Commonwealth v. Carrillo-Diaz
64 A.3d 722
| Pa. Super. Ct. | 2013Background
- Appellant pled no contest to Statutory Sexual Assault (June 24, 2010) and received 9–29 months incarceration plus 5 years’ probation under Sex Offender Unit; ordered no unsupervised contact with minors and to avoid M.S.
- Probation conditions included employment, treatment, and community service obligations; advised violation could lead to state imprisonment.
- Feb. 16, 2012 probation-violation hearing revealed marijuana positives and treatment noncompliance; staff reported Appellant misled court about employment and treatment attendance.
- Court found violation, revoked probation, and imposed 1–2 years’ state incarceration followed by 6 years’ reporting probation; record later indicated he lied about reasons for missing treatment.
- Appellant filed a nunc pro tunc post-sentence motion; appeal challenges the lack of a pre-sentence investigation (PSI) or reasons for dispensing with PSI; court conducted four-factor discretionary review and held PSI was unnecessary because information in record sufficed.
- Trial court’s 1925(a) opinion indicated reasons for dispensing with PSI were based on unreliable self-reported data and lack of trust in PSI contents.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether sentencing without a PSI violated Rule 702. | Appellant | Commonwealth | No error; information in record sufficed. |
Key Cases Cited
- Commonwealth v. Flowers, 950 A.2d 330 (Pa. Super. 2008) (discretionary-sentence review; PSI noncompliance may be harmless with substitute information)
- Commonwealth v. Malovich, 903 A.2d 1247 (Pa. Super. 2006) (four-part discretionary-sentencing analysis; need for substantial question to review)
- Commonwealth v. Goggins, 748 A.2d 721 (Pa. Super. 2000) (PSI content requirements and permissible alternatives to PSI)