Com. v. Haynick, M., Sr.
511 MDA 2017
| Pa. Super. Ct. | Dec 14, 2017Background
- In 2016 Haynick committed six commercial burglaries and pleaded guilty to six counts of second-degree burglary (18 Pa.C.S. § 3502(a)(4)).
- At sentencing (Feb. 9, 2017) he requested RRRI (Recidivism Risk Reduction Incentive) treatment; the court denied RRRI eligibility citing a 2005 conviction for attempted first-degree burglary.
- Haynick filed post-sentence motions seeking RRRI; procedural back-and-forth followed and he timely appealed the RRRI denial to the Superior Court.
- The legal question was whether Haynick’s present second-degree burglary convictions and/or his single, prior attempted first-degree burglary conviction constitute a “history of present or past violent behavior” that disqualifies him from RRRI under 61 Pa.C.S. § 4503(1).
- The Superior Court concluded present second-degree burglaries are non-violent for RRRI purposes (following Gonzalez) but remanded because further proceedings were needed to determine whether the single past attempted first-degree burglary conviction rendered Haynick ineligible.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (Commonwealth) | Defendant's Argument (Haynick) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether present second-degree burglary convictions constitute "violent behavior" under RRRI | Second-degree burglary is a burglary and thus violent | Second-degree burglary (entry where no one is present) is non-violent property crime | Court: Second-degree burglary is non-violent for RRRI (follows Gonzalez) |
| Whether a single past conviction for attempted first-degree burglary constitutes a "history of present or past violent behavior" under RRRI | A first-degree burglary conviction is a crime of violence and thus disqualifies (per Chester) | A single past violent conviction alone should not create a disqualifying "history"; RRRI aims to help first-time offenders | Court: Single past attempted first-degree burglary does not automatically disqualify; remanded for further RRRI-eligibility proceedings |
Key Cases Cited
- Commonwealth v. Gonzalez, 10 A.3d 1260 (Pa. Super. 2010) (held second-degree burglary does not involve risk of violence and is not "violent behavior" for RRRI)
- Commonwealth v. Chester, 101 A.3d 56 (Pa. 2014) (treated first-degree burglary as a crime of violence for RRRI analysis)
- Commonwealth v. Cullen-Doyle, 164 A.3d 1239 (Pa. 2017) (held a single, present violent conviction does not alone constitute a "history" of violent behavior under RRRI and applied statutory ambiguity/rule of lenity)