Commonwealth v. Carter

821 A.2d 601, 2003 Pa. Super. 131, 2003 Pa. Super. LEXIS 530
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 2, 2003
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 821 A.2d 601 (Commonwealth v. Carter) 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. Carter, 821 A.2d 601, 2003 Pa. Super. 131, 2003 Pa. Super. LEXIS 530 (Pa. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinions

[603]*603STEVENS, J.

¶ 1 This is an appeal from the judgment of sentence entered in the Court of Common Pleas of York County following Appellant’s guilty plea to the charges of rape,1 statutory sexual assault,2 corruption of minors,3 and indecent assault,4 and the trial court’s determination that Appellant is a “sexually violent predator” pursuant to the Registration of Sexual Offenders Act, a/k/a Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law II, 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9791-9799.5 At issue in this case of first impression is whether the trial court violates the Juvenile Act, 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 6301-6365, in relying on psychiatric examinations and summaries gathered during an appellant’s juvenile detention following an adjudication of delinquency in assessing whether the appellant is a “sexually violent predator.” Also at issue is whether the psychiatrist/patient privilege, 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 5944, is violated by disclosure of information gathered from such examinations and summaries.6 We remand for further proceedings.

¶2 The relevant facts and procedural history are as follows: On August 20, 2001, Appellant, who was an adult, pleaded guilty to the charges listed supra in connection with several incidents occurring between December 2000 to May 23, 2001 involving Appellant’s six-year-old third cousin. In exchange for Appellant’s guilty plea, the Commonwealth agreed to seek an aggregate of five to ten years in prison and a period of probation, Appellant would have no contact with the victim, Appellant would undergo counseling, and Appellant would be assessed by the Sexual Offender Assessment Board (Board) to determine whether Appellant is a sexually violent predator under the Registration of Sexual Offenders Act. N.T. 8/20/01 at 2. If the Board determined that Appellant is a sexually violent predator, the Commonwealth specifically reserved the right to take all necessary action under the Registration of Sexual Offenders Act. N.T. 8/20/01 at 2. The trial court accepted Appellant’s guilty plea, and the Commonwealth filed a petition seeking to have a hearing scheduled to determine whether Appellant is a sexually violent predator under the Registration of Sexual Offenders Act. Pursuant to 42 Pa. C.S.A. § 9795.4, the trial court scheduled an assessment hearing for Appellant, and on November 15, 2001, the Commonwealth received a written report from the Board. On November 29, 2001, Appellant filed a motion to compel the Commonwealth to supply Appellant with all of the documents [604]*604rebed on by the Board in making its assessment, and the trial court granted the motion.

¶3 In his report, Gregory A. Loop, a member of the Board, mentioned, inter alia, that, on October 6, 1992, Appellant was adjudicated delinquent at age twelve for sexually abusing a six-year-old neighbor girl. The Board indicated that Appellant’s placement in residential treatment was not successful and that Appellant was relocated to four different programs. The Board noted that Appellant was evaluated by a psychiatrist, Fred Schultz, on November 16, 1992 and that Appellant was diagnosed as suffering from, inter alia, a conduct disorder, undersociabzed aggression, attention deficit hyperactivity, and oppositional defiant disorder. The Board reported that, in Appellant’s discharge summary from diversified treatment alternatives dated October 4, 1995, Appellant admitted that he had sexuaby molested twenty-nine children, ranging from ages three to ten, and in a psychiatric evaluation performed at Alternative Rehabbitation Communities, Inc. on March 5, 1996, Appebant admitted that he threatened his victims and physically abused them on occasion. In an evaluation from the National Institute for the Study, Prevention, and Treatment of Sexual Trauma, dated June 25, 1996, it was opined that Appebant stopped offending at age twelve solely because he was “locked up.” Finaby, the Board reported that, in a psychiatric evaluation performed September 1998, Appebant indicated that he would threaten chbdren and that he forcibly raped a seventeen-year-old girl. Mr. Loop concluded that, in his professional opinion, Appellant meets the criteria of being a sexuaby violent predator.

¶4 On December 20, 2001, Appebant proceeded to a hearing, at which Mr. Loop testified that he reviewed numerous reports and that, in his opinion, Appebant is a sexually violent predator. Mr. Loop specifically testified that he relied on Appellant’s juvenbe record, psychiatric reports, and discharge summaries. N.T. 12/20/01 at 5. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court found Appellant is a sexuaby violent predator. The trial court then sentenced Appebant to an aggregate of five to ten years in prison, with a concurrent five years of probation, as to the sexual convictions. Because Appellant was found to be a sexuaby violent predator, the Commonwealth informed Appellant that he was required to register with the Pennsylvania State Police.

¶ 5 On December 31, 2001, Appellant filed a post-sentence motion abeging that the sentencing court erred in permitting Mr. Loop to rely on psychiatric examinations completed whbe Appellant was involved with the juvenbe justice system and on evaluations which were completed for treatment purposes. On January 25, 2002, the trial court denied Appellant’s post-sentence motion, concluding that ab relevant information may be reviewed in determining whether a defendant is a sexuaby violent predator. On February 4, 2002, Ap-pebant fbed a timely notice of appeal, the trial court ordered Appebant to file a statement pursuant to Pa.R.A.P.1925(b), Appebant filed the requested statement, and the trial court filed a Pa.R.A.P.1925(a) opinion.

¶ 6 Appebant first contends that the confidentiality provisions and purpose of the Juvenbe Act were violated when the trial court considered Appebant’s psychiatric examinations and summaries gathered as part of Appebant’s adjudication of delinquency. Appebant contends that such information should not have been used in determining whether Appebant is a sexually violent predator for Registration of Sexual Offenders purposes since it was confidential.

[605]*605¶ 7 The Juvenile Act provides, in relevant part, that it is to be interpreted and construed to effectuate the following purposes:

Consistent with the protection of the public interest, to provide for children committing delinquent acts programs of supervision, care and rehabilitation which provide balanced attention to the protection of the community, the imposition of accountability for offenses committed and the development of competencies to enable children to become responsible and productive members of the community.

42 Pa.C.S.A. § 6301(b)(2). “The stated purpose of the [Juvenile] Act reflects a concern that juveniles be held accountable for their actions and that the community be protected from violent juvenile offenders.” In the Interest of J.F., 714 A.2d 467, 471 (Pa.Super.1998). This desire must be balanced with the concern that juvenile offenders be rehabilitated into productive members of society. Id.

¶8 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 6339 provides that psychiatric examinations and treatments are permitted in order to effectuate the purpose of the Juvenile Act. The Juvenile Act provides that, in general, the records associated with an adjudication of delinquency are to be kept confidential.

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Bluebook (online)
821 A.2d 601, 2003 Pa. Super. 131, 2003 Pa. Super. LEXIS 530, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-carter-pasuperct-2003.