Commonwealth v. Horn

172 A.3d 1133
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedOctober 4, 2017
Docket1918 WDA 2016
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 172 A.3d 1133 (Commonwealth v. Horn) 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. Horn, 172 A.3d 1133 (Pa. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

OPINION BY

OLSON, J.:

Appellant, Timothy Horn, appeals from the order entered on November 30, 2016, denying his “Petition to Remove Himself from the ARD[ 1 ] Program.” We quash this appeal.

On July 22, 2015, Appellant was arrested and charged with driving under the influence (“DUI”) of a controlled substance. 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3802(d)(2). On April 15, 2016, Appellant petitioned for acceptance into the ARD program. The Commonwealth approved Appellant’s petition and, on June 2, 2016, the trial court accepted Appellant into the ARD program. Trial Court Order, 6/2/16, at 1-2.

On September 23,2016, Appellant filed a “Petition to Remove Himself from' the ARD Program” (hereinafter “Appellant’s Petition”). Within his petition, Appellant simply claimed:

[Appellant has] decided that despite the fact. that he has been placed on the [ARD] Program, that he desires to contest the charges against him. Therefore he does not wish to be in the [ARD] Program any longer and would desire to proceed to a trial by [o]ourt.

Appellant’s Petition, 9/23/16, at l. 2

On November. 30, 2016, the trial court held a hearing on Appellant’s Petition and, at the conclusion of the .hearing, the trial court denied Appellant’s Petition on the record. 3 N.T. Hearing, 11/30/16, at 6. Appellant filed a notice of appeal on December 19, 2016. He raises one claim on appeal: .

Whether or not the trial court erred by . denying [Appellant’s] Petition to Remove Himself from the ARD Program?

Appellant’s Brief at 4 (some internal capitalization omitted).

As we have explained, prior to reaching the merits of any appeal, this Court must “first ascertain whether the [order appealed from] is properly appeal-able.” Commonwealth v. Barrero, 692 A.2d 158, 159 (Pa. Super. 1997). Indeed, since “the question of appealability implicates the jurisdiction of this Court[, the issue] may be raised by [this] Court sua sponte.” Commonwealth v. Baio, 898 A.2d 1095,1098 (Pa. Super. 2006).

In general, this Court’s jurisdiction “extends only to review of final orders.” Rae v. Pa. Funeral Dir’s Ass’n, 602 Pa. 65, 977 A.2d 1121, 1124-1125 (2009); 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 742; Pa.R.A.P. 341(a). A final order is defined as any order that: “(1) disposes of all claims and of all parties; [ ] (2) is explicitly defined as a final order by statute; or (3) is entered as a final order pursuant to [Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure 341(c) ].” Pa. R.A.P.' 341(b). With respect to criminal cases, the general rule “is that a defendant may appeal only from a final judgment of sentence, and an appeal from any prior order or judgment will be quashed.” Commonwealth v. Kurilla, 391 Pa.Super. 241, 570 A.2d 1073, 1073 (1990). The purpose of this rule is to “prevent undue delay and avoid the disruption of criminal cases by piecemeal appellate review.” Commonwealth v. Scott, 396 Pa.Super. 339, 578 A.2d 933, 941 (1990) (internal quotations, citations, and corrections omitted).

In this case, Appellant was not convicted of any crime and the trial court did not impose a judgment of sentence. Rather, Appellant was charged with DUI and the trial judge admitted Appellant into an ARD program pursuant to 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3807.

Section 3807, which is entitled “Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition,” declares, in relevant part:

(a) Eligibility.—
(1) Except as set forth in paragraph
(2), a defendant charged with a violation of section 3802 (relating to driving under influence of alcohol or controlled substance) may be considered by the attorney for the Commonwealth for participation in an Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program in a county if the program includes the minimum requirements contained in this section.
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(e) Failure to comply.—
(1) A defendant who fails to complete any of the conditions of participation contained in this section shall be deemed to have unsuccessfully participated in an Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program, and the criminal record underlying participation in the program shall not be expunged.
(2) The court shall direct the attorney for the Commonwealth to proceed on the charges as prescribed in the Rules of Criminal Procedure if the defendant:
(i) fails to meet any of the requirements of this section;
(ii) is charged with or commits an offense under 18 Pa.C.S. (relating to crimes and offenses); or
(iii) violates any. other condition imposed by the court.

75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3807.

The Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure provide a comprehensive series of rules concerning the ARD program. As is relevant to the case at bar, the rules declare:

• “acceptance into and satisfactory completion of the accelerated rehabilitative disposition program offers the defendant an opportunity to earn a dismissal of the pending charges;” 4
• “should the defendant fail to complete the program, the defendant waives the appropriate statute of limitations and the defendant’s right to a speedy trial;” 5
• “[w]hen a defendant is accepted into the program of accelerated rehabilitative disposition after the filing of an information, the judge shall order that further proceedings on the charges shall be postponed during the term of the program;” 6
• “[w]hen the defendant shall have completed satisfactorily the program. prescribed and complied with its conditions, the defendant may move the court for an order dismissing the charges.... If there are no objections filed [to the defendant’s motion], the judge shall thereafter dismiss the ■ charges against the defendant;” 7
• “[w]hen the judge orders the dismissal of the charges against the defendant,' the judge also shall order the expungement of the defendant’s arrest record;” 8 and,

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Bluebook (online)
172 A.3d 1133, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-horn-pasuperct-2017.