Com. v. Flowers, N.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedFebruary 12, 2016
Docket188 EDA 2015
StatusUnpublished

This text of Com. v. Flowers, N. (Com. v. Flowers, N.) 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. Flowers, N., (Pa. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

J-A28032-15

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA Appellee

v.

NYEM FLOWERS,

Appellant No. 188 EDA 2015

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence December 18, 2014 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0012140-2013

BEFORE: GANTMAN, P.J., PANELLA, and SHOGAN, JJ.

MEMORANDUM BY SHOGAN, J.: FILED FEBRUARY 12, 2016

Appellant Nyem Flowers appeals from the judgment of sentence

imposed after the trial court denied his Pa.R.Crim.P. 600 motion to dismiss

and convicted him of retail theft. After careful review, we reverse the trial

court’s order, vacate the judgment of sentence, and discharge Appellant.

The underlying facts of this case are not in dispute as Appellant

entered into a stipulated trial. If called to testify, Lymaris Rodriguez, the

manager of a Rite-Aid store in Philadelphia, would state that she observed

Appellant take video games from a stand in the store and place them in his

bag. When Ms. Rodriguez confronted Appellant, he returned some of the J-A28032-15

games. N.T. 12/18/14, at 7. Officer Lai,1 an off-duty Philadelphia police

officer, would recount that he confronted Appellant and asked for

identification. Id. at 7–8. Appellant left his wallet with the officer and ran

from the store with some games still in his bag. Id. The incident was

captured on video, and Appellant admitted that he took the games and put

them in his bag. Id. at 8.

The trial court summarized the procedural history, as follows:

The criminal act in question occurred on April 23, 2013. The criminal complaint was filed on May 10, 2013. Appellant was arrested on September 9, 2013 and his preliminary arraignment was held on September 10, 2013. A preliminary hearing was then scheduled on September 26, 2013. Appellant was held for court at his preliminary hearing, and formal arraignment was scheduled for October 17, 2013. After his arraignment, court staff scheduled a pre-trial conference for November 6, 2013. At the November 6 pre-trial conference, a discovery request was put on the record and the case was scheduled for a trial on December 30, 2013. Additionally, a writ was prepared to secure Appellant’s presence from custody in Delaware County. On December 20, [2013,] the case was administratively re-listed for trial on February 11, 2014.

On February 11, [2014,] the Commonwealth was not ready, as an officer failed to appear, and the Commonwealth made its first request for a continuance. Additionally, Appellant was not brought down from Delaware County. The case was continued to April 7, 2014. On April 7, [2014,] the Commonwealth was not ready, as a loss-prevention officer from the victim store failed to appear. Appellant’s location had changed from Delaware County custody to Montgomery County custody in the interim. Appellant was not brought to court from Montgomery County custody. The case was continued to

____________________________________________

1 Officer Lai’s first name is not identified in the record.

-2- J-A28032-15

May 22, 2014, and a writ was prepared to secure Appellant’s presence from Montgomery County.

On May 22, [2014,] it was determined that Appellant had been moved to state custody at SCI Camp Hill in the interim and was therefore not brought down. Both parties were otherwise ready for trial. The case was scheduled for July 14, 2014, the next possible date consistent with this court’s calendar, and a writ was prepared. On July 14, [2014,] the Commonwealth was not ready, as a defective copy of the relevant surveillance video had been passed in discovery, and the Commonwealth sought a continuance to correct the issue. The case was then scheduled for October 6, 2014, the earliest possible date consistent with this court’s calendar, and a writ was prepared.

On October 6, [2014,] the Commonwealth was not ready, as the loss-prevention officer from the victim store failed to appear. The case was then scheduled for December 18, 2014, and a writ was prepared for Appellant to be brought down from state custody. On December 18, 2014 this court heard and denied Appellant’s motion to dismiss under Rule 600. The case then proceeded by way of an open stipulated trial and Appellant was found guilty of retail theft. This court sentenced Appellant to a term of one to two years of incarceration, concurrent to any other prison sentence he was then serving, followed by four years non-reporting probation.

Trial Court Opinion, 3/10/15, at 2–3.

Appellant raises a single issue for our consideration on appeal:

Did not the lower court err in denying [Appellant’s] motion to dismiss pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 600, because, including the time attributable to the conventional progression of a criminal case and the time attributable to the Commonwealth due to its non-diligent delay, and excluding the time not counted due to delay beyond the Commonwealth’s control, more than 365 days had elapsed before [Appellant] was brought to trial?

Appellant’s Brief at 3.

In evaluating a Rule 600 issue,

[O]ur standard of review of a trial court’s decision is whether the trial court abused its discretion.

-3- J-A28032-15

Judicial discretion requires action in conformity with law, upon facts and circumstances judicially before the court, after hearing and due consideration. An abuse of discretion is not merely an error of judgment, but if in reaching a conclusion the law is overridden or misapplied or the judgment exercised is manifestly unreasonable, or the result of partiality, prejudice, bias, or ill will, as shown by the evidence or the record, discretion is abused.

The proper scope of review is limited to the evidence on the record of the Rule [600] evidentiary hearing, and the findings of the [trial] court. An appellate court must view the facts in the light most favorable to the prevailing party. Additionally, when considering the trial court’s ruling, this Court is not permitted to ignore the dual purpose behind Rule [600]. Rule [600] serves two equally important functions: (1) the protection of the accused’s speedy trial rights, and (2) the protection of society. In determining whether an accused’s right to a speedy trial has been violated, consideration must be given to society’s right to effective prosecution of criminal cases, both to restrain those guilty of crime and to deter those contemplating it. However, the administrative mandate of Rule [600] was not designed to insulate the criminally accused from good faith prosecution delayed through no fault of the Commonwealth.

So long as there has been no misconduct on the part of the Commonwealth in an effort to evade the fundamental speedy trial rights of an accused, Rule [600] must be construed in a manner consistent with society’s right to punish and deter crime. In considering [these] matters . . . courts must carefully factor into the ultimate equation not only the prerogatives of the individual accused, but the collective right of the community to vigorous law enforcement as well.

-4- J-A28032-15

Commonwealth v. Horne, 89 A.3d 277, 283–284 (Pa. Super. 2014)

(quoting Commonwealth v. Ramos, 936 A.2d 1097, 1100 (Pa. Super.

2007) (en banc)).

In pertinent part, the version of Rule 6002 that was in effect when the

criminal complaint was filed against Appellant provided as follows:

Rule 600. Prompt Trial

(A)

* * *

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Com. v. Flowers, N., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/com-v-flowers-n-pasuperct-2016.