Commonwealth v. Elliott

599 A.2d 1335, 410 Pa. Super. 354, 1991 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3463
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedNovember 7, 1991
Docket736
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 599 A.2d 1335 (Commonwealth v. Elliott) 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. Elliott, 599 A.2d 1335, 410 Pa. Super. 354, 1991 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3463 (Pa. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinions

TAMILIA, Judge:

Appellant, David Elliott, takes this appeal from his summary conviction for underage drinking,1 following a trial de novo before the Honorable John J. Rufe of the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County. In this appeal, appellant raises several issues concerning the sufficiency of the evidence to find appellant guilty of underage drinking. In order to review a claim the evidence introduced by the Commonwealth was insufficient to prove appellant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, we must accept all evidence and all reasonable inferences therefrom, upon which the fact finder could have based the verdict, in order to determine whether the Commonwealth’s evidence was legally sufficient to support the verdict. Only where the evidence, [357]*357when so viewed, is insufficient to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt as to the crimes charged is relief granted. Commonwealth v. Cody, 401 Pa.Super. 85, 584 A.2d 992 (1991).

Viewed in this light, the evidence establishes that shortly after midnight on February 10, 1990, Officer Donald Schwab of the Bensalem Township Police Department arrived at the scene of a two-car automobile accident. At that time, appellant identified himself to Officer Schwab as the driver of one of the vehicles, producing a vehicle registration and a driver’s license indicating his date of birth as March 10, 1973. Officer Schwab detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage on appellant’s breath and gave him a roadside prearrest breath test, which resulted in a reading of .04 per cent blood alcohol content (BAC). Appellant was taken into custody and transported to police headquarters, where, with appellant’s consent, an Intoximeter 3000 breath test was administered twice to appellant, with both tests resulting in a BAC reading of .04 per cent. Following this finding, a citation was issued to appellant charging him with underage drinking. Appellant stipulated at trial to the calibration of the Intoximeter 3000 and the accuracy of the results derived therefrom.

Appellant now argues the evidence was insufficient to sustain a conviction for underage drinking because a summary offense such as underage drinking must be committed in the presence of a police officer, circumstances not present in this case. We do not agree.

The section of the Crimes Code under which appellant was charged states, in pertinent part: “A person commits a summary offense if he, being less than 21 years of age, attempts to purchase, purchases, consumes, possesses or knowingly and intentionally transports any liquor or malt or brewed beverages____” 18 Pa.C.S. § 6308.

An Act of Assembly which imposes penal sanctions for violations of its provisions must be strictly construed. 1 Pa.C.S. § 1928; Commonwealth v. Hill, 481 Pa. [358]*35837, 391 A.2d 1303 (1978). “However, strict construction does not require that the words of a criminal statute be given their narrowest meaning or that the legislature’s evident intent be disregarded.” Commonwealth v. Gordon, 511 Pa. 481, 487, 515 A.2d 558, 561 (1986). In attempting to ascertain the meaning of a statute we are required to consider the intent of the legislature and are permitted to examine the practical consequences of a particular interpretation. Commonwealth v. Stewart, 375 Pa.Super. 585, 544 A.2d 1384 (1988). We are to presume the legislature did not intend a result that is absurd or unreasonable. Commonwealth v. Martorano, 387 Pa.Super. 151, 563 A.2d 1229 (1989).

For his part, appellant relies upon Commonwealth v. Pincavitch, 206 Pa.Super. 539, 214 A.2d 280 (1965), a case which applied the precursor of section 6308, 18 P.S. § 4675.1 (repealed). In Pincavitch, this Court found “no authority that justifies an arrest without a warrant for a ... summary offense committed beyond the presence of the arresting officer in the absence of a statute giving that right.” Id., 206 Pa.Superior Ct. at 544, 214 A.2d at 282 (emphasis added).2 Subsequent to Pincavitch, however, the legislature enacted the following statute:

§ 8952. Primary municipal police jurisdiction
Any duly employed municipal police officer shall have the power and authority to enforce the laws of this Commonwealth or otherwise perform the functions of that office anywhere within his primary jurisdiction as to:
(1) Any offense which the officer views or otherwise has probable cause to believe was committed within his jurisdiction.
[359]*359(2) Any other event that occurs within his primary jurisdiction and which reasonably requires action on the part of the police in order to preserve, protect or defend persons or property or to otherwise maintain the peace and dignity of this Commonwealth.

42 Pa.C.S. § 8952 (emphasis added), 1982, June 15, P.L. 512, No. 141, § 4, effective in 60 days. Appellant does not dispute Bensalem Township is a municipality or that Officer Schwab was a duly employed municipal police officer. Clearly, then, Pincavitch offers no guidance on this issue, and instead section 8952 controls.3 Further, it does not require any elaborate judicial interpretation of section 8952 to determine the inclusive language of the statute allows a municipal police officer to perform his duties with regard to any offense committed within his jurisdiction, be it a felony, misdemeanor or summary offense. This authority is not limited to offenses viewed by the officer but includes those offenses which the officer has probable cause to believe were committed within his jurisdiction. 42 Pa.C.S. § 8952(1). Were such not the case, the practical consequences would be that police officers often would be unable to issue citations for summary offenses otherwise established by the evidence at hand merely because they were called to the scene after the violations occurred. It is unquestionably the legislature’s intent to establish a probable cause standard as a means of defining the bounds of police authority in arresting or citing an actor for a summary offense. The Comment to Pa.R.Crim.P. 55, Issuance of Citation, states:

[360]*360A law enforcement officer may issue a citation based upon information that the defendant has committed a summary violation, which information may be received from a personal observation of the commission of the offense; a witness; another police officer; investigation; or speed-timing equipment, including radar.

(Emphasis added.) Comments to Rule 70, Arrest Without Warrant, provide as follows:

It is intended that these proceedings will be instituted by arrest only in exceptional circumstances such as those involving violence, or the imminent threat of violence, or those involving danger that the defendant will flee.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
599 A.2d 1335, 410 Pa. Super. 354, 1991 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3463, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-elliott-pasuperct-1991.