Commonwealth v. Brown
145 A.3d 184
| Pa. Super. Ct. | 2016Background
- In 2007 Brown pled guilty in state court to felony identity theft and was sentenced to 11½–23 months' incarceration with immediate parole and four years' reporting probation.
- The day after his state sentence he was taken into federal custody; in federal court he pled guilty to multiple fraud and identity-related offenses and was sentenced to 27 months plus supervised release, released from federal custody on September 26, 2013.
- In April 2014 Brown committed retail theft; he pled guilty in March 2015 and received 30 days' probation.
- The state court held a violation-of-probation (VOP) hearing April 7, 2015, and found Brown committed retail theft while on state probation, revoked probation, and resentenced him to 48 months' reporting probation and a $250 fine.
- Brown appealed, arguing his state probation expired before the 2014 theft because his probationary term should have begun to run in December 2008 (after completing his state incarceration) and that his federal custody time should count toward his state probation.
- The Superior Court addressed the merits (despite a timely-filings procedural dispute) and concluded state probation does not run while a defendant is imprisoned on a separate federal sentence; Brown’s probation began upon his federal release in September 2013, so the retail theft was a VOP.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Brown’s state probation expired before the April 2014 retail theft | Brown: his state probation began running Dec. 26, 2008, after state incarceration, so it expired Dec. 26, 2012 | Commonwealth: probation did not run while Brown was in federal custody; it began when he was released Sept. 26, 2013 | Held: Probation did not run during federal imprisonment; Brown’s probation began on Sept. 26, 2013, so the April 2014 theft violated probation |
| Whether time in federal custody may be credited toward running state probation | Brown: federal custody time should count toward state probation term | Commonwealth: allowing concurrent running would permit serving two sentences simultaneously and give a windfall | Held: Courts refuse double credit; probation cannot run while defendant is imprisoned on unrelated federal sentence |
Key Cases Cited
- Commonwealth v. Thompson, 39 A.3d 335 (Pa. Super. 2012) (trial court addressing untimely Rule 1925(b) statement permits appellate merits review)
- Commonwealth v. Burton, 973 A.2d 428 (Pa. Super. 2009) (appellate review on merits where trial court had opportunity to address untimely Rule 1925(b))
- Commonwealth v. Mullins, 918 A.2d 82 (Pa. 2007) (plenary review of legal questions; standard of review for issues of law)
- Commonwealth v. Basinger, 982 A.2d 121 (Pa. Super. 2009) (probation is a noncarceral rehabilitative alternative; Sentencing Code does not contemplate imprisonment as element of probation)
- Commonwealth v. Allshouse, 33 A.3d 31 (Pa. Super. 2011) (rejection of "constructive probation"; term of probation does not run while defendant imprisoned for another conviction)
- Commonwealth v. Hallowell, 604 A.2d 723 (Pa. Super. 1992) (rejecting double credit for same period of incarceration on unrelated crimes as an improper windfall)
- Commonwealth v. Merigris, 681 A.2d 194 (Pa. Super. 1996) (42 Pa.C.S. § 9760 bars credit against more than one sentence for same time served)
- Commonwealth v. Ford-Bey, 590 A.2d 782 (Pa. Super. 1991) (aggregation of consecutive sentences under sentencing statutes)