Com. v. Beatty, T.
This text of Com. v. Beatty, T. (Com. v. Beatty, T.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.
Opinion
J-S27021-23
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : TAKANII DANTE BEATTY : : Appellant : No. 1426 MDA 2022
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered August 19, 2022 In the Court of Common Pleas of York County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-67-CR-0001863-2020
BEFORE: BENDER, P.J.E., BOWES, J., and SULLIVAN, J.
MEMORANDUM BY BOWES, J.: FILED: SEPTEMBER 28, 2023
Takanii Dante Beatty appeals the August 19, 2022 judgment of sentence
imposing an aggregate term of seven and one-half to fifteen years of
imprisonment after he pled guilty to statutory sexual assault graded as a first-
degree felony and promoting prostitution. For the reasons explained infra,
consistent with our High Court’s guidance in Commonwealth v. Torsilieri,
232 A.3d 567, 584 (Pa. 2020), we remand to the trial court for the
development of a full factual record concerning Appellant’s constitutional
challenges implicating the legality of his sentence.
On December 28, 2019, Appellant and other adults supplied thirteen-
year-old E.C. with alcohol and gave her $120 to perform various sexual acts.
In pleading guilty, Appellant specifically stipulated “that on the 28th of
December of 2019[, he] engaged in sexual intercourse with . . . E.C.,” who
was under the age of sixteen, more than eleven years younger than him, and J-S27021-23
not his spouse. See Guilty Plea Colloquy, 3/15/22, at 3. Appellant also
conceded that, on the same date, he intentionally caused E.C., “to become or
remain a prostitute by encouraging her to perform sexual acts on both [him]
and other people[.]” Id. at 4. The trial court accepted the open plea and
imposed the sentence indicated above. Appellant was found not to be a
sexually violent predator. Nevertheless, as a result of his statutory assault
conviction, he is classified as a Tier III offender, subject to lifetime registration
pursuant to Subchapter H of Pennsylvania’s Sexual Offender Registration and
Notification Act (“SORNA”) (“Revised Subchapter H”). See 42 Pa.C.S.
§§ 9799.14(d)(3) and 9799.15(a)(3) (categorizing that the commission of
“statutory sexual assault” graded as a felony of the first degree requires
registration for “the life of the individual”).
This timely appeal followed the denial of Appellant’s post-sentence
motion challenging the discretionary aspects of his aggregate sentence.
Appellant’s concise statement of errors pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) raised
for the first time that Revised Subchapter H is unconstitutional because it,
inter alia, employs an “irrebuttable presumption . . . that sex offenders are
uniquely dangerous and likely to reoffend[,] . . . violates Alleyne v. United
States, 570 U.S. 99 (2013)[,] and Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466
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(2000)[,] . . . and inflicts cruel and unusual punishment.”1 Concise Statement,
10/27/22, at unnumbered 2.
Appellant presents a single question for our review:
Is [Appellant] entitled to remand for an evidentiary hearing on whether the imposition of the requirements of Subchapter H of [SORNA] violates Alleyne v. United States and Apprendi v. New Jersey and constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of The United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions?
Appellant’s brief at 4. The Commonwealth agrees that Appellant is entitled to
a remand for an evidentiary hearing to develop the necessary factual record
to support his constitutional challenge to Revised Subchapter H. See
Commonwealth’s brief at 4.
In confronting a challenge to the constitutionality of a statute, our
standard of review is de novo and our scope of review is plenary.
Commonwealth v. Brooker, 103 A.3d 325, 334 (Pa.Super. 2014). In
Torsilieri, our Supreme Court outlined the significant burden borne by an
individual seeking to invalidate a statutory scheme on constitutional grounds:
In addressing constitutional challenges to legislative enactments, we are ever cognizant that “the General Assembly may enact laws which impinge on constitutional rights to protect the health, safety, and welfare of society,” but also that “any restriction is
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1 In its Rule 1925(a) Opinion, the trial court noted that our Supreme Court is
currently addressing identical challenges to Revised Subchapter H in Commonwealth v. Torsilieri, 97 MAP 2022, but it concluded that the present state of the law supported the continued application of the statute. See Trial Court Opinion,11/16/22, at 3-4. We observe that on May 23, 2023, the High Court heard oral argument regarding the constitutionality of Revised Subchapter H, but to date has not rendered its decision.
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subject to judicial review to protect the constitutional rights of all citizens.” In re J.B., 107 A.3d 1, 14 (Pa. 2014). We emphasize that “a party challenging a statute must meet the high burden of demonstrating that the statute clearly, palpably, and plainly violates the Constitution.” Id.
Torsilieri, supra at 575.
With these principles in mind, we first observe that Appellant’s challenge
to the legality of the lifetime registration requirements imposed on him
pursuant to Revised Subchapter H is not waived due to his failure to raise the
claim in the trial court. Cf. Pa.R.A.P. 302(a) (“Issues not raised in the trial
court are waived and cannot be raised for the first time on appeal.”). In
Commonwealth v. Thorne, 276 A.3d 1192, 1196-98 (Pa. 2022), our High
Court held that constitutional challenges to Revised Subchapter H, such as
these particular claims which properly implicate the legality of a defendant’s
sentence, cannot be waived.
The Thorne Court further directed that, where, as here, the issues are
asserted for the first time on appeal, appellants are entitled to remand and an
opportunity to provide supplemental argument and scientific evidence to
support arguments challenging Revised Subchapter H:
If . . . we were to conclude that Appellant is not entitled to a remand . . . or preclude Appellant from offering scientific evidence to establish the punitive nature of Revised Subchapter H on remand, Appellant would derive absolutely no benefit from our holding today. In other words, our ruling today—i.e., that constitutional challenges to the lifetime registration requirement set forth in Revised Subchapter H implicate the legality of a sentence and, therefore, cannot be waived—would have no meaning if individuals seeking to challenge Revised Subchapter H on constitutional grounds were required to present evidence in
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support thereof during his/her underlying criminal proceedings in order to preserve the issue.
Thorne, supra at 1198 n.13.
Thus, in accordance with Thorne and Torsilieri, we remand this matter
to the trial court for an evidentiary hearing and an opportunity for Appellant
to supplement his arguments with scientific evidence. See e.g.
Commonwealth v. Boyd, 287 A.3d 957 (Pa.Super. 2022) (“[W]e remand to
the trial court to hold an evidentiary hearing on the constitutional challenges
to SORNA II, Revised Subchapter H that Appellant has raised before this
Court”); Commonwealth v.
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