Commonwealth v. Wilson

946 A.2d 767, 2008 Pa. Super. 64, 2008 Pa. Super. LEXIS 270
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 4, 2008
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 946 A.2d 767 (Commonwealth v. Wilson) 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. Wilson, 946 A.2d 767, 2008 Pa. Super. 64, 2008 Pa. Super. LEXIS 270 (Pa. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

OPINION BY

KLEIN, J.:

¶ 1 Earl Wilson pled guilty1 to two counts of robbery (F-l), two counts of burglary (F-l), and one count of possession of an instrument of crime (PIC) after he accosted two separate victims with a brick,2 injuring one so badly that she lost almost all of her teeth and required staples ia her head to close a gaping wound, and causing his other victim to suffer a black eye. The trial judge sentenced Wilson to concurrent terms of 11$ — 23 months imprisonment, plus 7 years reporting probation on each of the robbery charges.3 Wilson was immediately paroled to a drug program after having served only 7 months time. The Commonwealth appealed, claiming that the trial court abused its discretion and that the sentence imposed was unreasonable because it was too lenient. Initially, this Court agreed -with the Commonwealth and found the sentence unreasonably low.

¶ 2 On October 24, 2007, in a summary disposition, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania vacated our Court’s prior decision and remanded the instant case to be considered in light of Commonwealth v. Walls, 592 Pa. 557, 926 A.2d 957 (2007). After a thorough analysis of Wails and a reconsideration of the record, we still find that under the standards set forth in Walls, the sentence was unreasonable in that the court focused only on the defendant and did not take into consideration the seriousness of the crimes.

The rationale of Walls

¶ 3 In reviewing the holding of Walls, the following principles were articulated:

¶ 4 1. The imposition of sentence is vested in the discretion of the trial court, and should not be disturbed on appeal for a mere error of judgment but only for an abuse of discretion and a showing that a [769]*769sentence was manifestly unreasonable. 926 A.2d at 961.

¶ 5 2. Sentencing guidelines, while an aid in imposing sentencing, are advisory and nonbinding, and do not replace the key determination by the sentencing judge as to whether or not a sentence was reasonable. 926 A.2d at 962, 964.

¶ 6 8. The sentencing court must consider the sentencing guidelines, and the consideration must be more than mere fluff. Moreover, when imposing a sentence outside the guidelines, the trial judge must provide a written statement of the reasons for the deviation. 926 A.2d at 962-63, 964.

¶ 7 4. The concept of unreasonableness is a “fluid one,” and “lacks precise boundaries.” 926 A.2d at 968, 964. As noted in Justice Baer’s concurrence, this creates a concern that sentencing may be entirely in the sentencing judge’s discretion.4 The Majority opinion affirms significant discretion in the trial courts. However, we do not believe that the Majority in Walls effectively does away with the power of an appellate court to determine “unreasonableness.” The appellate courts have the benefit -of reviewing sentences in many cases throughout the Commonwealth to enable them to analyze what is and what is not “unreasonable.” 926 A.2d at 965.

¶ 8 5. Although “fluid” and “imprecise,” the determination of unreasonableness by the appellate court must consider the statutory provisions of 42 Pa.C.S. § 9781(d). Those provisions require a consideration of (1) the nature of the crime and the history and characteristics of the defendant; (2) the trial judge’s observation of the defendant and the contents of a presentence report; (3) the findings upon which the sentence was based; and (4) the sentencing guidelines.

The specific holding of Walls

¶ 9 The Supreme Court in Walls did not state that this Court erred in reversing Walls’ sentence. Instead, the Supreme Court remanded the matter to the Superi- or Court “... for a re-examination of the judgment of sentence in light of our decision today.” 926 A.2d at 967. In other words, the Supreme Court did not say that the Superior Court erred in finding Walls’ sentence unreasonable, just that it used an improper standard.

¶ 10 After setting forth the general principles above, the Walls Court stated, ‘With clarification of the proper standard of review, which includes the standard of unreasonableness under the Sentencing Code, we turn to the specific arguments raised by the parties concerning the Superior Court’s vacatur of Walls’ sentence.” 926 A.2d at 964.

¶ 11 The errors found by the Supreme Court in Walls were the following:

¶ 12 1. The Superior Court erred in its determination that a trial judge is bound by the sentencing guidelines, rather than treating them only as valuable advisory guidelines that must be respected and considered and may provide an essential starting point. 926 A.2d at 965.

¶ 13 2. The Superior Court may have erred in suggesting that a sentence must still be the “minimum possible confinement,” as that standard was replaced by the 1978 amendment of the Sentencing [770]*770Code. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9721(b). 926 A.2d at 965.

¶ 14 3. The Superior Court erred in finding that the sentencing court in Walls had a policy of imposing the maximum sentence regardless of the individual circumstances of the case. 926 A.2d at 966.

¶ 15 4. The Superior Court erred in reweighing the sentencing court’s factors, including the age of the victim, the position of trust and responsibility Walls had to his granddaughter, the fact that the victim of the sexual assault was his granddaughter, and the fact that Walls characterized the sexual assaults as “accidents.” Thus, the Superior Court erred in concluding that these factors were not “uncommon” in crimes of this kind. 926 A.2d at 966, 967.

¶ 16 5. While departing from the guidelines, the Supreme Court rejected the Superior Court’s conclusion that the sentencing court disregarded the guidelines. Instead, the Supreme Court held that the sentencing court did consider the guidelines and “departed therefrom for reasons that were not foreclosed by the law,” and did consider the general standards for sentencing of 42 Pa.C.S. § 9721(b). 926 A.2d at 967.

The Application of Walls to the specific facts of this case.

¶ 17 Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 9781(c)(3), it is our obligation to determine whether Wilson’s sentence, which is outside the sentencing guidelines, is unreasonable. After considering the facts of the instant case, and applying the Supreme Court’s decision in Walls, we conclude that the sentence was unreasonable.

¶ 18 In light of the unusually brutal nature of the robberies, which are classified as first-degree felonies, the fact that Wilson poses a continuing threat to the public, Wilson’s past aggressive conduct, the admitted emotional and physical injuries suffered by the victims,5 and the applicable guideline ranges, our determination is that the sentence was unreasonably low. We are, therefore, compelled to vacate and remand for resentencing.

¶ 19 The nature and circumstances of the events that transpired during the robberies committed by Wilson, the trial court’s findings, see 42 Pa.C.S. § 9781(d)(1), and the unequal weight that the sentencing court gave to the general factors under section 9721(d), compel us to conclude that the sentencing court’s exercise of judgment was unreasonable.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
946 A.2d 767, 2008 Pa. Super. 64, 2008 Pa. Super. LEXIS 270, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-wilson-pasuperct-2008.