Commonwealth v. Rodriguez

81 A.3d 103, 2013 Pa. Super. 302, 2013 WL 6166115, 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3176
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedNovember 22, 2013
StatusPublished
Cited by48 cases

This text of 81 A.3d 103 (Commonwealth v. Rodriguez) 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. Rodriguez, 81 A.3d 103, 2013 Pa. Super. 302, 2013 WL 6166115, 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3176 (Pa. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION BY

WECHT, J.

Manuel Rodriguez (“Appellant”) appeals the May 15, 2012 judgment of sentence imposed after he was found guilty of windshield obstructions for driving with improperly tinted windows.1 We affirm.

The trial court has summarized the factual and procedural history of this case as follows:

[Appellant] serves as a Pennsylvania constable in the Sixteenth (16th) Ward of the City of Allentown, Lehigh County[, Pennsylvania], As a constable, [Appellant] is classified as an independent contractor working for courts and attorneys throughout the Commonwealth. Pennsylvania constables are not issued vehicles by the municipalities which they serve.
On January 8, 2012, [Appellant] was traveling in an automobile northbound on the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike when his vehicle was stopped by a Pennsylvania state trooper, who stated that [Appellant] had been pulled over due to the tint of his windows. [Appellant] was operating his own vehicle, a 2006 BMW sedan, which had black[-]tinted glass in the front and rear driver’s side, the front and rear passenger’s side, and rear windows, such that it was impossible to see into the vehicle through any of those windows from the outside. [Appellant] was issued a warning and told to remove the tint, and was subsequently cited on January 80, 2012[,] for violating the aforementioned sunscreening provision of the Pennsylvania [Motor] Vehicle Code.
The BMW automobile which [Appellant] was operating at the time of the citation [was Appellant’s] privately owned vehicle, which he purchased himself and which is registered in his own name. There is no certificate of exemption posted on the vehicle. The automobile does not exhibit any distinctive markings or insignia to identify it as an official Pennsylvania government vehicle, and does not feature emergency lights. [Appellant] carries law enforcement insurance for the vehicle, which he purchased himself.
[On March 28, 2012, Appellant was found guilty of the above summary offense after a trial before a magisterial district judge.] On April 9, 2012, [Appellant] filed a “Notice of Appeal from Summary Criminal Conviction” with [the trial court]. Following a de novo hearing held before [Judge Steven Serfass] on May 15, 2012[,] in accordance with Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 462, [the trial court] found [Appellant] guilty of the only offense charged and sentenced him to pay the costs of prosecution and a fine of twenty-five dollars ($25.00). A written order imposing sentence and containing the information required by [Pa.R.Crim.P. 462(g) ] was issued on May 15, 2012. On June 14, 2012, [Appellant] timely filed the instant appeal of that order to the Superi- or Court.

Trial Court Opinion (“T.C.O.”), 8/31/2012, at 1-3 (citations omitted).

On June 15, 2012, the trial court ordered Appellant to file a concise statement of errors complained of on appeal pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b). Appellant filed his statement on July 10, 2012.2 The [105]*105trial court issued its Rule 1925(a) opinion on August 31, 2012.

Appellant raises a single issue for our consideration:

Whether the Trial Court committed an error of law and/or an abuse of discretion in not determining [that Appellant] was entitled to an exemption from the automobile tinting provisions pursuant to 75 Pa.C.S. § 4524(e)(2)(i) and 67 Pa. Code § 175.265(a)(1) due to the fact that he was a governmental official operating his vehicle at the time and date in question as a government vehicle on official governmental business?

Brief for Appellant at 4. Appellant contends that his status “as a Pennsylvania constable” and the fact that he was allegedly conducting official business at the time that he was cited for windshield obstructions should qualify his vehicle for an exemption from that summary offense.3 Brief for Appellant at 6. Specifically, Appellant argues that his vehicle qualifies for an exemption because it is a “governmental vehicle” pursuant to 75 Pa.C.S. § 4524(e)(2)©.4 Id.

The Commonwealth responds that Appellant is “not entitled to immunity from prosecution for a violation of [s]ection 4524.” Brief for Commonwealth at 11. The Commonwealth asserts that Appellant “is not a government official by virtue of his capacity as [a] constable,” and argues that Appellant’s car “cannot be classified as a government vehicle.” Id. at 7, 10. We agree with the Commonwealth.

Appellant’s claim that his personal vehicle is an exempt “government vehicle” pursuant to 75 Pa.C.S. § 4524(e)(2)© presents an issue of first impression for this Court. “Our standard of review from an appeal of a summary conviction heard de novo by the trial court is limited to a determination of whether an error of law has been committed and whether the findings of fact are supported by competent evidence.” Commonwealth v. Marizzaldi, [106]*106814 A.2d 249, 251 (Pa.Super.2002) (citing Commonwealth v. Lutes, 793 A.2d 949, 958 (Pa.Super.2002)). “The adjudication of the trial court will not be disturbed on appeal absent a manifest abuse of discretion.” Commonwealth v. Dixon, 66 A.3d 794, 796 (Pa.Super.2013) (citing Commonwealth v. Asians, 761 A.2d 601, 603 (Pa.Super.2000)). “An abuse of discretion may not be found merely because an appellate court might have reached a different conclusion, but requires a result of manifest unreasonableness, or partiality, prejudice, bias, or ill-will, or such lack of support as to be clearly erroneous.” Id. (quoting Commonwealth v. Diamond, 945 A.2d 252, 258 (Pa.Super.2008)).

In relevant part, 75 Pa.C.S. § 4524 provides as follows:

(e) Sun screening and other materials prohibited.—
(1) No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any sun screening device or other material which does not permit a person to see or view the inside of the vehicle through the windshield, side wing or side window of the vehicle.
(2) This subsection does not apply to: (i) A vehicle which is equipped with tinted windows of the type and specification that were installed by the manufacturer of the vehicle or to any hearse, ambulance, government vehicle or any other vehicle for which a currently valid certificate of exemption has been issued in accordance with regulations adopted by the department.

75 Pa.C.S. § 4524.5 Section 4524(e)(2)(i) exempts certain classes of vehicles from compliance with section 4524(e)(1), including vehicles that have “tinted windows of the type and specification that were installed by the manufacturer,” hearses, ambulances, vehicles with valid exemption certificates, and government vehicles. 75 Pa. C.S. § 4524(e)(2)(i). Appellant has presented no argument or evidence related to the installation of tinted windows in his vehicle. Consequently, we cannot conclude that Appellant’s vehicle is entitled to an exemption on the basis of its manufacture. Id.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
81 A.3d 103, 2013 Pa. Super. 302, 2013 WL 6166115, 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3176, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-rodriguez-pasuperct-2013.