Com. v. Serfass, T., Com. v. Serfass, T. No. 3291 EDA 2016

Trooper Keegan cited Todd Serfass for driving on a DUI-related suspended license; a magisterial district judge found him guilty on June 9, 2016 and sentenced him to 60 days incarceration.
Serfass filed a pro se notice of appeal to the Court of Common Pleas on July 15, 2016—36 days after the magisterial verdict (untimely under Pa.R.Crim.P. 460).
Serfass appeared for the de novo trial in the court of common pleas on September 22, 2016 but left the courtroom and did not return; the trial proceeded in his absence without counsel present for him.
At the close of the Commonwealth’s case the trial court found Serfass guilty, immediately sentenced him to 90 days, and issued a bench warrant (later cleared and bond set).
The Superior Court raised timeliness/jurisdiction sua sponte, concluded the initial appeal to the court of common pleas was untimely and not nunc pro tunc, and held the court of common pleas lacked jurisdiction to hear the de novo appeal.
The Superior Court vacated the judgment of sentence entered by the court of common pleas and remanded with instructions to quash the improper appeal and reinstate the magisterial district judge’s judgment.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the court of common pleas erred by proceeding to de novo trial in Serfass's absence	Serfass argued the trial in absentia was erroneous (trial court proceeded without him or counsel)	Commonwealth (implicitly) proceeded under de novo review after appeal was filed	Court held it lacked jurisdiction because the notice of appeal to the common pleas was untimely and not nunc pro tunc; therefore proceedings and sentence at common pleas were void
Whether the trial court erred in setting bail as if it were an issuing authority	Serfass challenged bail practice at common pleas	Commonwealth defended court’s actions following its de novo proceeding	Court did not reach the substantive bail issue because lack of jurisdiction disposed of the appeal; remanded to quash appeal and reinstate magisterial judgment

Argersinger v. Hamlin, 407 U.S. 25 (U.S. 1972) (absent valid waiver, cannot imprison a defendant not represented by counsel at trial)
Basemore v. Commonwealth, 582 A.2d 861 (Pa. 1990) (distinguishing loss of presence from loss of counsel; counsel can continue to represent defendant excluded for misconduct)
In re Adoption of W.R., 823 A.2d 1013 (Pa. Super. 2003) (timeliness of appeal implicates court jurisdiction)
Commonwealth v. Lindey, 760 A.2d 416 (Pa. Super. 2000) (court may raise jurisdictional defects sua sponte)
Commonwealth v. Yohe, 641 A.2d 1210 (Pa. Super. 1994) (requirements for nunc pro tunc relief from summary conviction appeals)
Commonwealth v. Alaouie, 837 A.2d 1190 (Pa. Super. 2003) (untimely appellate filings may trigger remand for evidentiary hearing when nunc pro tunc relief is sought)
Commonwealth v. Coolbaugh, 770 A.2d 788 (Pa. Super. 2001) (trial court cannot extend statutory time to file an appeal)