Com. v. Schier, B.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania·Decided April 22, 2021·No. 482 EDA 2020·Unpublished

Opinion

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA

:

v. :

:

:

BRIAN SCOTT SCHIER :

:

Appellant : No. 482 EDA 2020

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered January 3, 2020 In the Court of Common Pleas of Chester County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-15-CR-0002008-2018

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA

:

v. :

:

:

BRIAN SCOTT SCHIER :

:

Appellant : No. 483 EDA 2020

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered January 3, 2020 In the Court of Common Pleas of Chester County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-15-CR-0003088-2018

BEFORE: PANELLA, P.J., McLAUGHLIN, J., and McCAFFERY, J. MEMORANDUM BY McCAFFERY, J.: Filed: April 22, 2021 These consolidated appeals, by Brian Scott Schier (Appellant), return to this panel following our December 4, 2020, remand for the preparation of a supplemental opinion by the Chester County Court of Common Pleas. These appeals lie from the judgments of sentence entered, at two dockets, following the January 3, 2020, revocation of Appellant’s parole. Appellant’s counsel,

Deborah Brown, Esquire (Counsel), has filed an application to withdraw from representation and brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), and Commonwealth v. Santiago, 978 A.2d 349 (Pa. 2009). Counsel presents one issue: whether the trial court imposed an illegal sentence by not awarding credit for time on parole prior to the revocation. We conclude this claim is a challenge to the discretionary aspects of sentencing, and was not preserved for appellate review. We grant Counsel’s petition and affirm the judgment of sentence.

I. Procedural History

On February 6, 2019, Appellant appeared before the Honorable David Bortner and entered a negotiated guilty plea to a third offense, “highest tier,” of driving under the influence1 (DUI) at trial docket CP-15-CR-0002008-2018 (DUI/2008 Case). N.T., 2/6/19, at 4. This offense arose from Appellant’s operating a vehicle on November 21, 2007, while under the influence. Id. at 3. The “highest tier” categorization carried a mandatory minimum sentence of one year. Id. at 4. The parties proposed a sentence of one to two years’ imprisonment, which they agreed would be “a state sentence,” under which Appellant “would still have to go before the state parole board.”2 Id. at 5.

1 75 Pa.C.S. § 3802(d)(2).

2 See 61 Pa.C.S. § 6132(a)(1)(i) (Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole shall have exclusive power to, inter alia, parole, reparole, commit, and recommit for violations of parole), (2)(ii) (“[T]he powers and duties conferred

However, Appellant requested — and the Commonwealth did not object to — the court’s agreement that Appellant could serve the sentence at Chester County prison, so that he could stay near his mother. Id. at 5, 13. The parties would then ask “the warden” for permission for Appellant to serve his sentence at the county, rather than state, prison. Id. at 6. The trial court agreed, imposed one to two years’ imprisonment, stated Appellant was RRRI- eligible, and set an RRRI-minimum sentence of nine months.3 Appellant was in fact permitted to serve this sentence at the Chester County prison. See

by this section shall not extend to persons sentenced for a maximum period of less than two years . . . .”); 42 Pa.C.S. § 9775 (“A sentencing court shall grant parole from a term of imprisonment for less than a maximum period of two years, and . . . parole shall be without supervision by the board.”).

3See 61 Pa.C.S. §§ 4501-4512 (recidivism risk reduction incentive). This Court has explained:

[O]ffenders eligible for the RRRI program are sentenced to the minimum and maximum sentences under 42 Pa.C.S. § 9752, and then receive the RRRI minimum sentence, which constitutes three-fourths of a minimum sentence of three years or less . . . .

See 61 Pa.C.S. § 4505(c). After the defendant serves the RRRI minimum sentence, the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole assesses the defendant’s progress in RRRI programs, along with other factors, and determines whether the defendant shall be paroled. 61 Pa.C.S. § 4506. A trial court is required, by statute, to determine if a defendant is eligible for an RRRI minimum sentence. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 9756 (b.1).

Commonwealth v. Pardo, 35 A.3d 1222, 1224 n.3 (Pa. Super. 2011).

Appellant’s Petition for Good Time, DUI/2008 Case, 4/12/19, at 1 (unpaginated).4 On that same day, Appellant also pleaded guilty to criminal use of a communication facility5 (CUCF) at trial docket CP-15-CR-0003088-2018 (CUCF/3088 Case). This charge arose from Appellant’s use of a telephone, on June 30, 2018, to arrange a drug transaction. N.T., 2/6/19, at 2. The trial court sentenced him to 221 days to 23 months and one day’s incarceration, to run concurrently with the sentence at Docket 2008. The court paroled him on this sentence that same day.6 Appellant did not file a post-sentence motion at either docket.

Twenty-two days later, on February 28, 2019, the trial court sua sponte amended Appellant’s CUCF sentence.7 It appears the sole modification to the sentence was the additional condition: “Sentence may be served at CCP at Warden’s discretion.” Amended Sentencing Sheet, CUCF/3088 Case, 2/28/19.

4 We did not include cover page in assigning page numbers to Appellant’s petition.

5 18 Pa.C.S. § 7512(a).

6This panel’s December 4, 2020, memorandum mistakenly stated Appellant was paroled on his DUI sentence on February 6, 2019. Instead, he was paroled on the CUCF sentence. Parole Order, CUCF/3088 Case, 2/6/19; Trial Court Docket, CUCF/3088 Case, 4/2/20, at 9.

7See 42 Pa.C.S. § 5505 (generally, a court “may modify or rescind any order within 30 days after its entry . . . if no appeal from such order has been taken or allowed”).

On April 12, 2019, Appellant, although represented by counsel, filed a pro se “Petition for Good Time” in the DUI/2008 case. The motion averred that although the trial court set a RRRI-minimum sentence of nine months, the Chester County Prison did not offer a RRRI program, but did “offer Good Time,” a reentry program. See Appellant’s Petition for Good Time at 2; N.T., 5/28/19, at 8. Appellant thus requested the court grant him “Good Time” so that he may be released.8 Id. The trial docket also includes an entry for a counseled May 14, 2019, “Motion for Parole,” but the motion itself is not included in the certified record.

On May 28, 2019 — more than three and a half months after sentencing on February 2, 2019 — the trial court conducted a hearing on Appellant’s “Petition for Good Time” in the DUI/2008 case. The trial court observed Appellant would be unlikely to fulfill RRRI requirements, “because those programs aren’t available at a county prison,” and, furthermore, the court could not “award good time” because it did not “have parole authority.” See N.T., 5/28/19, at 2-3. Appellant’s counsel responded that to resolve this

8 The corresponding docket entry for this motion indicates the pro se petition was served on the trial court, Appellant’s counsel, and the Commonwealth. See Pa.R.Crim.P. 576(A)(4) (where represented defendant submits pro se filing, the clerk of courts shall, inter alia, accept it for filing, make a docket entry reflecting the date of receipt; copy of filing shall be forwarded to the defendant’s attorney and Commonwealth within 10 days).

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