Com. v. Myers

• Decision Date: 23 December 1998
• Citation: 554 Pa. 569,722 A.2d 649
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Deborah Ann MYERS, Appellant.
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

554 Pa. 569

722 A.2d 649

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Deborah Ann MYERS, Appellant.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued October 22, 1997.

Decided December 23, 1998.

William C. Costopoulos, Lemoyne, for Deborah Ann Myers.

D. Michael Fisher, Atty. Gen., Jerome T. Foerster, William V. Conley, Robert A. Graci, Deputy Attys. Gen., for Com.

Before FLAHERTY, C.J., and ZAPPALA, CAPPY, CASTILLE, NIGRO and NEWMAN, JJ.

OPINION

NIGRO, Justice.

This appeal arises from the drug trafficking conviction of Appellant, Deborah A. Myers. Following a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of one count of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and one count of criminal conspiracy.

The evidence, as found by the trial court, established that on March 16, 1994, agents from the Tri-County Drug Task Force and agents from the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General were in the process of investigating a marijuana trafficking operation involving Appellant and her husband, Dean Myers Sr. In the course of their investigation, the officers received notice that Appellant was driving towards 702 State Street in the Borough of Lemoyne. The police observed Appellant and her husband, as they arrived at 702 State Street in a Budget Rent-A-Van. After the van stopped, the officers approached, identified themselves, and explained that they were investigating the involvement of Appellant and her husband in drug trafficking. The police then administered Miranda warnings. Thereafter, both Appellant and Dean Myers indicated that the van contained marijuana.

A subsequent search of the van revealed what appeared to be several wrapped Christmas gifts. Appellant identified a large gift-wrapped box and stated that the box contained marijuana. When the investigating officers opened the package, they discovered vegetable material surrounded with Contact paper. Preliminary field testing revealed that the vegetable matter was marijuana. Appellant was arrested, and charged with one count of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and one count of criminal conspiracy. On March 27, 1995, a jury trial commenced in this matter, and the Commonwealth filed a Notice of Mandatory Sentence pursuant to the charge of possession with intent to deliver. At trial, the Commonwealth presented the testimony of Ms. Beverly Beshore-Strohm, the forensic scientist who conducted the police lab testing of the vegetable material at the Pennsylvania State Police Lab in Harrisburg. Beshore-Strohm's testimony confirmed that the substance in question was marijuana. With regard to weight, Beshore-Strohm testified that she ascertained the weight with a Metler top-loading balance, and determined it to be 10.04 pounds. She stated that there was a variation in the scale of plus or minus one gram (.003 lb.), but that even with the variation, the marijuana weighed ten pounds and eighteen grams. Regarding the procedures to maintain the scale's accuracy, Beshore-Strohm initially testified that the manufacturer came to the police lab to calibrate the scale on a yearly basis, but then later admitted that because the scale was still relatively new, she weighed the marijuana in question before the manufacturer came to the lab for the scale's first yearly calibration. On cross-examination, Beshore-Strohm conceded that she did not verify the accuracy of the scale with a known weight prior to weighing the marijuana in question.

On March 28, 1995, the jury found Appellant guilty of possession with intent to deliver and conspiracy. At a June 20, 1995 sentencing hearing, no additional evidence was presented by either party regarding the weight of the marijuana. The Honorable George E. Hoffer sentenced Appellant to one to five years imprisonment pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. § 7508(a)(1)(i),¹ which imposes a mandatory minimum of one year imprisonment for possession with the intent to deliver two to ten pounds of marijuana. The Commonwealth appealed to the Superior Court, claiming the sentence did not comport with the mandatory minimum for possession of ten to fifty pounds of marijuana, and was therefore too lenient. The Superior Court concluded that the sentencing court committed a manifest abuse of discretion, vacated the judgment of sentence, and remanded for resentencing in accordance with 18 Pa.C.S. § 7508(a)(1)(ii), which imposes a mandatory minimum of three years imprisonment for possession with the intent to deliver ten to fifty pounds of marijuana. We granted allocatur to determine whether the Superior Court applied an erroneous standard of review, and substituted its own assessment of the facts for that of the sentencing court. For the reasons outlined below, we reverse the Order of the Superior Court, and reinstate the sentence of the Court of Common Pleas.

Citing Commonwealth v. Edrington, 490 Pa. 251, 255, 416 A.2d 455, 457 (1980), the Superior Court applied a manifest abuse of discretion standard in reviewing the sentence imposed by the trial court. Commonwealth v. Myers, 452 Pa.Super. 299, 306-07, 681 A.2d 1348, 1352 (1996). Appellant essentially argues that since the sentencing court made a finding of fact regarding whether the weight of the marijuana triggered application of the mandatory minimum, the Superior Court erred in applying a manifest abuse of discretion standard on review. For the reasons which follow, we agree with Appellant.

In Commonwealth v. Powell, 527 Pa. 288, 590 A.2d 1240 (1991), this Court explained that "`[a]buse of discretion' is synonymous with a failure to exercise a sound, reasonable, and legal discretion. It is a strict legal term indicating that appellate court is of [the] opinion that there was commission of an error of law by the trial court." Id. at 298 n. 8, 590 A.2d at 1245 n. 8. Therefore, our Courts apply the abuse of discretion standard "not merely for an error of judgment, but if in reaching a conclusion the law is overridden or misapplied, or the judgment exercised is manifestly unreasonable, or the result of partiality, prejudice, bias, or ill-will as shown by the evidence or the record . . ." Commonwealth v. Chambers, 546 Pa. 370, 387, 685 A.2d 96, 104 (1996); Commonwealth v. Smith, 543 Pa. 566, 570-71, 673 A.2d 893, 895 (1996) (reviewing court will find the imposition of sentence a manifest abuse of discretion only where the record discloses that the judgment exercised was manifestly unreasonable, or the result of partiality prejudice, bias or ill-will).

However, we do not use a manifest abuse of discretion standard to review the factual findings and credibility determinations of the trial court. In Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Dept. of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing v. O'Connell, 521 Pa. 242, 555 A.2d 873 (1989), a license suspension case, this Court noted that its scope of review is limited to determining whether the findings of fact of the trial court are supported by competent evidence and whether the trial court committed an error of law or abuse of discretion. Id. at 248, 555 A.2d at 875. However, the Court then clarified the appropriate standard for reviewing the trial court's credibility determinations, stating that:

[q]uestions of credibility and conflicts in the evidence presented are for the trial court to resolve, not our appellate courts. . . . As long as sufficient evidence exists in the record which is adequate to support the finding found by the trial court, as factfinder, we are precluded from overturning that finding and must affirm, thereby paying the proper deference due to the factfinder who heard the witnesses testify and was in the sole position to observe the demeanor of the witnesses and assess their credibility.

Id. at 248, 555 A.2d at 875 (citations omitted). See also Commonwealth v. Slaton, 530 Pa. 207, 208, 608 A.2d 5, 5 (1992)

(in reviewing a suppression court's ruling, we are bound by those factual findings of the suppression court which are supported by the record); In re Estate of Lux, 480 Pa. 256, 263, 389 A.2d 1053, 1056 (1978) (in Orphans' Court division, the ". . . standard of review with respect to the court's factual findings is clear: `[t]he credibility of the witnesses and the weight to be given their testimony is in the first instance to be determined by the auditing judge. His findings of fact . . . like those of a jury, are conclusive unless they are unsupportable by the record.'"). Therefore, when appellate review involves the trial court's findings of fact and credibility determinations, those findings are binding on the reviewing court if they find support in the record. See O'Connell, 521 Pa. at 248, 555 A.2d at 875.

The initial determination of whether the Commonwealth proves that the mandatory minimum applies under Section 7508 is reserved by statute for the sentencing court.² Thus, resolving whether the weight of the drug triggers application of the mandatory minimum requires the judge to sit as a fact-finder, necessitating credibility determinations. If the court then finds the requirements of section 7508 are established, it does not have the discretion to impose a sentence less severe than that mandated by the legislature. Commonwealth v. Green, 406 Pa.Super. 120, 123, 593 A.2d 899, 900 (1991).

Therefore, since the subject of appellate review rests with whether or not the sentencing court finds that Section 7508 applies, the two potential scenarios warrant different standards of review. In cases where the sentencing court finds that Section 7508 applies, the manifest abuse of discretion standard is appropriate for reviewing whether the imposition of sentence comports with the mandatory minimum requirements. However, the manifest abuse of discretion standard is inappropriate when reviewing the sentencing court's initial determination regarding the applicability of Section 7508, because such review examines only the court's factual findings and credibility determinations. See O'Connell, 521 Pa. at 248, 555 A.2d at 875; Slaton, ...