal conspiracy. These charges arose in relation to separate incidents in which appellant and several accomplices robbed two business establishments at gunpoint. At the time of both of these incidents, appellant was fifteen years of age.

The Commonwealth charged appellant as an adult with respect to both incidents. Appellant filed a motion to transfer the proceedings to juvenile court. He also filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus, alleging the recent amendments to the Juvenile Act governing transfer were unconstitutional. The trial court denied both of these filings. Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, appellant entered guilty pleas to the above-enumerated charges and received eight concurrent sentences of five to ten years imprisonment. The plea agreement specifically reserved the right to appeal the constitutionality of the amendments to the Juvenile Act. ¹ This appeal followed.

Appellant has framed the issues on appeal as follows:

I. Are the provisions of the Juvenile Act regarding the transfer of cases from adult court to juvenile court unconstitutionally vague by defining an unknown and unknowable standard that such transfer "serve the public interest"?

II. Are the provisions of the Juvenile Act regarding the transfer of cases from adult court to juvenile court unconstitutional because they impermissibly place on the accused the burden of proof for transfer? ²

We begin with the recognition that there is no constitutional guarantee to special treatment for juvenile offenders. Commonwealth v. Williams, 514 Pa. 62, 71, 522 A.2d 1058, 1063 (1987). Any right to treatment as a juvenile is derived from statutory law and is defined by the legislature. The legislature may restrict or qualify this right, but in doing so, must observe constitutional due process and avoid a classification scheme that is arbitrary or discriminatory. See Kent v. United States, 383 U.S. 541, 86 S.Ct. 1045, 16 L.Ed.2d 84 (1966); Stokes v. Fair, 581 F.2d 287 (1st Cir.1978); Woodard v. Wainwright, 556 F.2d 781 (5th Cir.1977); United States v. Bland, 472 F.2d 1329 (D.C.Cir.1972).

The dramatic increase in violent crimes committed by juveniles in our society has resulted in many state legislatures reformulating the principles and policies underlying the juvenile justice system. This trend has been marked by a move away from a tutorial and habilitative emphasis, toward more punishment and correctional oriented policies for juvenile offenders. Many states have removed certain categories of serious offenses from the jurisdiction of the juvenile court and placed them within the jurisdiction of the criminal court. The recent amendments to Pennsylvania's Juvenile Act are a reflection of these societal and legal trends. With this background and the above-stated principles in mind, we review the pertinent provisions of the Juvenile Act.

Under the Juvenile Act, 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 6301 et seq., the juvenile court has jurisdiction over "children" charged with "delinquent acts." 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 6303(a)(1). "Child" is defined, inter alia, as "An individual who is under the age of 18 years." 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 6302. "Delinquent Act" is defined as follows:

(1) The term means an act designated a crime under the law of this Commonwealth, or of another state if the act occurred in that state, or under Federal law, or under local ordinances.

(2) The term shall not include:

* * *

(ii) Any of the following prohibited conduct where the child was 15 years of age or older at the time of the alleged conduct and a deadly weapon as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 2301 (relating to definitions) was used during the commission of the offense, which, if committed by an adult, would be classified as:

* * *

(D) Robbery as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 3701(a)(1)(i), (ii) or (iii) (relating to robbery).

* * *

(I) An attempt, conspiracy or solicitation to commit murder or any of these crimes, as provided in 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 901 (relating to criminal attempt), 902 (relating to criminal solicitation) and 903 (relating to criminal conspiracy).

Id. (emphasis supplied). Offenses not included within the definition of "delinquent act" are filed directly in criminal court, rather than in juvenile court. § 6355(e) provides:

(e) Murder and excluded acts.--Where the petition alleges conduct which if proven would constitute murder, or any of the offenses excluded by paragraph (2)(ii) or (iii) of the definition of "delinquent act" in section 6302 (relating to definitions), the court shall require the offense to be prosecuted under the criminal law and procedures, except where the case has been transferred pursuant to section 6322 (relating to transfer from criminal proceedings) from the division or a judge of the court assigned to conduct criminal proceedings.

42 Pa.C.S.A. § 6355(e) (emphasis in original). Transfer from criminal proceedings is governed by § 6322(a), which provides in pertinent part:

If it appears to the court in a criminal proceeding charging murder or any of the offenses excluded by paragraph (2)(ii) or (iii) of the definition of "delinquent act" in section 6302, that the defendant is a child, the case may be transferred and the provisions of this chapter applied. In determining whether to transfer a case charging murder or any of the offenses excluded from the definition of "delinquent act" in section 6302, the child shall be required to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the transfer will serve the public interest. In determining whether the child has so established that the transfer will serve the public interest, the court shall consider the factors contained in section 6355(a)(4)(iii) (relating to transfer to criminal proceedings).

Id. (boldface in original; underline supplied).

In determining whether the child has met the burden of proving that the transfer will serve the public interest, the court considers the following factors:

(A) the impact of the offense on the victim or victims;

(B) the impact of the offense on the community;

(C) the threat to the safety of the public or any individual posed by the child;

(D) the nature and circumstances of the offense allegedly committed by the child;

(E) the degree of the child's culpability;

(F) the adequacy and duration of dispositional alternatives available under this chapter and in the adult criminal justice system; and

(G) whether the child is amenable to treatment, supervision or rehabilitation as a juvenile by considering the following factors:

(I) age;

(II) mental capacity;

(III) maturity;

(IV) the degree of criminal sophistication exhibited by the child;

(V) previous records, if any;

(VI) the nature and extent of any prior delinquent history, including the success or failure of any previous attempts by the juvenile court to rehabilitate the child;

(VII) whether the child can be rehabilitated prior to the expiration of the juvenile court jurisdiction;

(VIII) probation or institutional reports, if any;

(IX) any other relevant factors.

42 Pa.C.S.A. § 6355(a)(4)(iii).

Appellant argues that despite this list of factors, the requirement that the transfer "serve the public interest" is impermissibly vague and that this threshold, even when examined in light of the statutorily enumerated factors, is so elastic and so open to subjective interpretation that it invites arbitrary and discriminatory application.

Duly enacted legislation carries with it a strong presumption of constitutionality and this presumption will not be overcome unless the legislation clearly, palpably and plainly violates the constitution. Commonwealth v. Swinehart, 541 Pa. 500, 508, 664 A.2d 957, 961 (1995); Commonwealth v. Highhawk, 455 Pa.Super. 186, 687 A.2d 1123, 1128 (1996). The party seeking to have a legislative enactment declared unconstitutional bears a heavy burden. In re Petition to Recall Reese, 542 Pa. 114, 119, 665 A.2d 1162, 1164 (1995). A law is void on its face, and violative of due process, if it is so vague that persons of common intelligence must necessarily guess at its meaning and differ as to its application. Commonwealth v. Sterling, 344 Pa.Super. 269, 496 A.2d 789, 792 (1985). The constitutional prohibition against vagueness does not invalidate every statute that could have been drafted with greater precision, but we must consider the essential fairness of the law and the impracticability of drafting the legislation with greater specificity. Id. Due process simply requires the statute be drafted with sufficient definiteness that it is not susceptible to arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement. Commonwealth v. Barud, 545 Pa. 297, 304, 681 A.2d 162, 165 (1996).

As noted, appellant's argument focuses on the allegedly unconstitutionally vague meaning of "public interest" as used in the transfer provision of the Juvenile Act. The object of statutory interpretation and construction is to ascertain and effectuate the...