Commonwealth v. J.F.

800 A.2d 942, 2002 Pa. Super. 169, 2002 Pa. Super. LEXIS 1073
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedMay 30, 2002
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 800 A.2d 942 (Commonwealth v. J.F.) 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. J.F., 800 A.2d 942, 2002 Pa. Super. 169, 2002 Pa. Super. LEXIS 1073 (Pa. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

STEVENS, J.

¶ 1 This is an appeal from the judgment of sentence entered by the Court of Common Pleas of Franklin County on December 6, 2000, following Appellant’s conviction by a jury of six (6) counts of rape,1 three (8) counts of statutory sexual as[944]*944sault,2 twelve (12) counts of aggravated indecent assault,3 five (5) counts of indecent assault,4 nine (9) counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse,5 and three (3) counts of incest.6 We affirm.

¶ 2 Between February, 1994 and May, 1999, Appellant committed numerous sexual acts upon his teenage daughters, A.M.F. and L.M.F. Based thereon, Appellant was charged with various sexual offenses. Upon motion of the Commonwealth, and without objection by Appellant, the charges in connection with A.M.F. and L.M.F. were joined for trial. Immediately preceding trial, but outside the presence of the jury, the Commonwealth requested and was granted leave to amend the dates contained in the majority of the criminal informations. Following a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of the above offenses and, on December 6, 2000, he was sentenced, inter alia, to an aggregate twenty (20) to forty (40) year term of imprisonment.

¶ 3 Thereafter, Appellant filed a post-sentence motion requesting a new trial, and a petition seeking release on bail pending appeal. By Opinion and Order dated February 21, 2001, the court denied Appellant’s petition. As to Appellant’s post-sentence motion, pursuant to -Pa. R.Crim.P. 1410(B)(3),7 the motion was denied by operation of law on May 24, 2001. The present appeal followed.8

¶ 4 Herein, Appellant contends that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the Commonwealth’s motion to amend the criminal informations against him and argues that the amendments improperly enlarged the period of time of Appellant’s alleged criminal activity, to his prejudice. In addition, he claims that counsel should have requested a continuance to investigate a possible alibi or alternative defense.

¶ 5 The Supreme Court has set forth the standard to be applied in assessing ineffective assistance of counsel claims as follows:

This Court has long held that counsel is presumed to have rendered effective assistance, and the defendant has the burden to prove otherwise. In order for a defendant to obtain relief based on ineffective assistance of counsel, the defendant must show: (i) that the underlying claim is of arguable merit; (ii) that counsel had no reasonable basis designed to effectuate the defendant’s interests for the act or omission in question; and (iii) that counsel’s ineffectiveness actually prejudiced the defendant. (i.e., but for counsel’s ineffectiveness, there is a reasonable possibility that the outcome of the proceedings would have been different).

Commonwealth v. Begley, 566 Pa. 239, 280, 780 A.2d 605, 630 (2001) (citations omitted). “[Wjhere ... a petitioner fails to prove prejudice, a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel may be rejected upon that basis alone.” Commonwealth v. Williams, 557 Pa. 207, 230, 732 A.2d 1167, 1179 (1999) (citation omitted).

¶ 6 With regard to Appellant’s claims concerning the amendments to the infor-[945]*945mations, Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 229 provides as follows:

The court may allow an information to be amended when there is a defect in form, the description of the offense, the description of any person or any property, or the date charged, provided the information as amended does not charge an additional or different offense. Upon amendment the court may grant such postponement of trial or other relief as is necessary in the interests of justice.

Pa.R.Crim.P. 229.9

¶ 7 This Court has stated that the purpose of the above Rule “is to ensure that a defendant is fully apprised of the charges, and to avoid prejudice by prohibiting the last minute addition of alleged criminal acts of which the defendant is uninformed.” Commonwealth v. Davalas, 779 A.2d 1190, 1194 (Pa.Super.2001). The test to be applied is:

[Wjhether the crimes specified in the original indictment or information involve the same basic elements and evolved out of the same factual situation as the crimes specified in the amended indictment or information. If so, then the defendant is deemed to have been placed on notice regarding his alleged criminal conduct. If, however, the amended provision alleges a different set of events, or the elements or defenses to the amended crime are materially different from the elements or defenses to the crime originally charged, such that the defendant would be prejudiced by the change, then the amendment is not permitted.

Id. (citing Commonwealth v. Stanley, 265 Pa.Super. 194, 401 A.2d 1166, 1175 (1979)).

¶ 8 In the present ease, neither additional charges nor a different set of events were added to the informations. Rather, the offenses set forth in the amendments involved the same basic elements and the same factual situations as specified in the original informations. See Id. The amendments merely changed the dates of the majority of the charges lodged against Appellant. As succinctly pointed out by the trial court:

[T]he dates were not substantially changed. In criminal action number 1441 of 1999 [pertaining to offenses against A.M.F.], all of the charges that were amended had an original start date of December 23, 1994 and an end date of May 31,1999. Five of the nine amended counts changed the start date to May 31, 1995 and the end date remained the same, narrowing the time frame approximately five months. Two other amended counts changed the start date to May 31, 1995 and changed the end date to December 23, 1998, again narrowing the time frame. Finally, the two remaining counts that were amended changed the start to February 14, 1994 and left the end date unchanged. In sum, all but two of the amendments actually narrowed the time frame of the events and while two counts expanded the time frame of the alleged events, the approximate ten-month increase is a de mini-mus change when measured against the backdrop of an almost five-year period.
In criminal action 1442 of 1999 [pertaining to offenses against L.M.F.], all of the amendments originally had a start date of February 14, 1995 and an end date of May 31, 1996. Fourteen of the twenty-two amended counts increased the time frame by approximately three months, modifying the start date to November 1, 1994 and leaving the end date unchanged. The remaining eight amended counts, conversely narrowed [946]*946the time frame by altering the start date to May 31, 1995. Again while the majority of the amendments increased the time frame for the alleged events, it was only*an approximate three-month gain.

Opinion dated 7/16/01 at 5.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Com. v. Royster, D.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2024
Com. v. Green, C.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2021
Kelly, A. v. Talisman Energy USA Inc.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019
Com. v. Singer, J.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2018
Com. v. Nazario, C.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2018
Com. v. Rico, H.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2017
Com. v. Stehley, G.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2017
Com. v. Marotta, M.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2016
Com. v. Imhoff, D.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2016
Commonwealth v. McNeal
120 A.3d 313 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2015)
Com. v. Gibboney, D.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2015
Com. v. Isanski, S.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2015
Com. v. Wesolowsky, M.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2015
Commonwealth v. Lukyanchikov
5 Pa. D. & C.5th 151 (Bucks County Court of Common Pleas, 2008)
Commonwealth v. Sinclair
897 A.2d 1218 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2006)
Commonwealth v. Bricker
882 A.2d 1008 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2005)
Commonwealth v. Duda
831 A.2d 728 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2003)
Com. v. JF
800 A.2d 942 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2002)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
800 A.2d 942, 2002 Pa. Super. 169, 2002 Pa. Super. LEXIS 1073, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-jf-pasuperct-2002.