Commonwealth v. Herberg

16 Pa. D. & C.3d 443, 1980 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 218
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Dauphin County
DecidedDecember 15, 1980
Docketno. 698 C.D. 1979
StatusPublished

This text of 16 Pa. D. & C.3d 443 (Commonwealth v. Herberg) 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. Herberg, 16 Pa. D. & C.3d 443, 1980 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 218 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1980).

Opinion

MORRISON, J.,

At the conclusion of the testimony taken in the above non-jury case, heard on October 21, 1980, the court took the case under advisement and requested memoranda from counsel on the two legal issues raised in the course of the proceedings: The Rule 1100 issue raised by the defense and the Commonwealth’s motion to amend the information. We address the Rule 1100 issue first.

The facts are not in dispute. The complaint was filed on March 26, 1979 and 175 days thereafter defendant appeared before the court on September 17, 1979 and waived his rights under Pa.R.Crim.P. 1100 until “the December term of Court.” Defendant pleaded guilty to this information, No. 698 C.D. 1979, on December 10, 1979. The court permitted the plea to be withdrawn by order dated May 22, 1980 and docketed July 7, 1980. The same order fixed a trial for August 6, 1980. There was a valid waiver of the rule from September 16, 1979 through December 10. Accordingly, at the time of the entry [445]*445of the guilty plea five days remained before the running of the 180 days. The Commonwealth takes the position that even assuming the earlier date of May 22, 1980, Rule 1100(e) would allow 120 days from such date for the commencement of a new trial or approximately August 22, 1980. Counsel for both sides agree that defendant appeared on August 7, 1980 and again on September 22, 1980 and made valid prospective waivers of the running of the rule through October, the trial term when the case was heard. If the court accepts the Commonwealth’s position that 120 days should be added to the date from which the court granted a new trial then the matter was clearly heard within the prescribed time period.

The defense counsel argues on the other hand that as of the date of the order — either May 22 or July 7, 1980 — the clock immediately began to run on the remaining days which existed at the time the guilty plea was entered. Thus, the defense contends that the Commonwealth was obliged to try defendant within five days of either of the foregoing dates or to file an application for an extension of time for the commencement of trial no later than July 12, 1980.

Thus, the issue is narrowly drawn: Is the granting of a new trial following the withdrawal of a guilty plea analogous to a new trial where the verdict was the result of either a jury or non-jury trial. There is no case law precisely on point.

The language of sub-section (e) relating to the granting of a new trial is silent as to precisely what must have gone before. That is, the rule does not say, for example, that the new trial must be granted as a result of disposition of post-verdict motions, such as a motion for a new trial. Accordingly, the [446]*446plain reading of the rule would warrant its application to any situation in which a new trial has been granted.

A recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court opinion seems instructive on the issue. In Com. of v. Manley, _Pa._,_,_A. 2d_(1980), Manley was charged with a number of drug counts. After the trial began a mistrial was declared. The court addressed the issue of whether Rule 1100(e) — which at the time provided “a new trial shall commence within a period of ninety (90) days after the entry of an order by the trial court or an appellate court granting a New Trial” — was applicable to the declaration of a mistrial. The Commonwealth urged that the rule did not apply to a mistrial. The court held otherwise:

“Although perhaps technically correct, the Commonwealth raises a distinction without a substantive difference. Adoption of the Commonwealth’s narrow interpretation of Rule 1100(e) would carve an unfair and illogical gap in Rule 1100 coverage. Cf. Commonwealth v. Whitaker, 467 Pa. 436, 359 A. 2nd 174 (1976) the prosecution may circumvent Rule 1100 by the use of a nolle prosequi.”
“When confronted with this very issue, the Superior Court has held that there is no substantive reason for treating a trial following a mistrial differently from a new trial following one which went to verdict. Commonwealth v. Legree, 256 Pa. Super 128, 389 A. 2nd 634 (1978). We agree. Id. at page 2, 3.”

The rationale of the Legree case as adopted by the Supreme Court is persuasive and we take the position in the instant case that there is no substantive [447]*447reason for treating a trial following a withdrawal of guilty plea differently from a new trial following one which went to verdict. Further support for that holding can be found in Rule 1100(b) which provides: “For the purpose of this Rule, trial shall be deemed to commence on the date the trial judge calls the case to trial.”

On December 10, 1979 when this case was called for trial, the trial was commenced within the meaning of Rule 1100(b). Defendant waived a jury trial and trial by judge and entered a guilty plea, sentencing was postponed, and the trial was concluded.

There is authority under Pennsylvania decisions that a guilty plea, when entered and accepted, is a confession of guilt and “is the equivalent of a conviction and a verdict of guilty by a jury.” Com. ex rel. Hough v. Maroney, 425 Pa. 411, 414, 229 A. 2d 913 (1967). It has been similarly stated that “a plea of guilty is just as effective for a conviction as verdict of guilty.” Com. v. Jainnini, 198 Pa. Superior Ct. 144, 181 A. 2d 879 (1962).

When defendant was permitted to withdraw his guilty plea he was granted a new trial within the meaning of Rule 1100.

Holding as we do that defendant was granted a new trial, we conclude that he was tried within 120 days as required by the rule and defendant’s motion to dismiss based on a violation of defendant’s right to a speedy trial is denied. We now turn to the issue of whether amendment of the information should be permitted.

The criminal complaint filed and served in this case charges Dr. Herberg with a violation of section 13(a)(14) of The Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act of April 14,1972, P.L. 233, 35 [448]*448P.S. §780-113(a)(14), which prohibits any medical practitioner from dispensing or delivering a controlled substance unless done in good faith in the course of his professional practice or within the scope of the patient relationship. When the information was subsequently drawn, subsection 30 of the same section was mistakenly charged, namely, the unlawful delivery of a controlled substance by a person not registered under the act: 35 P.S. §780-113(a)(30).

Defendant contends that “the amendment situation is especially aggravated in a case such as this where having been charged on arrest with the section 14 offense, defendant is then made to believe that the Commonwealth knowingly has abandoned this charge and has proceeded to charge defendant in its information with a different crime. It is perfectly clear that the Commonwealth at all times had full knowledge of its ability to charge defendant with the section 14 offense and obviously deliberately chose to charge the section 30 offense. The Commonwealth, thus, clearly misled the defendant to his prejudice into the plain belief that he was to be tried for the subsection 30 violation. It would be unthinkable to allow an amendment after the close of the evidence to change the basic ground rules on which the trial had proceeded to its conclusion.”

We disagree and conclude that less drastic relief is appropriate. Pa.R.Crim.P. 229 provides as follows:

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Related

Commonwealth v. Pope
317 A.2d 887 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1974)
Commonwealth v. Whitaker
359 A.2d 174 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1976)
Commonwealth Ex Rel. Hough v. Maroney
229 A.2d 913 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1967)
Commonwealth v. Legree
389 A.2d 634 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1978)
Commonwealth v. Stanley
401 A.2d 1166 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1979)
Commonwealth v. Jainnini
181 A.2d 879 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1962)

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Bluebook (online)
16 Pa. D. & C.3d 443, 1980 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 218, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-herberg-pactcompldauphi-1980.