Commonwealth v. McPhail

631 A.2d 1305, 429 Pa. Super. 103, 1993 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2744
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedAugust 20, 1993
Docket281
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 631 A.2d 1305 (Commonwealth v. McPhail) 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. McPhail, 631 A.2d 1305, 429 Pa. Super. 103, 1993 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2744 (Pa. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinions

FORD ELLIOTT, Judge:

This is an appeal from the order of January 30, 1992, entered in the Court of Common Pleas, Allegheny County, dismissing three drug charges arising from an alleged cocaine sale to an undercover narcotics officer in Allegheny County. We reverse the trial court order dismissing the instant charges pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 110.

A review of the record and history of the case is necessary. In May of 1990, Trooper Donald Alston, an undercover narcotics agent for the Pennsylvania State Police, was introduced to appellee by a confidential informant. (Notes of testimony, 1/3/92 at 31.) Near the end of May, Officer Alston bought [107]*107cocaine from appellant in Washington County during a controlled drug deal. The confidential informant who had introduced the officer to appellee was present during the first buy. (Notes of testimony, 1/3/92 at 31-32.) The second buy occurred “a day or so prior to June 27.” The second drug transaction also took place solely in Washington County and involved cocaine. (Notes of testimony, 1/3/92 at 34, 47.) Because Officer Alston wanted to target the bigger dealers, he inquired, during the course of this second buy, as to how he could obtain a larger amount of cocaine. Appellee informed the officer that the desired amount of cocaine was not available in Washington County and that they would have to go to Clairton, in Allegheny County, to get that amount of cocaine. They completed the second buy and agreed to go to Clairton the following day, June 27, 1990. (Notes of testimony, 1/3/92 at 15-16, 47-48.)

On June 27th Officer Alston, appellee, the confidential informant, and another individual, Anthony Illessee, traveled in a car to Clairton in Allegheny County. During this third drug deal, the possession, sale, and subsequent delivery to Officer Alston occurred only in Allegheny County. The exchange of cocaine occurred outside of an apartment building in Clairton. Officer Alston purchased 4.33 grams of cocaine from appellee for $500. (Notes of testimony, 1/3/92 at 11, 16-18, 30, 47, 51.) See also Affidavit for Criminal Complaint, 10/4/90.

Subsequently, appellee was charged and arrested for delivery of a controlled substance and criminal conspiracy for the two violations that occurred in Washington County.1 When he [108]*108was in jail for the Washington County offenses, he was then arrested and charged for the alleged crimes that arose in Allegheny County as a result of the third buy in Clairton. These charges (at issue in the case at bar) include one count each of possession of a controlled substance,1 2 possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance,3 and delivery of a controlled substance.4 See Criminal Complaint. Appellee pleaded guilty to the Washington County charges' and was sentenced. (Notes of testimony, 1/3/92 at 24.)

On September 6, 1991, appellee filed an omnibus pre-trial motion seeking to quash the instant charges on the basis that these charges were barred by the double jeopardy clauses of both the state and federal constitutions and 18 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 109 and 110. The trial court held a hearing and reviewed briefs on appellee’s motion to quash and issued an order dismissing the instant charges pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. § 110. The order granting the motion to quash is now before us for disposition. We reverse.

Initially, we note that in reviewing the trial court’s ruling that the instant prosecution was barred by § 110, this court must determine whether the record supports the factual findings of the court, and the legitimacy of the inferences and legal conclusions drawn therefrom. Commonwealth v. Savage, 403 Pa.Super. 446, 589 A.2d 696 (1991), appeal denied, 529 Pa. 633, 600 A.2d 953 (1991). In order to review the trial court’s order, we must first analyze the statute in question. Title 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 110 provides in pertinent part: [109]*109based on different facts, it is barred by such former prosecution under the following circumstances:

[108]*108When prosecution barred by former prosecution for different offense:
Although a prosecution is for a violation of a different provision of the statutes than a former prosecution or is

[109]*109(1) The former prosecution resulted in an acquittal or in a conviction as defined in section 109 of this title (relating to when prosecution barred by former prosecution for the same offense) and the subsequent prosecution is for:

(i) any offense of which the defendant could have been convicted on the first prosecution;
(ii) any offense based on the same conduct or arising from the same criminal episode, if such offense was known to the appropriate prosecuting officer at the time of the commencement of the first trial and was within the jurisdiction of a single cou,rt unless the court ordered a separate trial of the charge of such offense; ----

18 Pa.C.S.A. § 110 (emphasis added).

This rule of compulsory joinder is intended to protect the accused from governmental harassment and also, as a matter of judicial administration and economy, to ensure finality without unduly burdening the judicial process by repetitious litigation. Commonwealth v. Starr, 416 Pa.Super. 250, 610 A.2d 1066 (1992), appeal granted, 533 Pa. 633, 621 A.2d 580 (1993), quoting Commonwealth v. Walton, 405 Pa.Super. 281, 285, 592 A.2d 335, 337 (1991).

For the purposes of this case, it is critical to recognize that § 110(l)(ii) requires a four-part inquiry. First, we must determine whether the Washington County prosecution resulted in an acquittal or conviction. Next, it is necessary to establish that the instant prosecution was based upon the same conduct or arose from the same criminal episode as the Washington County offenses. In addition, the prosecutor must have been aware of the later charges before the commencement of the first trial. Finally, it is also essential to establish that the instant prosecution and the former prosecution were within the jurisdiction of a single court. See Commonwealth v. Nichelson, 294 Pa.Super. 438, 445, 440 A.2d 545, 549 (1982), quoting Commonwealth v. Harris, 275 Pa.Super. 18, 23-24, 418 A.2d 589, 592 (1980) (statutory qualification of § 110 is [110]*110that first offense and subsequent offense must have been within jurisdiction of a single court).

This appeal turns on the last phase of the analysis. Although we concede that the other requirements of § 110 were satisfied, the final requirement was not satisfied because Allegheny County, and not Washington County, had jurisdiction over the drug transaction in Clairton. Therefore the first offenses in Washington County and the subsequent offense in Allegheny County were not within the jurisdiction of a single court. As a result, § 110 should not bar the instant prosecution.

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Bluebook (online)
631 A.2d 1305, 429 Pa. Super. 103, 1993 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2744, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-mcphail-pasuperct-1993.