Com. v. Salam, Z.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedOctober 26, 2018
Docket2512 EDA 2017
StatusUnpublished

This text of Com. v. Salam, Z. (Com. v. Salam, Z.) 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. Salam, Z., (Pa. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

J-S53041-18

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA Appellee : : v. : : ZAID ABDUL NAFEES SALAM : : Appellant : No. 2512 EDA 2017

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence June 30, 2017 In the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-23-CR-0006494-2015

BEFORE: GANTMAN, P.J., OTT, J., and PLATT*, J.

MEMORANDUM BY GANTMAN, P.J.: FILED OCTOBER 26, 2018

Appellant, Zaid Abdul Nafees Salam, appeals from the judgment of

sentence entered in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, following

his jury trial convictions for kidnapping, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse

(“IDSI”), and two counts of simple assault.1 We affirm Appellant’s

convictions; vacate the sexually violent predator (“SVP”) designation; remand

the matter to the trial court to issue a revised notice to Appellant regarding

his registration requirements under 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9799.23; and affirm the

judgment of sentence in all other respects.

In its opinion, the trial court accurately set forth the relevant facts and

procedural history of this case. Therefore, we have no reason to restate them.

____________________________________________

1 18 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 2901(a)(3); 3123(a)(1); 2701(a)(1), respectively. ____________________________________ * Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court. J-S53041-18

Appellant raises three issues for our review:

WHETHER THE VERDICT ON THE CHARGE OF KIDNAPPING WAS RENDERED ON INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE BECAUSE THE COMMONWEALTH FAILED TO PROVE BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT THAT [APPELLANT] UNLAWFULLY REMOVED ANOTHER A SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES FROM THE PLACE WHERE HE WAS FOUND, OR IF HE UNLAWFULLY CONFINED ANOTHER FOR A SUBSTANTIAL PERIOD IN A PLACE OF ISOLATION, WITH INTENT TO INFLICT BODILY INJURY ON OR TO TERRORIZE THE VICTIM OR A LIAR VIA…ANOTHER?

WHETHER THE VERDICT ON THE CHARGE OF IDSI WAS RENDERED ON INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE BECAUSE THE COMMONWEALTH FAILED TO PROVE BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT THAT [APPELLANT] ENGAGED IN DEVIATE SEXUAL INTERCOURSE WITH A COMPLAINANT BY FORCIBLE COMPULSION?

IS IT UNCONSTITUTIONAL TO LABEL [APPELLANT] A SEXUALLY VIOLENT PREDATOR SUBJECT TO REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS WHEN IT IS UNDISPUTED THAT THE PROCESS LEADING TO THE LABEL IS ITSELF UNCONSTITUTIONAL?

(Appellant’s Brief at 10).

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

applicable law, and the well-reasoned opinion of the Honorable Gregory M.

Mallon, we conclude Appellant’s first and second issues merit no relief. The

trial court opinion comprehensively discusses and properly disposes of those

issues. (See Trial Court Opinion, filed November 17, 2017, at 4-6) (finding:

(1) Commonwealth presented evidence that Appellant forcefully removed

Victim from her home at knifepoint; Victim said Appellant threatened to kill

her if she did not go to Appellant’s residence with him; Appellant held knife to

-2- J-S53041-18

Victim’s throat and pinned her down with baseball bat, which caused Victim to

have difficulty breathing; Commonwealth presented sufficient evidence to

sustain Appellant’s kidnapping conviction;2 (2) Victim testified that Appellant

put his penis in her mouth and in her anus; Victim said Appellant threatened

her and Victim was afraid to reject Appellant’s commands; Commonwealth

presented sufficient evidence to sustain Appellant’s IDSI conviction). Thus,

we affirm Appellant’s first and second issues on the basis of the trial court’s

opinion.

In his third issue, Appellant argues his SVP status is illegal in light of

recent Pennsylvania decisions.3 We agree with Appellant’s position.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has made clear that the registration

requirements under the Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act

(“SORNA”) constitute criminal punishment. Commonwealth v. Muniz, 640

Pa. 699, 164 A.3d 1189 (2017), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 138 S.Ct. 925,

200 L.Ed.2d 213 (2018). In light of Muniz, this Court held: “[U]nder

2 “[F]or purposes of Pennsylvania’s kidnapping statute, a ‘place of isolation’ is not geographic in nature, but contemplates that confinement of a victim where…she is separated from the normal protections of society in a fashion that makes discovery or rescue unlikely.” Commonwealth v. Rushing, 627 Pa. 59, 74, 99 A.3d 416, 425 (2014).

3 The trial court did not address this issue because Appellant did not raise it in his Rule 1925(b) statement. Nevertheless, Appellant’s claim presents a non-waivable challenge to the legality of his sentence. See Commonwealth v. Randal, 837 A.2d 1211 (Pa.Super. 2003) (en banc) (explaining challenges to illegal sentence cannot be waived, assuming jurisdiction is proper).

-3- J-S53041-18

Apprendi and Alleyne, a factual finding, such as whether a defendant has a

mental abnormality or personality disorder that makes him…likely to engage

in predatory sexually violent offenses, that increases the length of registration

must be found beyond a reasonable doubt by the chosen fact-finder.”4

Commonwealth v. Butler, 173 A.3d 1212, 1217 (Pa.Super. 2017), appeal

granted, ___ Pa. ___, 190 A.3d 581 (2018) (internal citations and quotation

marks omitted). This Court further held: “[S]ection 9799.24(e)(3) of SORNA

violates the federal and state constitutions because it increases the criminal

penalty to which a defendant is exposed without the chosen fact-finder making

the necessary factual findings beyond a reasonable doubt.”5 Id. at 1218. The

Butler Court concluded that trial courts can no longer designate convicted

defendants as SVPs or hold SVP hearings, “until [the] General Assembly

enacts a constitutional designation mechanism.” Id. (vacating appellant’s

SVP designation and remanding to trial court for sole purpose of issuing

appropriate notice under 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9799.23, governing reporting

requirements for sex offenders, as to appellant’s registration obligation).

Instantly, following an assessment by the Sexual Offender Assessment

4 Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000) and Alleyne v. United States, 570 U.S. 99, 133 S.Ct. 2151, 186 L.Ed.2d 314 (2013).

5 See 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9799.24(e)(3) (stating: “At the hearing prior to sentencing, the court shall determine whether the Commonwealth has proved by clear and convincing evidence that the individual is a sexually violent predator”).

-4- J-S53041-18

Board, the court imposed SVP status on Appellant on March 1, 2017. In light

of Muniz and Butler, Appellant’s SVP designation constitutes an illegal

sentence. Accordingly, we affirm Appellant’s convictions, based on the trial

court’s opinion; vacate the SVP designation; and remand the matter to the

trial court to issue a revised notice to Appellant of his registration obligations

under 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9799.23.6 See Butler, supra. We affirm the judgment

of sentence in all other respects.

Judgment of sentence affirmed in part and vacated in part; case

remanded with instructions.

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Related

Apprendi v. New Jersey
530 U.S. 466 (Supreme Court, 2000)
Alleyne v. United States
133 S. Ct. 2151 (Supreme Court, 2013)
Commonwealth v. Randal
837 A.2d 1211 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2003)
Commonwealth v. Bishop
742 A.2d 178 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1999)
Commonwealth v. Duda
831 A.2d 728 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2003)
Commonwealth v. Ratsamy
934 A.2d 1233 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2007)
Commonwealth, Aplt. v. Rushing, R.
99 A.3d 416 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2014)
Commonwealth v. Swope
123 A.3d 333 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2015)
Commonwealth v. Hanna
124 A.3d 757 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2015)
Commonwealth v. Muniz, J., Aplt.
164 A.3d 1189 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2017)
Commonwealth v. Butler
173 A.3d 1212 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2017)
Commonwealth v. Sinclair
897 A.2d 1218 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2006)
Commonwealth v. Sinnott
30 A.3d 1105 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2011)
Commonwealth v. Harvard
64 A.3d 690 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2013)
Pennsylvania v. Muniz
138 S. Ct. 925 (Supreme Court, 2018)

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