Com. v. Norris
| Decision Date | 10 March 2003 |
| Citation | 819 A.2d 568 |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellant, v. Eric NORRIS, Appellee Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Appellee. v. Eric Norris, Appellant. |
| Court | Pennsylvania Superior Court |
Regina Oberholzer, Assistant District Attorney, Philadelphia, for Com.
Louis B. Priluker, Philadelphia, for Norris.
Before: JOHNSON, BENDER and KELLY, JJ.
¶ 1 The Commonwealth appeals the December 14, 2001 judgment of sentence in which the trial court sentenced Edward Norris (Norris) to ten to twenty years' incarceration for aggravated assault, thereby declining to impose a mandatory sentence of twenty-five to fifty years' imprisonment under the "three strikes law," i.e., 42 Pa.C.S. § 9714(a)(2). Pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 9714(f), we are constrained to remand to the sentencing court for re-sentencing in accordance with the directives contained in this memorandum.
¶ 2 A brief factual and procedural history follows. In the early morning hours of May 18, 1998, Norris and the victim were attending two separate birthday parties at a nightclub in Philadelphia. A fight ensued between guests of each party. Norris and other guests of the party he attended were evicted from the club by security. Afterwards, as the victim was leaving the nightclub, Norris came up behind him and hit him in the back of the head with "The Club," a metal security device used to lock car steering wheels. Norris continued to beat the victim after the victim lost consciousness and fell to the ground. Norris's cousin, Juan Canty, joined in the beating of the victim. Norris and Canty fled the scene and were arrested shortly thereafter. Canty pled guilty to charges stemming from his involvement in the attack on the victim.
¶ 3 Norris, however, proceeded to a non-jury trial commencing on August 2, 2001. The trial court convicted Norris of aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, possessing an instrument of crime (PIC), and criminal conspiracy. Immediately following the trial court's pronouncement of the verdict, Norris raised his hand and stated that he had wanted to testify, but defense counsel, Edward Meehan, Jr., had prevented him from doing so. The trial court, therefore, allowed Mr. Meehan to withdraw and appointed new counsel, Louis B. Priluker. Prior to sentencing, on December 14, 2001, the trial court held a hearing on the issue of whether Mr. Meehan provided ineffective assistance of counsel for allegedly "coercing" Norris into waiving his right to a jury trial and advising Norris not to testify. The trial court determined that Mr. Meehan did not provide ineffective assistance on these grounds and, therefore, proceeded to sentence Norris.
¶ 4 Prior to the aggravated assault conviction in this case, Norris had two prior convictions for violent crimes. One was a 1991 conviction for robbery and the other was a 1992 conviction for rape. N.T. Sentencing, 12/14/01, at 146. Accordingly, in the bill of information for the charge of aggravated assault in the instant case, the Commonwealth included a notice of its intent to seek a mandatory minimum sentence under 42 Pa.C.S. § 9714, but did not specify whether its intent was to seek a sentence under the "two strikes" provision (section 9714(a)(1)), which provides for a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of ten years, or the "three strikes" provision (section 9714(a)(2)), which provides for a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of twenty-five years.
¶ 5 At sentencing, the trial court declined to impose the twenty-five year minimum sentence mandated by section 9714(a)(2) because the bill of information did not contain "proper notice of a third strike rather than a second strike." Trial Court Opinion (T.C.O.), 12/31/01, at 2. Accordingly, pursuant to the "second strike" provision of section 9714(a)(1), the trial court sentenced Norris to ten to twenty years' imprisonment for aggravated assault, with concurrent terms of two and one-half to five years' imprisonment for PIC and six to twelve years' imprisonment for criminal conspiracy. The remaining convictions merged for sentencing purposes. The Commonwealth appeals the judgment of sentence.
¶ 6 The Commonwealth presents two issues for our review:
Commonwealth's brief at 3 (parentheticals omitted). We address these questions in the order presented.
¶ 7 The Commonwealth's challenge to the failure of the sentencing court to impose a mandatory sentence implicates the legality of the sentence. See Commonwealth v. Edrington, 780 A.2d 721, 723 (Pa.Super.2001)
. Accordingly, we must determine whether the trial court committed an error of law by imposing a sentence under the two strikes provision of section 9714(a)(1), instead of the three strikes provision of section 9714(a)(2). See Commonwealth v. Vasquez, 560 Pa. 381, 744 A.2d 1280, 1282 (2000). "Once a trial court has determined that the Commonwealth has established the requirements of a legislatively mandated sentence, the trial court has no discretion to deviate its sentence from that which is defined by statute." Id.
Section 9714 reads in full as follows:
(2) Where the person had at the time of the commission of the current offense previously been convicted of two or more such crimes of violence arising from separate criminal transactions, the person shall be sentenced to a minimum sentence of at least 25 years of total confinement, notwithstanding any other provision of this title or other statute to the contrary. Proof that the offender received notice of or otherwise knew or should have known of the penalties under this paragraph shall not be required. Upon conviction for a third or subsequent crime of violence the court may, if it determines that 25 years of total confinement is insufficient to protect the public safety, sentence the offender to life imprisonment without parole.
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Commonwealth v. Jennings
... ... "essential" to sentencing: ... It is essential that the sentencing court have before it ... Norris's complete record of previous convictions, that ... Norris be provided with the same, and that the sentencing ... court make a ... ...
-
Commonwealth v. Mariani, 2005 PA Super 25 (PA 1/21/2005), 961 MDA 2004.
...result, e.g., Commonwealth v. Vasquez, 744 A.2d 1280 (Pa. 2000); Commonwealth v. Anders, 725 A.2d 170 (Pa. 1999); Commonwealth v. Norris, 819 A.2d 568 (Pa. Super. 2003). In Anders our Supreme Court refused to discharge an appellant sentenced in violation of the 60 day time limitation establ......
- Mateu v. Stout
-
Commonwealth v. Arvelo
...sentence pursuant to Pennsylvania's Three Strikes Law are challenges to the legality of the sentence imposed. See Commonwealth v. Norris, 819 A.2d 568, 571 (Pa. Super. 2003) (citing Commonwealth v. Edrington, 780A.2d 721, 723 (Pa. Super. 2001)). Accordingly, our scope of review is plenary, ......