R.R., In Interest of

• Decision Date: 22 July 1983
• Citation: 464 A.2d 348,317 Pa.Super. 334
• Parties: In the Interest of R.R., Juvenile. Appeal of R.R.
• Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court

Page 348

464 A.2d 348

317 Pa.Super. 334

In the Interest of R.R., Juvenile.

Appeal of R.R.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued May 24, 1982.

Filed July 22, 1983.

Thomas R. Wilson, West Chester, for appellant.

John W. Liddy, Asst. Dist. Atty., West Chester, for Com., participating party.

Before BROSKY, WIEAND and BECK, JJ.

WIEAND, Judge:

Appellant, R.R., was involved in a one car automobile accident at approximately 5:30 o'clock, p.m., on July 26, 1980. The other occupant of the vehicle, Gary Walton, died as a result of injuries sustained in the accident. Appellant, a juvenile, was charged with three summary violations of the Motor Vehicle Code, i.e., drivers required to be licensed, ¹ driving on the right side of roadway, ² and driving at a safe speed. ³ Appellant entered a plea of not guilty to all charges, and a hearing thereon was held before a district justice on August 19, 1980. At the conclusion of the hearing, appellant was found not guilty on all charges. Thereafter, on September 17, 1980, a petition was filed in the Juvenile Court of Chester County averring that appellant was a delinquent child based upon his alleged commission of the offenses of receiving stolen property, ⁴ unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, ⁵ and homicide by vehicle. ⁶ The death of Gary Walton, it was alleged, had been caused while appellant was "engaged in the violation of the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania applying to the operation or use of a vehicle or to regulation of traffic...." Appellant filed a motion to dismiss based upon Sections 109 and 110 of the Crimes Code, double jeopardy and res judicata. The trial court, upon recommendation of a juvenile master, denied the motion to dismiss. Appellant brings this appeal from the order denying his motion to dismiss. ⁷

The facts relevant to our resolution of the issues raised on appeal are as follows: On July 26, 1980, at approximately 5:30 o'clock, p.m., Mr. and Mrs. Richard McAllister were leaving a parking lot when they saw an automobile belonging to Robert Caldwell pass them. Knowing the vehicle to have been reported stolen, the McAllisters determined to follow the automobile and report its location to local authorities. After they had followed the vehicle a short distance to Shoen Road, the car left the roadway and crashed into trees near the highway. At the hearing before the district justice on August 19, 1980, Mr. McAllister testified that he could not identify the driver of the vehicle, but stated that when he approached the vehicle following the accident, appellant was banging his head against the window of the door adjacent to the driver's seat, attempting to get out of the car. Another Commonwealth witness, Ralph M. McGibbin, testified that when he arrived at the accident scene, both appellant and Gary Walton were in the vehicle, Walton on the right or passenger side, and appellant on the left or driver's side. The investigating officer, Thomas A. Wilkinson of the West Whiteland Township Police Department testified that when he arrived at the accident scene, appellant, apparently in shock, was seated on the ground nearby. In response to Officer Wilkinson's question, he stated that Gary Walton had been driving the car when the accident occurred. Appellant did not testify or offer any evidence. At the conclusion of the hearing, the district justice entered a verdict of not guilty on all charges. ⁸

Thereafter, on September 17, 1980, the Commonwealth filed a petition alleging that appellant was a delinquent child. The petition contained the following averments: "On July 26, 1980, at or about 5:36 p.m. on Shoen Road, West Whiteland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, R______ R______, age 15 did operate a 1972 Ford Pinto automobile without the consent of its owner, Robert Caldwell; and further, on the above mentioned date, time, and location, R______ R______ did intentionally receive, retain or dispose of said 1972 Ford Pinto automobile belonging to Robert Caldwell, knowing that said vehicle was stolen or believing it had probably been stolen without intent to restore it to its lawful owner; and further, on July 26, 1980, at or about 5:36 p.m. on Shoen Road, east of Oak Lane, West Whiteland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, R______ R______, while operating said 1972 Ford Pinto automobile, did unlawfully and unintentionally cause the death of Gary Walton, while engaged in the violation of the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania applying to the operation or use of a vehicle or to regulation of traffic, to wit: Drivers Required to be Licensed, 75 PA. C.S.A. (1501), Driving on Right Side of Roadway, 75 PA. C.S.A. (3301), Driving Vehicle at Safe Speed, 75 PA. C.S.A. (3361)." (emphasis supplied). The parties have stipulated that the Commonwealth knew of Gary Walton's death prior to the summary proceedings.

Appellant's argument that section 110 of the Crimes Code, 18 Pa.C.S. § 110, requiring compulsory joinder of all offenses arising from a single criminal episode, bars the juvenile proceedings instituted against him is without merit. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held in Commonwealth v. Beatty, --- Pa. ---, 455 A.2d 1194 (1983), that the compulsory joinder rule and section 110 of the Crimes Code "do not apply to prior summary [proceedings] for traffic violations under the Motor Vehicle Code." Commonwealth v. Breitegan, --- Pa. ---, ---, 456 A.2d 1340, 1341 (1983). As the offenses for which appellant was tried and acquitted were summary offenses under the Motor Vehicle Code, section 110 of the Crimes Code does not bar a subsequent prosecution for other, non-summary offenses arising from the same criminal episode.

Appellant's argument that principles of double jeopardy and collateral estoppel ⁹ preclude the Commonwealth from commencing juvenile proceedings against him following his acquittal on charges of violating sections 1501, 3301 and 3361 of the Motor Vehicle Code presents a more difficult question. " 'The double jeopardy clause breaks down into three general rules which preclude a second trial or a second punishment for the same offense: (1) retrial for the same offense after acquittal; (2) retrial for the same offense after conviction; (3) multiple punishment for the same offense at one trial. The judiciary views these rules as expressions of self-evident moral precepts: It is wrong to retry a man for a crime of which he previously has been found innocent, wrong to harass him with vexatious prosecution, and wrong to punish him twice for the same offense.' " Commonwealth v. Grazier, 481 Pa. 622, 630-631, 393 A.2d 335, 339 (1978) quoting Commonwealth v. Mills, 447 Pa. 163, 169, 286 A.2d 638, 641 (1971) (emphasis in original). ¹⁰ Accord: Illinois v. Vitale, 447 U.S. 410, 415, 100 S.Ct. 2260, 2264, 65 L.Ed.2d 228 (1980); United States v. Wilson, 420 U.S. 332, 343, 95 S.Ct. 1013, 1021, 43 L.Ed.2d 232 (1975); North Carolina v. Pearce, 395 U.S. 711, 717, 89 S.Ct. 2072, 2076, 23 L.Ed.2d 656 (1969); Commonwealth v. Bolden, 472 Pa. 602, 618, 373 A.2d 90, 97 (1977); Commonwealth v. Maddox, --- Pa.Super. ---, ---, 453 A.2d 1010, 1014 (1982); Commonwealth v. Meekins, 266 Pa.Super. 157, 162, 403 A.2d 591, 593 (1979).

" 'The underlying idea, one that is deeply ingrained in at least the Anglo-American system of jurisprudence, is that the State with all its resources and power should not be allowed to make repeated attempts to convict an individual for an alleged offense, thereby subjecting him to embarrassment, expense and ordeal and compelling him to live in a continuing state of anxiety and insecurity, as well as enhancing the possibility that even though innocent he may be found guilty.' " Crist v. Bretz, 437 U.S. 28, 35, 98 S.Ct. 2156, 2160, 57 L.Ed.2d 24 (1978) quoting Green v. United States, 355 U.S. 184, 187-188, 78 S.Ct. 221, 223, 2 L.Ed.2d 199 (1957). Accord: United States v. Scott, 437 U.S. 82, 87, 98 S.Ct. 2187, 2191, 57 L.Ed.2d 65 (1978); Abney v. United States, 431 U.S. 651, 661-662, 97 S.Ct. 2034, 2041-2042, 52 L.Ed.2d 651 (1977); United States v. Martin Linen Supply Co., 430 U.S. 564, 569, 97 S.Ct. 1349, 1353, 51 L.Ed.2d 642 (1977); Serfass v. United States, 420 U.S. 377, 387-388, 95 S.Ct. 1055, 1061-1062, 43 L.Ed.2d 265 (1975). "The most straightforward application of the double jeopardy clause arises when a second prosecution is instituted against an individual who has been acquitted or convicted of the same offense in a prior trial." Commonwealth v. Bolden, supra 472 Pa. at 620, 373 A.2d at 99. It is well settled that "a verdict of acquittal ... is a bar to a subsequent prosecution for the same offense." United States v. Ball, 163 U.S. 662, 671, 16 S.Ct. 1192, 1195, 41 L.Ed. 300 (1896). Accord: United States v. Scott, supra 437 U.S. at 91, 98 S.Ct. 2187 at 2193, 57 L.Ed.2d 65. United States v. Martin Linen Supply Co., supra 430 U.S. at 571, 97 S.Ct. 1349 at 1354, 51 L.Ed.2d 642; Serfass v. United States, supra 420 U.S. at 392, 95 S.Ct. 1055 at 1064, 43 L.Ed.2d 265; Fong Foo v. United States, 369 U.S. 141, 143, 82 S.Ct. 671, 672, 7 L.Ed.2d 629 (1962); Commonwealth v. Zimmerman, 498 Pa. 112, 118, 445 A.2d 92, 95 (1981); Commonwealth v. Mitchell, 497 Pa. 14, 17, 438 A.2d 596, 597 (1981); Commonwealth v. Maurizio, 496 Pa. 584, 586, 437 A.2d 1195, 1195-1196 (1981); 18 Pa.C.S. § 109(1).

In the instant case, appellant was charged with summary violations of the Vehicle Code, tried before a district justice and found not guilty. As the district justice was vested with the authority to try appellant on the summary charges, [See and compare: Commonwealth v. Kirk J., 293 Pa.Super. 487, 439 A.2d 680 (1981); Commonwealth v. Alan D., 291 Pa.Super. 298, 435 A.2d 1231 (1981) ], jeopardy attached after the first witness had been sworn. See and compare: Waller v. Florida, 397 U.S. 387, 90 S.Ct. 1184, 25 L.Ed.2d 435 (1970); Commonwealth v. Maurizio, supra; Borough of West Chester v. Lal, 493 Pa. 387, 426 A.2d 603 (1981); Commonwealth v....