Com. v. Colon-Rodriguez, E.
129 MDA 2016
| Pa. Super. Ct. | Aug 24, 2016Background
- Appellant Edwin Colon-Rodriguez pled guilty pursuant to a negotiated plea to two counts of Possession with Intent to Deliver, Criminal Conspiracy, Possession of Firearms Prohibited, and Possession of a Firearm with Altered/Obliterated Manufacture Number. Sentence: 5 to 10 years incarceration.
- Appellant sought credit for pretrial custody from September 15, 2014 (secured bail date) through his plea and sentencing on December 2, 2015.
- Appellant had multiple criminal cases with different docket numbers; he had already received pretrial credit in the other case.
- Trial court refused to award additional credit on the sentence at issue.
- Appellant’s counsel filed an Anders brief and petition to withdraw, asserting the appeal was frivolous; Appellant did not respond.
- The Superior Court reviewed the legal issue, concluded the claim was frivolous because a defendant cannot receive duplicate credit for the same pretrial custody, affirmed the judgment of sentence, and granted counsel’s petition to withdraw.
Issues
| Issue | Appellant's Argument | Commonwealth / Trial Court Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Appellant was entitled to credit against his sentence for time in custody from 9/15/2014 to 12/2/2015 | Appellant argued he was never released from custody and thus should receive credit for that period toward the sentence at issue | The court/ Commonwealth argued the contested pretrial time had already been credited to a separate docket; law prohibits double-credit for the same time served | Denied. Court held credit cannot be applied to more than one sentence for the same time served; appeal frivolous; sentence affirmed and counsel's Anders withdrawal granted |
Key Cases Cited
- Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967) (procedural standards for withdrawal when appointed counsel deems appeal frivolous)
- Commonwealth v. Santiago, 978 A.2d 349 (Pa. 2009) (state standards for Anders-type briefs and counsel withdrawal)
- Commonwealth v. Tobin, 89 A.3d 663 (Pa. Super. 2014) (failure to give credit for time served challenges legality of sentence)
- Commonwealth v. Ellsworth, 97 A.3d 1255 (Pa. Super. 2014) (defendant may not receive credit against more than one sentence for same time served)
- Commonwealth v. Merigis, 681 A.2d 194 (Pa. Super. 1994) (same principle prohibiting duplicate credit)
- Commonwealth v. Clark, 885 A.2d 1030 (Pa. Super. 2005) (credit given only when custody is on the offense for which sentence is imposed)
- Commonwealth v. Miller, 655 A.2d 1000 (Pa. Super. 1995) (no credit for custody on a separate and distinct offense)