Commonwealth v. Goggins

• Decision Date: 08 March 2000
• Citation: 748 A.2d 721
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Inmom GOGGINS, Appellant.
• Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court

748 A.2d 721

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Inmom GOGGINS, Appellant.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued June 14, 1999.

Filed March 8, 2000.

As Revised March 9, 2000.

Karl L. Morgan, Philadelphia, for appellant.

Michael M. Levy, Jr., Asst. Dist. Atty., Philadelphia, for Com., appellee.

Before McEWEN, President Judge, and CAVANAUGH, KELLY, POPOVICH, JOHNSON, FORD ELLIOTT, STEVENS, SCHILLER and LALLY GREEN, JJ.

JOHNSON, J.:

¶ 1 On this appeal, we determine the quantum of factual and procedural detail an appellant seeking to invoke this Court's jurisdiction to review the discretionary aspects of a criminal sentence need include in his or her concise statement of the reasons relied upon for allowance of appeal (hereinafter Rule 2119(f) statement). See Pa.R.A.P. 2119(f). We conclude that the Rule 2119(f) statement need not, and should not, include the factual and procedural detail required by our prior decisions. See Commonwealth v. Cummings, 368 Pa.Super. 341, 534 A.2d 114 (1987) (concluding that Rule 2119(f) statement that did not include recitation of length of sentence, crime for which sentence was imposed and terms of sentence seeking to be reviewed did not invoke Superior Court's jurisdiction to review discretionary aspects of sentence). We hold that Rule 2119(f) requires only that the appellant's statement allow us to determine the allegation of trial court error and the immediate context of the allegation as it relates to the prescribed sentencing norms.

¶ 2 Appellant Inmom Goggins appeals from the judgment of sentence entered November 6, 1996, in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County. On May 10, 1995, a Philadelphia police officer observed Goggins defacing a home with a black marker. Goggins attempted to flee and allegedly dropped a plastic bag containing sixty-eight smaller bags of crack cocaine and one small bag of marijuana. Following his arrest, Goggins was convicted of possession of cocaine with intent to deliver in violation of 35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(30). On the day Goggins was convicted, the trial court sentenced Goggins to five to ten years' incarceration in state prison.

¶ 3 Goggins filed a direct appeal to this Court, challenging discretionary aspects of the sentencing process employed by the trial court. Commonwealth v. Goggins, 135 Philadelphia 1997 (filed 7/2/98). On that appeal, Goggins included in his brief a concise statement of the reasons relied upon for appeal pursuant to Rule 2119(f). The statement read as follows:

The lower court sentenced appellant to a state sentence following a short sentencing hearing immediately after a jury's verdict wherein the court did not have the benefit of a presentence report and the extent of its information regarding appellant consisted of a few brief questions. Sentencing in the absence of sufficient and accurate information constitutes abuse of discretion. Commonwealth v. Martin, 466 Pa. 118, 129, 351 A.2d 650, 656 (1976).

Additionally, in sentencing appellant beyond the aggravated range of the guidelines, the lower court failed to state specific aggravating factors that might prompt such an upward departure from the standard range sentences determined by the legislature. Also, the court's reasons justifying the upward departure were inherently improper, because they replicate factors already taken into account by the guidelines themselves and were inadequate on their face to justify such an extreme deviation.

These issues, independently and collectively, present a substantial question for which this Court must exercise its discretionary review. See 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9781(b); Pa.R.App.P. 2119(f).

Brief for Appellant, 135 Philadelphia 1997, at 8.

¶ 4 The Commonwealth argued that Goggins's Rule 2119(f) statement was inadequate because it failed to set forth the crimes underlying the sentence, the sentence imposed, the reasons that the sentence was inappropriate, and a complete statement of the specific facts underlying appellant's argument. In support of its position, the Commonwealth relied on our prior decisions in Commonwealth v. Ziegler, 379 Pa.Super. 515, 550 A.2d 567 (1988), and Commonwealth v. Vickers, 374 Pa.Super. 115, 542 A.2d 173 (1988).

¶ 5 A divided panel of this Court agreed with the Commonwealth that Goggins's Rule 2119(f) statement was deficient and denied Goggins's petition for permission to appeal. The panel found that the statement failed to include both the crime which gave rise to the sentence and the term of the sentence as required by Commonwealth v. Cummings, 368 Pa.Super. 341, 534 A.2d 114, 115 (1987), and its progeny, Ziegler and Vickers. See Goggins, No. 135 Philadelphia 1997 (unpublished memorandum). We granted reargument before the Court en banc.

¶ 6 In his Substituted Brief for Appellant for En Banc Reargument, Goggins raises the following issues:

1. Is not a hypertechnical interpretation of Pa.R.App.P. 2119(f) that is unnecessarily unfair and unjust, violative of the underlying spirit of the rules of appellate procedure, when it would divest appellant of his right to appeal?

2. Did not the trial court err as a matter of law and abuse its discretion in imposing a sentence of state incarceration where the court failed to comply with its duty to consider the requisite statutory factors and thoroughly examine appellant's background and character or state sufficient reasons for dispensing with preparation of a presentence report prior to imposing sentence?

3. Did not the lower court err at sentencing in relying on factors already taken into account in the prior record score and the offense gravity score, and fail to give adequate reasons to justify imposing a sentence that was above the aggravated range?

Substituted Brief for Appellant at 3.

¶ 7 Initially, we note that in his substituted brief, Goggins amended his Rule 2119(f) statement to comply with the dictates of Ziegler, Vickers, and Cummings by including both the crime underlying his sentence and the duration of the sentence. Consequently, the Commonwealth no longer contests the adequacy of Goggins's Rule 2119(f) statement. Nonetheless, we will address Goggins's first issue as stated. See Commonwealth v. Gambal, 522 Pa. 280, 286, 561 A.2d 710, 713-714 (1989) (holding that Superior Court may conduct sua sponte review of appellant's Rule 2119(f) statement "to ensure that appellate rights of the parties are kept in conformity with 42 Pa.C.S. § 9781(b)").

¶ 8 Our Supreme Court has emphasized that we must determine whether an appellant's Rule 2119(f) statement presents a substantial question before reaching the merits of an appellant's arguments. See Commonwealth v. Tuladziecki, 513 Pa. 508, 512-13, 522 A.2d 17, 19 (1987); Gambal, 522 Pa. at 286, 561 A.2d at 713. Accordingly, the statement both frames issues and limits the extent to which we may conduct appellate review. The Supreme Court has explained that:

If [the determination that a substantial question exists] is not made prior to examination of and ruling on the merits of the issue of the appropriateness of the sentence, the [appealing party] has in effect obtained an appeal as of right from the discretionary aspects of a sentence. It is elementary that such an enlargement of the appeal rights of a party cannot be accomplished by rule of court.

Tuladziecki, 513 Pa. at 513, 522 A.2d at 19. Because a party's right to appeal the discretionary aspects of a criminal sentence is limited by legislative enactment in the Sentencing Code, we must not allow the presentation of issues on appeal, the content of which exceeds the scope of the relevant provision of the Code. The applicable provision of the Sentencing Code reads as follows:

§ 9781. Appellate review of sentence

* * * *

(b) Right to appeal.—The defendant or the Commonwealth may file a petition for allowance of appeal of the discretionary aspects of a sentence for a felony or a misdemeanor to the appellate court that has initial jurisdiction for such appeals. Allowance of appeal may be granted at the discretion of the appellate court where it appears that there is a substantial question that the sentence imposed is not appropriate under this chapter.

42 Pa.C.S. § 9781(b).

¶ 9 Rule 2119(f) and decisions applying it provide the prescribed means by which we may give effect to this section 9781. Our Supreme Court has been specific in its admonition that:

[S]eparate presentation of these issues is more than mere formalism; important concerns of substance guide this decision. In addition to preserving the respective rights of both parties according to the jurisdictional scheme provided by the legislature, it furthers the purpose evident in the Sentencing Code as a whole of limiting any challenges to the trial court's evaluation of the multitude of factors impinging on the sentencing decision to exceptional cases.

Tuladziecki, 513 Pa. at 513, 522 A.2d at 19.

¶ 10 Historically, this Court has reviewed "discretionary aspects of a sentence" where the Rule 2119(f) statement reveals a plausible argument that procedures followed by the sentencing court were either inconsistent with a specific provision of the Sentencing Code or contrary to the fundamental norms underlying the sentencing process. See Commonwealth v. Nelson, 446 Pa.Super. 240, 666 A.2d 714, 720 (1995). Where a party makes such an argument, we have found that the party has raised a substantial question, as required by section 9781. See Commonwealth v. Jones, 418 Pa.Super. 93, 613 A.2d 587, 590 (1992). ¶ 11 Nevertheless, we have also held that when a Rule 2119(f) statement "contains incantations of statutory provisions and pronouncements of conclusions of law[,]" it is inadequate. Commonwealth v. Martin, 727 A.2d 1136, 1143 (Pa.Super.1999). See also Commonwealth v. Mobley, 399 Pa.Super. 108, 581 A.2d 949, 952 (1990) (claim that sentence imposed for narcotics offense failed to take into consideration defendant's rehabilitative needs and was manifestly excessive did not...