Com. v. Druhot, A.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJuly 12, 2018
Docket1077 WDA 2017
StatusUnpublished

This text of Com. v. Druhot, A. (Com. v. Druhot, A.) 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.

Bluebook
Com. v. Druhot, A., (Pa. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

J-S25012-18

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA Appellant : : v. : : ASHLEE DAWN DRUHOT : : Appellee : No. 1077 WDA 2017

Appeal from the Order Entered June 26, 2017 In the Court of Common Pleas of Elk County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-24-CR-0000136-2016

BEFORE: GANTMAN, P.J., PANELLA, J., and OTT, J.

MEMORANDUM BY GANTMAN, P.J.: FILED JULY 12, 2018

Appellant, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, appeals from the order

entered in the Elk County Court of Common Pleas, which granted the petition

of Appellee, Ashlee Dawn Druhot, for a writ of habeas corpus, and dismissed

the criminal complaint that charged Appellee with several offenses arising

from the death of her minor child (“O.M.”), for the Commonwealth’s failure to

present a prima facie case on all counts.1 We affirm.

In its opinion, the trial court fully and correctly sets forth the relevant

facts and procedural history. Therefore, we have no need to restate them.

Procedurally, we add that the Commonwealth timely filed a notice of appeal

____________________________________________

1 Pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 311(d), the Commonwealth has certified in its notice of appeal that the trial court’s order substantially handicapped or terminated the prosecution of the Commonwealth’s case against Appellee. Accordingly, this appeal is properly before us for review. J-S25012-18

on July 21, 2017. The court ordered the Commonwealth on July 26, 2017, to

file a concise statement of errors complained of on appeal per Pa.R.A.P.

1925(b); the Commonwealth timely complied on August 11, 2017.

The Commonwealth raises the following issues for our review:

WHETHER THE [TRIAL] COURT ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW AND/OR ABUSED ITS DISCRETION BY WEIGHING THE 2009 CONVICTION OF SCOTT MURPHY ASSAULTING [FATHER] AS BEING “TOO REMOTE IN TIME AND FAR TOO ATTENUATED CIRCUMSTANTIALLY” TO EVIDENCE A PROPENSITY FOR VIOLENCE BY SCOTT MURPHY, SAID EVIDENCE BEING ADMITTED BY THE COMMONWEALTH AT [THE] TIME OF [THE] PRELIMINARY HEARING[?]

WHETHER THE [TRIAL] COURT ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW AND/OR ABUSED ITS DISCRETION BY GRANTING [APPELLEE]’S PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS DISMISSING AS TO COUNT 1, INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER, 18 PA.C.S.A. § 2503(A), MISDEMEANOR FIRST DEGREE, OF THE CRIMINAL INFORMATION AS THE COMMONWEALTH MAINTAINS THAT A PRIMA FACIE CASE WAS PRESENTED BY THE COMMONWEALTH IN SUPPORT OF SAID CRIMINAL OFFENSE[?]

WHETHER THE [TRIAL] COURT ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW AND/OR ABUSED ITS DISCRETION BY GRANTING [APPELLEE]’S PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS DISMISSING COUNT 2, ENDANGERING THE WELFARE OF CHILDREN, 18 PA.C.S.A. § 4304(A)(1), FELONY THIRD DEGREE, OF THE CRIMINAL INFORMATION AS THE COMMONWEALTH MAINTAINS THAT A PRIMA FACIE CASE WAS PRESENTED BY THE COMMONWEALTH IN SUPPORT OF SAID CRIMINAL OFFENSE[?]

WHETHER THE [TRIAL] COURT ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW AND/OR ABUSED ITS DISCRETION BY GRANTING [APPELLEE]’S PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS DISMISSING COUNT [4], ENDANGERING THE WELFARE OF CHILDREN, 18 PA.C.S.A. § 4304(A)(1), FELONY THIRD DEGREE, OF THE CRIMINAL INFORMATION AS THE COMMONWEALTH MAINTAINS THAT A PRIMA FACIE CASE

-2- J-S25012-18

WAS PRESENTED BY THE COMMONWEALTH OF SAID CRIMINAL OFFENSE[?]

WHETHER THE [TRIAL] COURT ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW AND/OR ABUSED ITS DISCRETION BY GRANTING [APPELLEE]’S PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS DISMISSING COUNT [3], RECKLESSLY ENDANGERING ANOTHER PERSON, 18 PA.C.S.A. § 2705, MISDEMEANOR SECOND DEGREE, OF THE CRIMINAL INFORMATION AS THE COMMONWEALTH MAINTAINS THAT A PRIMA FACIE CASE WAS PRESENTED BY THE COMMONWEALTH OF SAID CRIMINAL OFFENSE[?]

WHETHER THE [TRIAL] COURT ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW AND/OR ABUSED ITS DISCRETION BY GRANTING [APPELLEE]’S PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS DISMISSING COUNT 5, RECKLESSLY ENDANGERING ANOTHER PERSON, 18 PA.C.S.A. § 2705, MISDEMEANOR SECOND DEGREE, OF THE CRIMINAL INFORMATION AS THE COMMONWEALTH MAINTAINS THAT A PRIMA FACIE CASE WAS PRESENTED BY THE COMMONWEALTH OF SAID CRIMINAL OFFENSE[?]

(Commonwealth’s Brief at 4-5).

A pre-trial habeas decision is not subject to an abuse of discretion

standard. Commonwealth v. Karetny, 583 Pa. 514, 880 A.2d 505 (2005).

A pre-trial habeas decision on the Commonwealth’s prima facie case for a

charged crime is a question of law subject to plenary review.

Commonwealth v. Dantzler, 135 A.3d 1109, 1112 (Pa.Super. 2016) (en

banc) (citing Karetny, supra).

After a thorough review of the record, the briefs of the parties, the

applicable law, and the well-reasoned opinion of the Honorable Richard A.

Masson, we conclude the Commonwealth’s issues merit no relief. The trial

court fully discusses and properly disposes of the questions presented. (See

-3- J-S25012-18

Trial Court Opinion, filed June 26, 2017, at 1-10) (finding: (1-2)

Commonwealth presented insufficient evidence to establish prima facie case

against Appellee for involuntary manslaughter; Commonwealth’s evidence

established on or about December 31, 2015, Appellee was aware Daniel J.

Murphy (“Father”) had delivered their two minor children (“Children”) to

apartment of Scott and Kristy Murphy, Children’s paternal aunt and uncle;

Appellee did not have input into Father’s decision to move Children to home

of uncle and aunt; Appellee did not reside in Elk County and was never present

in Scott and Kristy Murphy’s home; Father continuously assured Appellee he

would bring Children back from Scott and Kristy Murphy’s home; in attempt

to show Appellee was aware of Scott Murphy’s propensity for violence,

Commonwealth presented written statement Appellee provided police in

investigation of Scott Murphy’s 2009 simple assault against Father; during

2009 incident, Scott Murphy was drunk and attacked his adult brother with

knife; no children were present or harmed during 2009 incident; Scott

Murphy’s conviction for 2009 assault of Father is too remote in time and too

attenuated to evidence propensity for violence; 2009 incident occurred seven

years before death of O.M.; television news interview Appellee gave after

death of O.M. did not establish Appellee knew or should have known of

threatening conditions at Scott and Kristy Murphy’s home; Appellee inquired

and received several reports that Children were in good health while living

with Scott and Kristy Murphy; statements Appellee made to television news

-4- J-S25012-18

reporter do not demonstrate any foreknowledge of substantial and

unjustifiable risk to O.M. at home of Scott and Kristy Murphy; marginal

concern Appellee expressed as to Scott and Kristy Murphy’s lack of their own

children did not show Appellee knew of Children’s living conditions and

circumstances; Commonwealth failed to present prima facie evidence Appellee

consciously disregarded risk to Children; (3-4) Commonwealth failed to

establish prima facie case for two counts of endangering welfare of children

(“EWOC”); evidence did not show Appellee knew conditions at Scott and Kristy

Murphy’s home put Children in danger requiring reasonable person to

intervene; Appellee received reports from Father that Children were in good

health; Appellee also received reports from her mother and sister, and viewed

photographs of Children on Facebook, which corroborated Father’s reports;

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Related

Commonwealth v. Karetny
880 A.2d 505 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2005)
Commonwealth v. Howard
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Commonwealth v. Trowbridge
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Commonwealth v. Hopkins
747 A.2d 910 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2000)
Commonwealth v. Miller
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Commonwealth v. Cottam
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Commonwealth v. Smith
956 A.2d 1029 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2008)
Commonwealth v. Peer
684 A.2d 1077 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1996)
Commonwealth v. Cardwell
515 A.2d 311 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1986)
Commonwealth v. Reynolds
835 A.2d 720 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2003)
Commonwealth v. Dantzler
135 A.3d 1109 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2016)

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Com. v. Druhot, A., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/com-v-druhot-a-pasuperct-2018.