Commonwealth v. Gerald, 47 A.3d 858

Inmate Keithphinine Gerald was found with 1.4 grams of marijuana at Curren-Fromhold on November 16, 2009.
Gerald was charged with contraband (18 Pa.C.S.A. § 5123(a.2)) and other offenses; the possession of a controlled substance charge was dismissed at a preliminary hearing.
At bench trial on October 7, 2010, Gerald was convicted of the remaining offenses (including contraband and a small amount of marijuana).
On January 14, 2011, he was sentenced to 11½ to 23 months’ imprisonment followed by 4 years’ probation on the contraband conviction.
Gerald timely appealed, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the contraband conviction under § 5123(a.2) because the predicate offense (a small amount of marijuana) is not a listed predicate.
The superior court held that a violation of the predicate statute occurs even if a conviction under that predicate is not possible due to Gordon; the contraband statute requires only a violation, not conviction.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether possession of any marijuana by an inmate fulfills the contraband predicate	Gerald contends § 5123(a.2) requires a conviction under § 780-113(a)(16), which the Gordon rule prevents for small amounts.	Commonwealth argues any possession constitutes a violation of § 780-113(a)(16), sustaining contraband regardless of Gordon’s conviction limitations.	Possession of any amount constitutes a § 780-113(a)(16) violation; contraband conviction affirmed.

Commonwealth v. Hart, 28 A.3d 898 (Pa. 2011) (statutory interpretation framework and penalties for penal statutes)
Commonwealth v. Gordon, 897 A.2d 504 (Pa. Super. 2006) (small marijuana amounts and tiered penalties; impact on predicate-conviction issue)
Commonwealth v. McCoy, 599 Pa. 599 (Pa. 2009) (statutory construction guidance and interpretation standards)
Commonwealth v. Brown, 981 A.2d 893 (Pa. 2009) (plain language governs when statutes are clear)