Commonwealth of Pa. v. Peterson, 120 EDA 2009
| Decision Date | 04 May 2011 |
| Docket Number | No. 120 EDA 2009,120 EDA 2009 |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, Appellant v. DARIUS PETERSON, Appellee |
| Court | Pennsylvania Superior Court |
2011 PA Super 92
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, Appellant
v.
DARIUS PETERSON, Appellee
No. 120 EDA 2009
SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA
Filed: May 4, 2011
BEFORE: FORD ELLIOTT, P.J., MUSMANNO, BENDER, BOWES, DONOHUE, SHOGAN, ALLEN, OLSON, and OTT, JJ.
OPINION BY BOWES, J.:
The Commonwealth appeals from the November 14, 2008 order granting the motion of Appellee, Darius Peterson, pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 600 ("Rule 600"). The Commonwealth's sole contention on appeal is that the trial court erred in dismissing the charges under Rule 600. After careful review, we reverse and remand.
The pertinent factual and procedural background of this case is as follows. At approximately 9:00 p.m. on March 20, 2006, on-duty Philadelphia Police Officer James Martin was traveling alone when he observed a blue Nissan proceed through a red light at Jasper and Westmoreland Streets in Philadelphia. The officer pursued Appellee, the driver of the Nissan, and conducted a traffic stop. As the officer approached
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the vehicle, he noticed Appellee making furtive movements and acting nervous.
Officer Martin then witnessed Appellee open the driver's side door and discard a bag containing empty clear and blue-tinted bags. In addition, he saw Appellee remove an item from his waistband and place it on the floor of the vehicle. Due to these actions, Officer Martin retreated and waited for backup to arrive before re-approaching Appellee. When police removed Appellee from the vehicle, Appellee attempted to flee and a brief struggle occurred. After subduing Appellee, police recovered a loaded firearm from the front seat of the vehicle, cocaine, and a digital scale with cocaine residue.
The Commonwealth filed its initial complaint on March 21, 2006, charging Appellee with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver ("PWID"), carrying a firearm without a license, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, resisting arrest, carrying firearms on public streets or public property in Philadelphia, recklessly endangering another person ("REAP"), and harassment. Thereafter, on March 27, 2006, the date of Appellee's preliminary hearing, the court appointed counsel for Appellee.
Since counsel was appointed that same day and the Commonwealth represented that it did not have the test results from the narcotics seized
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from Appellee, the municipal court granted a joint continuance until June 12, 2006. At the June 12, 2006 re-scheduled preliminary hearing, the Commonwealth was ready to present its case; however, Appellee indicated an intent to retain private counsel. Accordingly, the court granted a continuance until August 21, 2006. Prior to that date, police arrested Appellee on an unrelated matter in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Thus, Appellee failed to appear for the August 21, 2006 hearing.
As a result of Appellee's failure to appear and unaware of his arrest, the court herein issued a bench warrant for Appellee. Subsequently, in December 2006, the prosecution learned of Appellee's imprisonment and the court withdrew the bench warrant and rescheduled Appellee's preliminary hearing for January 16, 2007. However, on that date, Officer Martin was subject to a subpoena to testify in a separate matter in a different courthouse. Therefore, the Commonwealth was unable to present evidence and the court continued the proceeding to February 1, 2007. On that date, the arresting officer was unavailable due to training; the matter was again continued until February 20, 2007. As the result of an apparent mix-up, Officer Martin exited the courthouse prior to the call of Appellee's case on
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February 20, 2007. The court thereupon dismissed the case for lack of prosecution due to a local rule.1
Over one year later, on March 19, 2008, the Commonwealth re-filed the charges against Appellee and requested that the court set a preliminary hearing at the earliest possible date.2 The court scheduled the matter for April 25, 2008. Officer Martin again was unavailable due to training, and Appellee, who was in state custody, was not present. Subsequently, on June 17, 2008, the court conducted Appellee's preliminary hearing and bound over for trial all of the charges, except the REAP count. On September 9, 2008, Appellee filed a Rule 600 motion, asserting that the Commonwealth had not brought him to trial within 365 days of the filing of the initial complaint. The court, on October 28, 2008, held a hearing on the motion and heard argument before granting Appellee's motion and dismissing the charges with prejudice on November 14, 2008.
The Commonwealth filed a timely notice of appeal and concurrently served on the trial court, pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b), a concise statement
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of errors complained of on appeal. The trial court authored a 1925(a) opinion in which it opined that the Commonwealth failed to exercise due diligence both prior to the dismissal and in re-filing the charges against Appellee thirteen months after that dismissal. A panel of this Court, with one Judge dissenting, held that the Commonwealth must exercise due diligence in prosecuting a case after the dismissal of the initial complaint and re-file the charges at the earliest opportunity, and affirmed the trial court on that basis alone. The Court granted en banc review, and this matter is now ready for resolution.
Our standard and scope of review in analyzing a Rule 600 issue are both well-settled.
In evaluating Rule 600 issues, our standard of review of a trial court's decision is whether the trial court abused its discretion. Judicial discretion requires action in conformity with law, upon facts and circumstances judicially before the court, after hearing and due consideration. An abuse of discretion is not merely 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, discretion is abused.
The proper scope of review... is limited to the evidence on the record of the Rule 600 evidentiary hearing, and the findings of the trial court. An appellate court must view the facts in the light most favorable to the prevailing party.
Additionally, when considering the trial court's ruling, this Court is not permitted to ignore the dual purpose behind Rule 600. Rule 600 serves two equally important functions: (1) the protection of the accused's speedy trial rights, and (2) the
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protection of society. In determining whether an accused's right to a speedy trial has been violated, consideration must be given to society's right to effective prosecution of criminal cases, both to restrain those guilty of crime and to deter those contemplating it. However, the administrative mandate of Rule 600 was not designed to insulate the criminally accused from good faith prosecution delayed through no fault of the Commonwealth.
So long as there has been no misconduct on the part of the Commonwealth in an effort to evade the fundamental speedy trial rights of an accused, Rule 600 must be construed in a manner consistent with society's right to punish and deter crime. In considering these matters..., courts must carefully factor into the ultimate equation not only the prerogatives of the individual accused, but the collective right of the community to vigorous law enforcement as well.
Commonwealth v. Ramos, 936 A.2d 1097, 1100 (Pa.Super. 2007) (en banc) (quoting Commonwealth v. Hunt, 858 A.2d 1234, 1238 (Pa.Super. 2004) (en banc)).
Rule 600(A)(2) states that when a complaint is filed against a defendant who is incarcerated, trial must begin 180 days from the date on which the complaint was filed. Similarly, Rule 600(A)(3) requires that trial commence for a defendant at liberty on bail within 365 days of the filing of the written complaint.3 The rule further provides that certain periods are excluded from Rule 600 calculation. Specifically, the rule delineates in pertinent part:
(C) In determining the period for commencement of trial, there shall be excluded therefrom:
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(1) the period of time between the filing of the written complaint and the defendant's arrest, provided that the defendant could not be apprehended because his or her whereabouts were unknown and could not be determined by due diligence;
(2) any period of time for which the defendant expressly waives Rule 600;
(3) such period of delay at any stage of the proceedings as results from:
(a) the unavailability of the defendant or the defendant's attorney;
(b) any continuance granted at the request of the defendant or the defendant's attorney.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 600(C).
Preliminarily, we note that the plain language of Rule 600 does not implicate a due diligence inquiry until, as calculated from the filing of an existing complaint, the applicable period has elapsed and a defendant files a motion to dismiss the charges. Indeed, the language of Rule 600 ordinarily applies to defendants on bail.4 However, once a complaint has been dismissed, no charges are pending, the person is no longer a defendant, nor on bail, and Rule 600 generally would not apply.
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