Com. v. Sharp, W., Com. v. Sharp, W. No. 1877 MDA 2016

Appellant Whitley Elise Sharp pled guilty on August 11, 2016 to endangering the welfare of children (EWOC), possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
On September 26, 2016 the court sentenced Sharp to 3½ to 7 years’ incarceration on the EWOC count; no further incarceration was imposed on the other counts.
Sharp filed a post-sentence motion arguing her sentence was in the aggravated range and that the court failed to consider the factors in 42 Pa.C.S. § 9721(b); the motion was denied and she timely appealed.
The certified record before the Superior Court did not include the sentencing transcript; the trial court’s Rule 1925(a) opinion referenced reasons given at sentencing but noted the transcript was not requested earlier.
Counsel requested transcripts after the trial court’s Rule 1925 opinion; the guilty-plea transcript was lodged but the sentencing transcript was not in the certified record.
Because the record does not reveal whether defense counsel or the court/clerks caused the missing transcript, the Superior Court remanded for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether an “extraordinary breakdown in the judicial process” prevented inclusion of the sentencing transcript.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether sentence was an abuse of discretion for being in aggravated range and consecutive	Sharp: sentence excessive; court failed to consider § 9721(b) factors	Commonwealth: (implicit) sentencing discretion exercised properly; claims require review of sentencing record	Not decided on merits—remand for evidentiary hearing because sentencing transcript is missing
Whether appellant waived appellate review by failing to include sentencing transcript	Sharp: counsel later requested transcript; may not have waived if record incomplete through court error	Commonwealth: waiver rules apply when appellant fails to secure transcript	Superior Court: cannot determine waiver from record; possible extraordinary breakdown; remand to trial court to investigate

Commonwealth v. Preston, 904 A.2d 1 (Pa. Super. 2006) (appellant must ensure certified record is complete; failure to request transcripts can result in waiver)
Commonwealth v. Williams, 715 A.2d 1101 (Pa. 1998) (where record is incomplete, remand may be required to determine if an extraordinary breakdown in the judicial process prevented transmission of the record)