Commonwealth v. Land, No. 501 MDA 2020
| Decision Date | 17 December 2020 |
| Docket Number | No. 501 MDA 2020 |
| Citation | 245 A.3d 1079 (Table) |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellant v. William R. LAND IS Jr. |
| Court | Pennsylvania Superior Court |
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania appeals from the March 13, 2020 order dismissing, pursuant to Rule 600 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, charges against William R. Landis, Jr. ("Landis"). See Pa.R.Crim.P. 600. We vacate the trial court's order and remand for trial.
On a previous appeal, a panel of this Court summarized the relevant facts of this case as follows.
On October 28, 2009, at approximately 9:20 p.m., Berks County Radio dispatched Spring Township Police officers to the [Landis] residence ... to investigate a possible shooting [after a man called reporting that a woman was shot]. ... It was later discovered that the caller was [Landis]. [Landis's] wife, Sharon Landis, was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head on the second floor of the residence. [Sharon Landis] also had other non[-]fatal gunshot wounds on her body. While performing a clearing operation of the residence, officers discovered [Landis] barricaded in the basement. [Landis] had a knife and two guns in his possession and threatened to shoot anyone who came down into the basement. While in the basement, [Landis] made several telephone calls to family and friends and mentioned his dead wife. [Landis] became increasingly intoxicated as the evening progressed. The Berks County Emergency Response Team was called to the scene, and [Landis] was eventually taken into custody after several hours had elapsed.
Commonwealth v. Landis , 201 A.3d 768, 769–770 (Pa. Super. 2018) (citation omitted).
The next day, October 29, 2009, the Commonwealth filed a criminal complaint against Landis. Relating to Sharon Landis, the homicide victim, the Commonwealth charged Landis with one count of first-degree murder, one count of third-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault (hereinafter, the "Murder Charges"). In addition, because of a struggle that ensued between Landis and the police officials who took him into custody, the Commonwealth charged Landis with the following offenses: one count of assault upon a law enforcement officer; seven additional counts of aggravated assault; four counts of simple assault; 11 counts of recklessly endangering another person; one count of terroristic threats; and two counts of possessing an instrument of a crime (hereinafter, the "Law Enforcement Charges").
Initially, the Commonwealth v. Landis , 48 A.3d 432, 434-435 (Pa. Super. 2012) ( en banc ).
Id . at 443-444. On June 26, 2012, this Court, inter alia , reversed the trial court's order granting Landis's writ of habeas corpus and remanded for further proceedings. Id . at 449.
Following remand, on August 8, 2012, the Commonwealth filed a motion to schedule trial. The trial court granted the Commonwealth's motion and trial was set to begin November 13, 2012. The trial court, however, entered an order on November 16, 2012, continuing trial until April 1, 2013. The trial court specifically cited that the continuance was "due to [Judge Sprecher‘s] health and [the] next available [two] week trial clock." Trial Court Order, 11/16/2012, at 1.
Thereafter, on December 31, 2012, Landis filed his first motion to dismiss pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 600. The trial court heard argument on February 2, 2013, but denied Landis's motion to dismiss on February 7, 2013. On April 1, 2013, Landis proceeded to a jury trial on the Murder Charges. The jury later convicted Landis of first-degree murder.
The trial court convened a sentencing hearing on May 15, 2013. At the hearing, the court sentenced Landis to serve a term of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. In addition, at sentencing, the Commonwealth informed the court of an agreement the parties entered into regarding the Law Enforcement Charges. Specifically, the attorney for the Commonwealth stated that "the Commonwealth is agreeing and willing to withdraw [the Law Enforcement Charges]" due to "the mandatory life sentence[e] confronting [Landis]" for his conviction of first-degree murder. N.T. Sentencing, 5/15/13, at 4. In exchange, Landis "executed a waiver agreeing to let [the Commonwealth] reinstate [the Law Enforcement Charges]," without objection, if Landis were ever awarded a new trial on the Murder Charges. Id . The trial court subsequently entered an order dismissing the Law Enforcement Charges. See Trial Court Order, 5/15/13, at 1. Landis then appealed to this Court, and we affirmed his judgment of sentence on April 10, 2014. See Commonwealth v. Landis , 2014 WL 10936726 (Pa. Super. 2014) (unpublished memorandum).
Landis did not file a petition for allowance of appeal. Instead, on December 22, 2014, Landis filed his first counseled petition for collateral relief pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act ("PCRA"), 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9541 - 9546. In his PCRA petition, Landis raised various claims of trial and appellate counsels’ ineffectiveness. On December 21, 2015, the PCRA court granted Landis a new trial based upon one of his claims. The Commonwealth then appealed to this Court and, on November 30, 2016, we affirmed the PCRA court's order. Commonwealth v. Landis , 2016 WL 6995387 (Pa. Super. Nov. 30, 2016) (unpublished memorandum). The Commonwealth filed a petition for allowance of appeal which our Supreme Court ultimately denied on July 24, 2017. Commonwealth v. Landis , 169 A.3d 1059 (Pa. 2017). The record was then remitted to the trial court on August 18, 2017.
On remand, the Commonwealth filed a motion to reinstate the Law Enforcement Charges, as well as the charges of third-degree murder and aggravated assault which stemmed from Landis's attack on his wife. Landis did not oppose the Commonwealth's request to reinstate the Law Enforcement Charges, but did object to reinstatement of the charges of third-degree murder and aggravated assault on the grounds of double jeopardy. A hearing was held on September 7, 2017, during which the trial court reinstated the Law Enforcement Charges. On October 27, 2017, however, the trial court entered an order denying the Commonwealth's request to reinstate the third-degree murder and aggravated assault charges. The Commonwealth appealed the trial court's order on November 21, 2017.
Despite the Commonwealth's appeal, on December 22, 2017, Landis filed an omnibus pre-trial motion regarding the Law Enforcement Charges as trial was set to begin on February 26, 2018. The omnibus motion included a motion for writ of habeas corpus claiming, inter alia , that Landis lacked the requisite intent needed to prove that he assaulted a police officer. On January 18, 2018, the trial court convened a hearing on Landis's motion for writ of habeas corpus . During that proceeding, however, Landis "withdrew [his] request for habeas relief." N.T. Hearing, 1/18/18, at 4. The court then asked if Landis decided to withdraw his request "with the understanding that we [are] going to trial next month." Id . Landis's counsel answered in the affirmative. Id . Next, the attorney for the Commonwealth questioned the propriety of proceeding to trial on the Law Enforcement Charges while the Murder Charges were pending on appeal. Id . Specifically, the attorney for the Commonwealth stated that it was "not opposed to going forward on the [Law Enforcement Charges]" but was concerned as to "whether [the trial court had] jurisdiction" to do so. Id . at 4-5. After much discussion, the court asked Landis's counsel whether he would "waive[ ] the jurisdiction issue." Id . at 19. Landis's counsel stated: "Yes, as it relates to moving forward with the [Law Enforcement Charges,] if that [is] the case they choose to try." Id . The court then scheduled trial to begin May 14, 2018, the earliest date the court was available. Id .
On March 8, 2018, however, the trial court issued an order "den[ying] the request to schedule [ ] trial" on the Law Enforcement Charges. Trial Court Order, 3/8/18, at 1. In doing so, the trial court relied upon Pa.R.A.P. 1701(a) () and stated that the "lack of...
To continue reading
Request your trial