Commonwealth v. Battles

169 A.3d 1086
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedAugust 21, 2017
DocketNo. 46 WDA 2017
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 169 A.3d 1086 (Commonwealth v. Battles) 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
Commonwealth v. Battles, 169 A.3d 1086 (Pa. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

OPINION BY

STRASSBURGER, J.:

Ricky Lynn Battles (Appellant) appeals from the judgment of sentence of 35 years to life imprisonment following a resentenc-ing hearing in accordance with Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460, 132 S.Ct. 2455, 183 L.Ed.2d 407 (2012),1 and Montgomery v. Louisiana, — U.S. —, 136 S.Ct. 718, 193 L.Ed.2d 599 (2016).2 We affirm.

[1088]*1088A prior panel of this Court summarized the relevant factual and procedural history of this matter as follows.

Pursuant to a plea bargain [Appellant] pled guilty generally to criminal homicide in connection with the shooting death of his uncle, Jerome Nagorski, which occurred in 1977 [when Appellant was sixteen], A three-judge panel determined the degree of guilt to be murder in the first degree. Post-verdict motions were denied, [a sentence of life imprisonment was imposed in February 1978], and [Appellant] appealed the finding of the panel to the [this Court. This Court] affirmed the [trial] court’s judgment of sentence, [ ] 417 A.2d 779 ([Pa. Super.] 1979). [Appellant] then filed a petition to withdraw his guilty plea nunc pro tunc with the [trial court. Appellant’s] petition was denied, [and he appealed, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel and a defective guilty plea].

Commonwealth v. Battles, 496 A.2d 849 (Pa. Super. 1985) (unpublished memorandum at 1).' This Court affirmed the order denying Appellant’s petition on May 17, 1985. Id. This case saw no further proceedings until 2012 when Appellant untimely filed a pro se PCRA petition, averring he was entitled to a resentencing hearing based upon the United States Supreme Court decision in Miller. The PCRA court ultimately denied the petition and this Court affirmed, based upon our Supreme Court’s ruling in Cunningham, that Miller did not apply retroactively to those seeking relief on collateral review. Commonwealth v. Battles, 105 A.3d 41 (Pa. 2014).

On February 22,, 2016, following the United States- Supreme Court’s decision in Montgomery, Appellant, through counsel, filed a PCRA petition contending that Appellant’s sentence should be vacated and he was entitled to a resentencing hearing in accordance with the bases cited supra. The PCRA court agreed.

On December .9, 2016, Appellant was resentenced to 35 years to life imprisonment with 39 years and 16 days credit. Appellant’s post-sentence motion to modify his sentence was denied, and this appeal followed.3 . .

Appellant presents two issues for our review, both of which center on his allegations that his sentence to' a maximum term of life imprisonment is illegal under Miller and Commonwealth v. Batts (Batts I), 620 Pa. 115, 66 A.3d 286 (2013). Appellant’s Brief at 10. Specifically, Appellant avers the “sentencing court erred as a matter of law when it imposed a maximum incarceration sentence of life imprisonment[,]” or in the alternative, the sentencing court abused its discretion when sentencing him to a maximum life term for a murder committed when he was á juvenile, Id. We address these issues sequentially.

With respect'to the former claim, we bear in mind the following.

It is [ ] well-established that [i]f no statutory authorization exists for a particular sentence, that sentence is illegal and subject to correction. An illegal sentence must be vacated. Issues relating to the legality of a sentence are questions of law[.] .... Our standard of review over such questions is de novo and our scope of review is plenary.

[1089]*1089Commonwealth v. Cardwell, 105 A.3d 748, 750 (Pa. Super. 2014) (citations and quotations omitted).

Appellant contends that the sentencing court’s imposition of a maximum term of incarceration of life is unconstitutional, and in contravention of well-established case law. Appellant’s Brief at 17-18. Specifically, Appellant cites Batts I, in which our Supreme Court recognized “that Miller’s rationale—emphasizing characteristics attending youth—militates in favor of individualized sentencing for those under the age of eighteen both in terms of minimum and maximum sentences.” 66 A.3d at 296. Appellant’s Brief at 17.

Upon review, we agree with both the sentencing court and the Commonwealth that Batts I is controlling in this case. A narrow reading of the Batts I language cited supra, which is present in Appellant’s brief, appears to suggest that Appellant’s position concerning the legality of imposing a maximum term of life imprisonment for juvenile offenders has merit. However, Appellant has taken those words out of context. Our Supreme Court’s ultimate decision was that not only is the imposition of such a sentence legal, it- is mandated in some instances.

Appellant’s argument that the entire statutory sentencing scheme for first-degree murder has been rendered unconstitutional as applied to juvenile 'offenders is not buttressed by either the language of the relevant statutory provisions or the holding in Miller. Section 1102, which mandates the imposition of a life sentence upon conviction for first-degree murder, see 18 Pa.C.S. § 1102(a), does not itself contradict Miller-, it is only when that mandate becomes a sentence of life-without-parole as applied to a juvenile offender—which occurs as a result of the interaction between Section 1102, the Parole Code, see 61 Pa.C.S. § 6137(a)(1), and the Juvenile Act, see 42 Pa.C.S. § 6302—that Miller’s proscription squarely is triggered. Miller neither barred imposition of a life-without-parole sentence. on a juvenile categorically nor indicated that a life sentence with the possibility of parole could never be mandatorily imposed on a juvenile. Rather, Miller requires only that there be judicial consideration of the appropriate age-related factors set forth in that decision prior to the imposition of a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole on a juvenile. ■ ■
We recognize, as a policy matter, that Miller’s rationale—emphasizing characteristics attending youth—militates in favor of individualized sentencing for those under the age of eighteen both in terms of minimum-and maximum sentences. In terms of the actual constitutional command, however, Miller’s binding holding is specifically couched more narrowly. (“We .,. hold that the Eighth Amendment forbids a sentencing scheme that mandates life in prison without possibility of parole for juvenile offenders.”). The High Court thus left unanswered the question of whether a life sentence with the possibility of parole offends the evolving standards it is discerning.
* ⅜ *
We recognize the difference in treatment accorded to those subject to non-final judgments of sentence for murder as of Miller’s issuance and those convicted on or after the date of the High Court’s decision.

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Bluebook (online)
169 A.3d 1086, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-battles-pasuperct-2017.