Commonwealth v. Walters

814 A.2d 253, 2002 Pa. Super. 408, 2002 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3893
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedDecember 20, 2002
StatusPublished
Cited by40 cases

This text of 814 A.2d 253 (Commonwealth v. Walters) 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. Walters, 814 A.2d 253, 2002 Pa. Super. 408, 2002 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3893 (Pa. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinions

OPINION BY

DEL SOLE, P.J.

¶ 1 The Commonwealth appeals from the trial court’s order which allowed Walters to withdraw his plea of nolo contendere and enter a new plea and also included a re-sentencing of Walters. Upon review, we vacate this order and reinstate the original sentence.

¶ 2 In 1993, Walters entered a negotiated plea of nolo contendere to attempted rape,1 aggravated assault,2 burglary,3 ter-roristic threats,4 and indecent exposure.5 On February 22, 1994, Walters was sentenced to confinement for a period of a minimum of 8k to a maximum of 16 years.

¶ 3 In December of 1996, Walters filed a motion for post conviction collateral relief. Subsequently, an amended PCRA petition was filed. After a hearing on the PCRA petition, but before rendering a decision, the trial court entered an order providing that no further action would be taken on Walters’ petition based on Walters’ letter that stated he was abandoning his PCRA petition.

¶ 4 No further action was taken on the matter until July 2001, at which time Walters filed a motion for modification of sentence nunc pro tunc. Through his motion, Walters sought release from prison as the Board of Probation and Parole had declined to grant him parole. On August 30, 2001, the trial court permitted Walters to withdraw his previously entered plea of nolo contendere. The trial court then allowed Walters to enter a new plea. Walters again entered a plea of nolo contende-re. The trial court then re-sentenced Walters to time served and to an additional eight years of county probation. The Commonwealth objected to the action of the trial court and timely filed this appeal.

¶ 5 Appellant presents two issues on appeal. First Appellant argues that the trial court lacked jurisdiction over this matter and its action of allowing Walters to withdraw his plea, enter a new plea and then re-sentencing Walters is null and void. Appellant’s Brief at 10. We agree.

¶ 6 Section 5505 of Pennsylvania Judicial Procedure provides:

§ 5505. Modification of orders
Except as otherwise provided or prescribed by law, a court upon notice to the parties may modify or rescind any order within 30 days after its entry, notwithstanding the prior termination of any term of court, if no appeal from such order has been taken or allowed.

42 Pa.C.S.A. § 5505.

¶ 7 Trial courts have the power to alter or modify a criminal sentence within thirty days after entry, if no appeal is taken. 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 5505; Commonwealth v. Quinlan, 433 Pa.Super. 111, 639 [256]*256A.2d 1235, 1238 (1994). Generally, once the thirty-day period is over, the trial court loses the power to alter its orders. Quinlan, 639 A.2d at 1238. When an appeal is taken, the trial court has no jurisdiction to modify its sentence. Id. We note, however, that the time constraint imposed by section 5505 does not affect the inherent powers of the court to modify a sentence in order to “amend records, to correct mistakes of court officers or counsel’s inadvertencies, or to supply defects or omissions in the record....” Id., at 1239. Therefore, where the mistake is patent and obvious, the court has the power to correct it even though the 30-day appeal period has expired. Commonwealth v. Rohrer, 719 A.2d 1078, 1080 (Pa.Super.1998). It is also well-established that where a showing of fraud or another circumstance “so grave or- compelling as to constitute ‘extraordinary causes justifying intervention by the court,’” then a court may open or vacate its order after the 30-day period has expired. Cardwell v. Chrysler Fin. Corp., 804 A.2d 18, 22 (Pa.Super.2002).

¶ 8 In the case sub judice, Appellee was sentenced on February 22, 1994. No direct appeal was filed. The order sentencing Appellee was final, thus 42 Pa. C.S.A. § 5505 applies. Accordingly, the trial court had 30 days, barring mistake or fraud, in which to modify the order. The trial court did not take action within this time period. It was not until August 30, 2001 that the trial court allowed Appellee to withdraw his plea and re-enter a plea. The court then re-sentenced Appellee. The trial court’s action took place well beyond thirty days after the entry of the final order. As the court had no jurisdiction to act, unless the action was to correct a patent and obvious mistake or was as a result of fraud or extraordinary circumstances justifying judicial intervention, the action is void.

¶ 9 Appellee argues that there was error in this case in that the sentencing order did not accurately reflect the oral sentence handed down by the trial court. Appel-lee’s Brief at 6. Furthermore, Appellee argues that a second error was committed by the trial judge, and was subject to correction beyond the thirty-day time limitation. Appellee’s Brief at 7. Specifically,-Appellee maintains that the sentencing judge did not advise Appellee that, as part of any post-sentence motion filed under former Rule 1410 of Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, Appellee could file a motion to modify sentence. Id. We disagree with both arguments.

¶ 10 A review of the record indicates that the sentencing order does accurately reflect the oral sentence rendered by the trial court. Furthermore, in his memorandum in support 'of his motion for modification of sentence, Appellee acknowledges that the court was within the sentencing guidelines and terms agreed upon when he was sentenced. Accordingly, we cannot agree that there was a mistake that could be corrected following expiration of the thirty days.

¶ 11 Next, we must consider whether there were extraordinary circumstances or fraud necessitating judicial intervention. In its 1925(a) opinion, the trial court states that when it sentenced Appellee in February of 1993, it did not believe that Appellee would serve more than years in prison. Trial Court Opinion, 1/23/02, at 2. The trial court stated that Appellee was sentenced to a maximum of 16 years so that he could be supervised for 10]/> years after release from prison. Id. The trial court judge stated:

Had I any belief that he would be imprisoned beyond the minimum sentence [257]*257despite his good behavior, I would have structured the sentence differently.

Id. The trial judge further explained that he believed it to be manifestly unjust not to allow Appellant to withdraw his guilty plea when he had been sentenced by a judge “... who had no idea what the consequence of that sentence would be.” Id. It is the trial court’s position that this injustice resulted from a change of rules that occurred after Appellee was sentenced. Id.

¶ 12 On the face of the trial court’s opinion it is unclear as to which change of rules the court was referring. Review of the notes of testimony from the proceedings in August 2001 does not shed much more light on the matter. Review of Ap-pellee’s memorandum in support of his motion for modification of sentence, however, refers to changes in the “rules” regarding eligibility for parole.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
814 A.2d 253, 2002 Pa. Super. 408, 2002 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3893, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-walters-pasuperct-2002.