Commonwealth v. Blessing

29 Pa. D. & C.3d 356, 1984 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 449
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Dauphin County
DecidedMarch 28, 1984
Docketno. 892 CD 1983
StatusPublished

This text of 29 Pa. D. & C.3d 356 (Commonwealth v. Blessing) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Dauphin County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Blessing, 29 Pa. D. & C.3d 356, 1984 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 449 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1984).

Opinion

DOWLING, J.,

Several questions of more than usual interest are raised in defendant’s motion in arrest of judgment because his criminal involvement spans both the “old” and the “new” drunk driving laws.

Mr. Blessing was first arrested on August 8, 1982, for driving under the influence of alcohol. He was accepted into the Accelerated Rehabilitation Disposition Program, and as part of that procedure, his [358]*358driver’s license was suspended for 90 days, effective January 13, 1983. On February 21, 1983, he was arrested for driving while under suspension, and found guilty before District Justice Rathfon. On appeal to this court, he was again found guilty and sentenced to pay a fine of $1,000 and undergo imprisonment for 90 days.

The first issue presented is whether the law in effect at the time of the prior offense or that in effect at the time of the present offense governs the sentence. At the time of defendant’s arrest for driving under the influence, the penalty for driving under suspension was a fine of $200 and no imprisonment and without any distinction being made as to why the license was originally suspended.1 However, when he committed the offense of driving under suspension, the penalty had been raised to a mandatory fine of $1,000 and 90 days imprisonment2 if the suspension resulted from drunk driving.

Defendant takes the position that the law has changed between the time of the commission of the crime and the time of sentencing, and thus he cannot be subject to a greater punishment than that provided for at the time of the commission of the crime, quoting Commonwealth v. Dessus, 214 Pa. Super. 347, 257 A. 2d 867 (1969). While this is a correct statement of the law, it does not fit the facts. When the crime was committed for which defendant was sentenced, i.e. driving under suspension, the statute provided for the mandatory fine and imprisonment. Furthermore, the elements of the of[359]*359fense of driving under suspension are the same as they were prior to the amendment increasing the penalties, thus distinguishing Commonwealth v. Clipper, 303 Pa. Super. 385, 449 A.2d 741 (1982), where the court found that prior offenses of shop lifting were not identical with the crime of retail theft, and hence, would not use the prior convictions in the enhanced penalty provisions of the new law.

It is generally held that in order to authorize the infliction of a more severe penalty on a conviction for a second or a subsequent offense, it is not necessary that the first conviction or other prior conviction relied on should have occurred subsequent to the amendment of the statute, 24B C.J.S., §1960(5).

Although not characterized as such, the brunt of defendant’s argument focuses toward an “ex post facto” consideration. The prohibition against the enactment of ex post facto laws in this country was first written into the Constitution of the United States and since that time has been incorporated into the organic law of every state. As far back as 1798, the Supreme Court of the United States in Calder v. Gull, 3 Dall. 386, undertook to define the meaning of an ex post facto law, and that case has remained as a leading authority on the question to the present time. Under that decision, ex post facto laws were grouped into four classes as follows: (1) every law that makes an act done before the passing of the law, and which was innocent when done, criminal; (2) every law that aggravates a crime, or makes it greater than it was when committed; (3) every law that changes the punishment, and inflicts a greater punishment than the law annexed to the crime, when committed; (4) every law that alters the [360]*360legal rules of evidence, and requires less or different testimony, than the law required at the time of the commission of the offense, in order to convict. (Emphasis added.) See Commonwealth v. Kalck, 239 Pa. 533 (1913). It is evident that in the factual situation before us, none of the above criteria are met.

In People v. Hightower, 112 N.E. 2d 126 (Ill. 1953), defendant was sentenced to a term of not less than 25 and not more than 50 years for drug violation, the sentence being based on convictions occurring prior to the effective date of the Illinois Act. The court held:

We find no merit in defendant’s contention that section 23 is inapplicable for the reason that the pri- or conviction occurred before the statute became effective. In People v. Hanke, 389 Ill. 602, at page 604, 60 N.E. 2d 395, at page 396, we stated: “A statute increasing the punishment for a subsequent offense is not an ex post facto law merely because the prior conviction occurred before the statute was enacted or became effective.” In Cooley On Constitutional Limitations, 8th ed., p. 553, the rule is stated as follows: “Heavier penalties are often provided by law for a second or subsequent offense than for the first, and it has not been deemed objectionable that in providing for the heavier penalty, the prior conviction authorized to be taken into account may have taken place before the law was passed. In such cases it is the second or subsequent offense that is punished, not the first.”

In Spahler v. Colman, 379 So.2d 717 (Fla. 1980), petitioner was denied bail because of previous convictions and in denying the petition for writ of habe-as corpus, the court held:

“The test for whether or not application of the cited rule and statute to the petitioner is unconstitu[361]*361tional because “ex post facto” in effect, depends on whether or not both felony offenses were committed prior to the effective date of the rule and statute. “The statute is not rendered ex post facto by providing enhanced punishments for a subsequent offense because of convictions occurring prior to the passage of the statute.” Cross v. State, 96 Fla. 768, 119 So. 380, 385 (1928). The Cross court quoted 1 Bishop’s Criminal Law §283 (9 Ed.), as the rationale for its decision: “ ... It has been repeatedly adjudged ‘that the previous commission of crimes may be considered in determining the punishment to be imposed, and in the creation of certain kinds of statutory offenses, without rendering a statute an ex post facto law.’ ”

And in Commonwealth v. Warner, 87 D.&C. 91, 96, (1954), the court rather succinctly stated:

“We do not agree with the contention of defendant’s counsel that the enhanced penalties, provided for by this amendment of June 19, 1953, apply only to cases involving prior convictions for offenses committed subsequent to the adoption of the amendment.”

We also have a recent opinion from the Honorable Keith B. Quigley in Commonwealth v. Hernandez,3 where the court in considering a similar situation, i.e. the provision of the “New Drunk Driving Law”4 which provides for mandatory jail terms for subsequent offenses5 stated:

“The defense suggest that it would be improper [362]*362for the court to consider pre-January 14, 1983, offenses in applying the mandatory provisions of these amendments. Certainly, pre-amendment offenses will be considered by a sentencing court in imposing a sentence for a current violation. The right of a court in this regard is not disputed by the defense. In fact, the defense points out that such a consideration would be well within the court’s discretionary power.

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Related

Calder v. Bull
3 U.S. 386 (Supreme Court, 1798)
United States v. Ewell
383 U.S. 116 (Supreme Court, 1966)
Commonwealth v. Mikulan
470 A.2d 1339 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1983)
Commonwealth v. Henderson
393 A.2d 1146 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1978)
Commonwealth v. Dessus
257 A.2d 867 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1969)
Commonwealth v. Clipper
449 A.2d 741 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1982)
People v. Hightower
112 N.E.2d 126 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1953)
Commonwealth v. Gooslin
421 A.2d 775 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1980)
Cross v. State
119 So. 380 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1928)
The People v. Hanke
60 N.E.2d 395 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1945)
Commonwealth v. Kalck
87 A. 61 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1913)
Sphaler v. Colman
379 So. 2d 717 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1980)

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Bluebook (online)
29 Pa. D. & C.3d 356, 1984 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 449, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-blessing-pactcompldauphi-1984.