Com. v. Rivera, A.
1240 EDA 2017
| Pa. Super. Ct. | Dec 13, 2017Background
- Aldalberto Rivera pleaded guilty on September 20, 2013 to two counts of PWID and conspiracy (two docket numbers) pursuant to a negotiated plea.
- The plea agreement called for a sentence of 5 to 10 years’ imprisonment, which the trial court imposed on December 6, 2013.
- Rivera did not file a direct appeal and filed a timely pro se PCRA petition on July 25, 2014; counsel later filed an amended petition.
- The PCRA court issued a Pa.R.Crim.P. 907 notice of intent to dismiss and formally dismissed the petition on April 10, 2017; Rivera appealed.
- Rivera’s sole claim was ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to challenge his sentence as an illegal mandatory minimum under Alleyne v. United States.
- The Superior Court affirmed, finding Alleyne inapplicable retroactively and that Rivera’s sentence was not a statutory mandatory minimum even if Alleyne applied.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether counsel was ineffective for not challenging a mandatory-minimum sentence under Alleyne | Rivera: counsel should have raised that his mandatory-minimum sentence violated Alleyne | Commonwealth/PCRA court: Alleyne is not retroactive; and Rivera’s 5–10 year term was a negotiated sentence, not a statutory mandatory minimum | Court held counsel was not ineffective; Alleyne does not apply retroactively and, in any event, the sentence imposed was not a mandatory minimum |
Key Cases Cited
- Alleyne v. United States, 570 U.S. 99 (2013) (held facts increasing mandatory minimum must be found by jury beyond a reasonable doubt)
- Commonwealth v. Washington, 142 A.3d 810 (Pa. 2016) (Alleyne does not apply retroactively on collateral review)
- Commonwealth v. Rivera, 108 A.3d 779 (Pa. 2014) (counsel not ineffective for failing to raise meritless claims)
- Commonwealth v. Laird, 119 A.3d 972 (Pa. 2015) (explains three-prong ineffective assistance test)