Commonwealth v. Bateman

51 Pa. D. & C.2d 754, 1971 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 571
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Cumberland County
DecidedMarch 8, 1971
Docketno. 240
StatusPublished

This text of 51 Pa. D. & C.2d 754 (Commonwealth v. Bateman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Cumberland County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Bateman, 51 Pa. D. & C.2d 754, 1971 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 571 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1971).

Opinion

SHUGHART, P. J. and WEIDNER, J.,

When the above case was called for trial, counsel for defendant and the district attorney advised the court that the guilt or innocence of defendant depended upon the resolution of a legal question. An order to this effect was therefore entered and the facts have been stipulated of record. The matter was placed on the argument list, has been argued, and is now ripe for decision.

From the stipulation it appears that on Saturday, September 12, 1970, at or about 2:40 a.m., in Hopewell Township, Cumberland County “. . . the Defendant did, while operating his vehicle at Milepost 204, westbound on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, pull off the highway onto the right berm, stop his vehicle and extinguish his lights. Thereafter, the Defendant did, [755]*755without turning on his lights, move his vehicle so as to accomplish a U turn, changing his direction of travel from westbound to eastbound without having first passed through an interchange. After completing the said turn the Defendant did again turn on the lights of his vehicle. His arrest followed immediately thereafter.”

On September 21,1970, defendant was charged with the summary offense of making a U-turn on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in violation of section 1036, Rule 8, of The Vehicle Code regulating traffic on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The same date, defendant was charged with a violation of section 801(d) of Article VIII of The Vehicle Code of April 29, 1959, P. L. 58, as amended, 75 PS §801(d), which provides as follows:

“Every motor vehicle, and every trailer or semitrailer attached to a motor vehicle, and every vehicle which is being drawn at the end of a combination of vehicles, shall carry at the rear at least two (2) lamps of a type which at the time of their use is approved by the secretary, and which exhibit a red light, plainly visible under normal atmospheric conditions from a distance of five hundred (500) feet to the rear of such vehicle.”

At the same time, defendant was charged with a violation of section 801(a) of article VIII of the Vehicle Code, 75 PS §801(a), which provides:

“. . . Every vehicle or tractor upon a highway within the Commonwealth, during the period from one-half (V2) hour after sunset to one-half (V2) hour before sunrise, and at any other time when there is not sufficient light to render clearly discernible persons and vehicles on the highway at a distance of five hundred (500) feet ahead, shall be equipped with lighted lamps and illuminating devices, as in this [756]*756section, respectively required for different classes of vehicles.”

All three of these charges were summary offenses to which defendant entered pleas of guilty and subsequently paid the prescribed fine and the costs.

On September 24, 1970, defendant was charged with a violation of section 1038 of The Vehicle Code, as amended, 75 PS §1038, which provides as follows:

“It shall be unlawful for any person to turn off any or all the lights on a motor vehicle or tractor for the purpose of avoiding identification or arrest.”

This offense is a misdemeanor and calls for the imposition of a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500, or imprisonment for three years, or both. Subsequently, an indictment was approved by the grand jury and it is the charge involved in defendant’s motion to dismiss.

Counsel for defendant contends that since he had paid fines on the two summary charges involving the absence of lights on his vehicle, he is insulated from a prosecution of the misdemeanor charge on the doctrine of double jeopardy or, more specifically, autrefois convict. Double jeopardy applies under our Pennsylvania Constitution, article I, sec. 10, only to the situation where a person is placed in double jeopardy for a crime punishable by death: Commonwealth ex rel. Papy v. Maroney, 417 Pa. 368. The plea of autrefois convict is a plea separate and distinct from double jeopardy but its practical effect is the same. Federal decisions dealing with double jeopardy are relevant in dealing with pleas of autrefois convict in this Commonwealth. The double-jeopardy provisions of the Fifth Amendment of the Federal Constitution are now applicable to the States by virtue of the decision in Benton v. Maryland, 395 U. S. 784, 89 S. Ct. 2056, 23 L. Ed. 2d 707. Defendant [757]*757relies on the case of Waller v. Florida, 90 S. Ct. 1184, 397, in support of his contention. The facts in that case as they appear from the opinion were as follows:

“Petitioner was one of a number of persons who removed a canvas mural which was affixed to a wall inside the City Hall of St. Petersburg, Florida. After the mural was removed, the petitioner, together with others, carried it through the streets of St. Peters-burg until they were confronted by police officers. After a scuffle, the officers recovered the mural, but in a damaged condition.
“The petitioner was charged by the City of St. Petersburg with the violation of two ordinances: first, destruction of city property; and second, disorderly breach of the peace. He was found guilty in the municipal court on both counts, and a sentence of 180 days in the county jail was imposed.
“Thereafter an information was filed against the petitioner by the State of Florida charging him with grand larceny. It is conceded that this information was based on the same acts of the petitioner as were involved in the violation of the two city ordinances.
“Before his trial in the Circuit Court on the felony charge, petitioner moved in the Supreme Court of Florida for a writ of prohibition to prevent the second trial, asserting the claim of double jeopardy as a bar. Relief was denied without opinion. Waller v. Circuit Court for the Sixth Judicial Circuit in and for Pinellas County, 201 So. 2d 554 (Fla. 1967). Thereafter petitioner was tried in the Circuit Court of Florida by a jury and was found guilty of the felony of grand larceny. After verdict in the state court, he was sentenced to six months to five years less 170 days of the 180-day sentence previously imposed by the municipal court of St. Petersburg, Florida. (Italics supplied.)

[758]*758The District Court of Appeal of the State of Florida rejected defendant’s claim that he had twice been put in jeopardy, although the charge on which the State court action rested “was based on the same acts of the appellant as were involved in the violation of the two city ordinances,” because the court was of the opinion that a trial of an individual in a municipal court did not bar a prosecution of the same person in a proper State court thereafter. (Italics supplied.)

In rejecting this contention, Chief Justice Burger, speaking for the court, said that, in reaching this conclusion “We act on the statement of the District Court of Appeal that the second trial on the felony charge by information ‘was based on the same acts of the appellant as were involved in the violation of the two city ordinances’ and on the assumption that the ordinance violations were included offenses of the felony charge.

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Related

Diaz v. United States
223 U.S. 442 (Supreme Court, 1912)
Blockburger v. United States
284 U.S. 299 (Supreme Court, 1931)
Benton v. Maryland
395 U.S. 784 (Supreme Court, 1969)
Waller v. Florida
397 U.S. 387 (Supreme Court, 1970)
Ashe v. Swenson
397 U.S. 436 (Supreme Court, 1970)
Commonwealth Ex Rel. Papy v. Maroney
207 A.2d 814 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1965)
Commonwealth v. Bergen
4 A.2d 164 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1938)

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Bluebook (online)
51 Pa. D. & C.2d 754, 1971 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 571, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-bateman-pactcomplcumber-1971.