Lead Opinion
OPINION
In this appeal by the Commonwealth, we are asked to determine whether William Childs (“Childs”) was entitled to a castle doctrine
In July 2010, Childs was residing with Michael Beander (“Beander”) and Samuel Andrews (“Andrews”) in Andrews’ house. On July 29, 2010, Andrews invited Bryant Bell (“Victim”) to come over to celebrate Victim’s birthday. All four
Almost immediately, Childs and Victim restarted their argument, trading insults and threats through the screen door. After a few minutes of this back-and-forth, Victim ascended the stairs, picked up a broomstick that had been sitting on the porch, and approached the door. Victim overcame Childs’ efforts to hold the screen door closed and entered the residence. Victim struck Childs with the broomstick several times before Childs stabbed Victim in the chest. Although Childs stabbed Victim only once, Victim died from this wound. Childs was arrested and charged with homicide and possessing instruments of crime (“PIC”).
On June 28, 2011, the legislature passed Act 2011-10, H.B. No. 40 (“Act 10”),
Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2.2), an actor is presumed to have a reasonable belief that deadly force is immediately necessary to protect himself against death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or sexual intercourse compelled by force or threat if both of the following conditions exist:
(i) The person against whom the force is used is in the process of unlawfully and forcefully entering, or has unlawfully and forcefully entered and is present within, a dwell*326 ing, residence or occupied vehicle; or the person against whom the force is used is or is attempting to unlawfully and forcefully remove another against that other’s will from the dwelling, residence or occupied vehicle.
(ii) The actor knows or has reason to believe that the unlawful and forceful entry or act is occurring or has occurred.
18 Pa.C.S.A. § 505(b)(2.1).
In November 2011, Childs was tried on the murder and PIC charges stemming from Victim’s death. This trial resulted in a conviction on the PIC charge, but the jury deadlocked on the homicide charge. In November 2012, Childs was tried again on the homicide charge. At both trials, Childs claimed that he acted in self-defense and requested a castle doctrine jury instruction in conformance with section 505(b)(2.1), providing that there is a presumption that he had a reasonable belief that deadly force was immediately necessary to protect himself from serious bodily injury or death because he was attacked inside his residence.
Childs appealed. The sole question before the Superior Court was whether the trial court correctly concluded that section 505(b)(2.1) should not be applied retroactively. The Superior Court noted that “the law of retroactivity is less than a model of clarity” before undertaking a thorough discussion tracing the history of the prohibition against the retroactive application of legislation and the exceptions thereto.
The Superior Court discussed the well-established principle that legislation that is procedural, as opposed to substantive, is not subject to the prohibition against the retroactive application of laws. While observing that “substantive laws are those which affect rights, while procedural laws are those which address methods by which rights are enforced,” it also
With regard to the case at bar, the Superior Court concluded that section 505(b)(2.1) did not alter a defendant’s rights concerning claims of self-defense premised on actions in the home. Id. at *25-26. It reasoned that section 505(b)(2.1) only “addresses a method of enforcing th[e] right of self-defense” and is therefore procedural. Id. at *27. Because there is no prohibition on the retroactive application of a procedural statute, the Superior Court reasoned, Childs was entitled to a jury instruction regarding the castle doctrine. On that basis, it vacated Childs’ judgment of sentence and remanded for a new trial.
In dissent, the Honorable Judge Eugene Strassburger reasoned that section 505(b)(2.1) is a substantive statute because, in his view, it “directly affect[s] the right of self-defense” because it governs when an actor may defend himself with deadly force. Id. at *1 (Strassburger, J., dissenting). Because the legislature did not expressly indicate its intent that section 505(b)(2.1) apply retroactively, Judge Strassburger concluded that the trial court did not err in refusing Childs’ requested jury instruction. Id. at *1-2
We granted allowance of appeal to consider whether the Superior Court erred in its interpretation of section 505(b)(2.1). “Statutory interpretation is a matter of law, and our standard of review is de novo and our scope of review is plenary.” Commonwealth v. Spence,
The Commonwealth advances three main arguments in support of its position. First, it argues that because the language of section 505(b)(2.1) does not explicitly provide that it should be applied to cases pending on the date of its enactment, it cannot be applied to Childs’ case. In this regard, it contends that Commonwealth v. Shaffer,
Second, the Commonwealth challenges the Superior Court’s determination that because section 505(b)(2.1) creates an evi-dentiary presumption, it is a procedural statute. According to the Commonwealth, section 605(b)(2.1) was enacted as part of a “comprehensive effort to revamp the law of self-defense” and therefore must be read as affecting the substantive rights of accused persons. Id. at 14-15. The Commonwealth further contends that Morabito’s Auto Sales v. Commonwealth,
Finally, the Commonwealth disputes the Superior Court’s determination that the doctrine of abatement permits the
In contrast, Childs argues that that the Superior Court was correct in its determination that section 505(b)(2.1) is procedural. Childs argues that this determination was accurate because section 505(b)(2.1) impacts how a jury reaches its decision, as opposed to what the jury must ultimately decide. Childs’ Brief at 18. Although the legislature did not explicitly provide that section 505(b)(2.1) applies retroactively, there is a necessary implication that it intended retroactive application. This implication, Childs argues, arises because the legislature drafted section 505(b)(2.1) to have no effect outside of trial, and from language contained in the preamble to Act 10, which states that the purpose of Act 10 was to codify the common law and constitutional rights of citizens to protect themselves in their homes. Lastly, Childs contends that even if we were to determine that section 505(b)(2.1) is substantive, it would still be applicable to him (as well as to other cases pending at the time of its enactment) pursuant to the doctrine of abatement. Id. at 27-29.
“The traditional common[]law castle doctrine is a basic tenet of American law: ‘The principle that a man’s home is his castle is basic to our system of jurisprudence.’ ” Wyatt Holli-day, “The Answer to Criminal Aggression Is Retaliation”: Stand-Your-Ground Laws and the Liberalization of Self-Defense, 43 U. Tol. L.Rev. 407, 408 (2012) (quoting Lombard v. Louisiana,
Although the castle doctrine has existed at common law in this Commonwealth essentially since its founding, it was not codified in Pennsylvania until 1972, with the enactment of 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 505. In enacting section 505, the legislature sought “to codify existing case law pertaining to ‘self-defense’ and to cover in a single rule the law governing the use of defensive force.” 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 505 (amended June 28, 2011), Official Comment 1972. The legislature emphasized that section 505 made no substantial change to the existing law. Id. Section 505 set forth the circumstances under which the use of force for purposes of self-defense was justified, and addressed the use of deadly force specifically in subsection (b)(2). Within this provision, the castle doctrine was codified as follows:
(b) Limitations of justifying necessity for use of force:
* * *
(2) The use of deadly force is not justifiable under this section unless the actor believes that such force is necessary to protect himself against death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or sexual intercourse compelled by force or threat; nor is it justifiable if:
* * *
(ii) the actor knows that he can avoid the necessity of using such force with complete safety by retreating or by*332 surrendering possession of a thing to a person asserting a claim of right thereto or by complying with a demand that he abstain from any action which he has no duty to take, except that:
(A) the actor is not obliged to retreat from his dwelling or place of work, unless he was the initial aggressor or is assailed in his place of work by another person whose place of work the actor knows it to be[.]
18 Pa.C.S.A. § 505(b)(2)(ii)(A) (amended June 28, 2011). The official comment to this provision reiterated the precept of the castle doctrine, restating that “[a] person is not required to retreat if he is attacked in his own home.” 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 505 (amended June 28, 2011), Official Comment 1972.
This statute remained unchanged until the passage of Act 10 on June 28, 2011. The preamble to Act 10 explains that its purpose was to strengthen the right of self-defense. See H.B. 40 159th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Pa.2011). In so doing, however, Act 10 did not substantively alter the law regarding the use of deadly force within a residence. The statute, as amended by Act 10, provides as follows:
(2) The use of deadly force is not justifiable under this section unless the actor believes that such force is necessary to protect himself against death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or sexual intercourse compelled by force or threat; nor is it justifiable if:
* * *
(ii) the actor knows that he can avoid the necessity of using such force with complete safety by retreating, except the actor is not obliged to retreat from his dwelling or place of work, unless he was the initial aggressor or is assailed in his place of work by another person whose place of work the actor knows it to be.
18 Pa.C.S.A. § 505(b)(2)(ii). Although revised in format, current section 505(b)(2)(ii) and former section 505(b)(2)(ii)(A) both provide that a person may use deadly force if he or she believes that it is necessary to prevent death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping, or sexual intercourse compelled by force or
Act 10 further amended section 505(b) to add six subsections. The subsections included the statute at issue in the present case, the relevant portion of which we reiterate:
Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2.2), an actor is presumed to have a reasonable belief that deadly force is immediately necessary to protect himself against death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or sexual intercourse compelled by force or threat if both of the following conditions exist:
(i) The person against whom the force is used is in the process of unlawfully and forcefully entering, or has unlawfully and forcefully entered and is present within, a dwelling, residence or occupied vehicle....
(ii) The actor knows or has reason to believe that the unlawful and forceful entry or act is occurring or has occurred.
18 Pa.C.S.A. § 505(b)(2.1). Section 505(b)(2.1) does not alter a person’s right to use deadly force within a dwelling. Rather, by its plain language, section 505(b)(2.1) creates a presumption.
In general terms, “a presumption is a standardized practice, under which certain facts are held to call for uniform treatment with respect to their effect as to proof of other facts.” 2 Kenneth S. Broun, et al., mccormick on evidence 675-76 (7th ed.2013). Presumptions are “staples of our adversary system of factfinding.” Commonwealth v. MacPherson,
The presumption created by section 505(b)(2.1)
Section 505(b)(2.1) does not, as the Commonwealth contends, broaden the rights of the accused when asserting a castle doctrine defense. Commonwealth’s Brief at 14. To the contrary, both before and after the enactment of section 505(b)(2.1), a defendant was justified in using deadly force if he or she was not the initial aggressor and had a reasonable belief that such force was necessary to protect against death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping, or sexual intercourse compelled by force or threat, and a defendant had no duty to retreat when attacked in his or her dwelling. Likewise, both before and after the enactment of section 505(b)(2.1), the Commonwealth could overcome a claim of self-defense under the castle doctrine by establishing that the defendant did not actually possess the requisite fear or that the defendant’s belief was not reasonable.
As evidentiary mechanisms, presumptions have no effect unless or until they are implicated in the course of a criminal proceeding. This reality was recognized by the Superior Court in a case that involved a statute that provided a mechanism for the evaluation of evidence, although not a presumption. C.R.F. v. S.E.F.,
A similar issue was raised in Bethea v. Phila. AFL-CIO Hosp. Ass’n,
As a procedural statute, section 505(b)(2.1) applies to litigation pending at the time it is passed as well as litigation commenced after its enactment. Commonwealth v. Estman,
As noted above, the Commonwealth argues that the eviden-tiary presumption contained in section 505(b)(2.1) must be read as having a substantive effect because it was “part of a ... comprehensive effort to revamp the law of self-defense” and broaden the substantive rights of the accused. Commonwealth’s Brief at 14-15.
In Morabito’s Auto Sales, the eponymous used auto dealership was charged with violating a statute that required the timely filing and delivery of assigned certificates of title to the Department of Transportation (“DOT”). Because the violations involved the dealership’s failure to timely submit documents, the exact dates when DOT received the documents in question were directly at issue. The records produced by DOT to establish these dates were illegible. The dealership objected to their admission because the work identification numbers, which indicate the date that DOT received the document, could not be read. The trial court agreed that the documents were illegible, but admitted the documents pursuant to section 1103.1(d.1) of the Vehicle Code. This provision of the Vehicle Code required DOT to stamp a document received
In resolving the issue of whether the trial court erred in admitting the documents, this Court recognized that “the arguments ... focused largely on whether to classify [ ] section 1103.1(d.l) as [ ] substantive or procedural,]” but did not find it necessary to resolve this question. Rather, we concluded that the “[t]he courts below have taken out of context the excerpt from subsection (d.l) on which they relied [ (the final sentence regarding illegibility and a certification by the DOT as prima facie evidence) ] to allow admission of the documents.” Morabito’s Auto Sales,
The situation in Morabito’s Auto Sales is in obvious contrast to the present case. There has been no attempt to rely on or give effect to only a portion of section 505(b)(2,l), nor does the presumption codified in section 505(b)(2.1) apply only if certain other criteria are not met. Quite simply, our rationale in
Having determined that section 505(b)(2.1) is a procedural statute, the Commonwealth’s remaining arguments are rendered moot. As a procedural statute, section 505(b)(2.1) applied to litigation pending at the time of its enactment as well as litigation commenced following its enactment. Estman,
Order affirmed.
Chief Justice SAYLOR and Justices BAER, TODD, DOUGHERTY and WECHT join the opinion.
Chief Justice SAYLOR files a concurring opinion.
Justice TODD files a concurring opinion.
Justice DOUGHERTY files a concurring opinion.
Notes
. As discussed at further length herein, the castle doctrine is a specialized component of self-defense, which recognizes that a person has no duty to retreat from his or her home before using deadly force as a means of self-defense. See Commonwealth v. Johnston,
. 18 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 2501, 907.
. The Commonwealth refers to this legislation as Act 48, see Brief for the Commonwealth at 10, but as it was enacted as Act No. 10 of 2011, we refer to it as Act 10.
. Childs requested the instruction in substantial conformance with the instruction contained in the Pennsylvania Suggested Standard Criminal Jury Instructions that was issued following the enactment of section 505(b)(2.1). See Pa.SSJI (Crim) § 9.501A (2012) (Use of Force/Deadly Force in Self-Defense).
. When Childs’ counsel requested the section 505(b)(2.1) instruction at his first trial, the trial court voiced its concern that the facts did not support such a charge. N.T., 11/10/2011, at 8-9. The Commonwealth did not adopt this position or object to Childs' request on the basis that the facts of the case did not support a castle doctrine defense. At Childs’ second trial, neither the trial court nor the Commonwealth questioned whether the facts of this case supported a castle doctrine instruction. In fact, at both trials, the trial court gave an instruction
. One such exception that the Superior Court discussed is the doctrine of abatement, which, since "the early days of this Commonwealth,” has provided that "the prohibition against retroactive criminal laws d[oes] not apply to statutes affecting the substantive rights of an accused where the law benefited the accused.” Commonwealth v. Childs, 272 EDA 2013,
. The defendant in Shaffer was convicted of multiple crimes, including corrupt organizations, 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 911. While his appeal was pending before the Superior Court, this Court ruled, in Commonwealth v. Besch,
. The terms "presumption” and "inference” are “commonly and often interchangeably” used to refer to these mechanisms. MacPherson,
. Presumptions are sometimes further classified as permissible, mandatory rebuttable, and mandatory conclusive. A permissive presumption is a "logical tool” that permits, but does not require, the trier of fact to proceed "from one fact to another, if the trier believes that the weight of the evidence and the experiential accuracy of the inference warrant so doing.” City of Pittsburgh,
As the issue presently before us does not require a determination as to whether the section 505(b)(2.1) presumption is permissible or mandatory rebuttable, we decline to make this distinction herein. For present purposes, it is sufficient that section 505(b)(2.1) instructs the factfinder that it may make the available inference and that the Commonwealth may overcome it with evidence to the contrary.
Section 505(b)(2.1) does not create a mandatory conclusive presumption. Nothing in the language of the provision suggests that the presumption is not rebuttable, and the parties do not so contend. Moreover, as the Commonwealth points out, such an interpretation would be absurd in these circumstances, as a defendant would be entitled to the benefit of an (unrebuttable) presumption even after testifying that he or she had no concern for his or her safety and instead used deadly force just because "it might be fun to kill him.” Commonwealth's Brief at 17 n. 3 (citing 1 Pa.C.S.A. § 1922 ("General Assembly
. Indeed, the Commonwealth does not allege that it would have tried its case differently if the trial court had agreed to give a castle doctrine instruction containing the presumption.
. We recognize, as did the Superior Court, that other amendments to section 505(b) not at issue in the present appeal alter the duty to retreat
An actor who is not engaged in a criminal activity, who is not in illegal possession of a firearm and who is attacked in any place where the actor would have a duty to retreat under paragraph (2)(ii) has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his ground and use force, including deadly force, if;
(i) the actor has a right to be in the place where he was attacked;
(ii) the actor believes it is immediately necessary to do so to protect himself against death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or sexual intercourse by force or threat; and
(iii) the person against whom the force is used displays or otherwise uses:
(A) a firearm or replica of a firearm as defined in 42 Pa.C.S. § 9712 (relating to sentences for offenses committed with firearms); or
(B) any other weapon readily or apparently capable of lethal use.
18 Pa.C.S.A. § 505(b)(2.3). Our decision here is limited to the presumption created for cases falling within the parameters of section 505(b)(2.1).
. The specific provision in question is 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 5337(h). We need not set forth the precise terms of this provision; it is sufficient to state that section 5337(h) consists of a list of ten factors that a trial
. C.R.F. and Bethea are in line with decisions of this Court, dating back two centuries, that have concluded that evidentiary statutes are procedural in nature and therefore apply retrospectively. See McFarland v. Moyamensing,
. The Commonwealth states that "even the Superior Court majority acknowledged” that section 505(b)(2.1) was part of legislation that broadened the right to self-defense. Commonwealth’s Brief at 14. What the Superior Court said, however, is that "[p]ortions of Act 10 that are not relevant here (see supra, note 11) undoubtedly broaden” an accused’s substantive rights, and points to § 505(b)(2.3). Childs, 272 EDA 2013 at *26 (emphasis added).
. It is notable that while the Commonwealth referred to Morabito’s Auto Sales as being "on point,” it does not provide any analysis as to how it could arguably be applied to the present case. Commonwealth’s Brief at 15. The Commonwealth also argues that the jury instruction requested by Childs would have operated in a substantive manner because it failed to indicate that the presumption is not conclusive. Id. at 16-17. The record reveals that the Commonwealth did not object on this basis at either of Childs’ trials, and so this claim has not been preserved for appeal. Pa.R.A.P. 302(b).
Concurrence Opinion
concurring.
I join the majority opinion and write only to observe that, left to my own devices, I would move away from strict adherence to a substantive-procedural demarcation in connection with rules of evidence. The “procedural” label initially raises questions concerning legislative power to create eviden-tiary precepts, since this Court has maintained that its procedural rulemaking authority is exclusive. See Commonwealth v. McMullen,
From my point of view, it would be as well, in the present case, to simply decide that a statutory, rebuttable evidentiary presumption favorable to individual rights and liberties should be applied at the trial level at the earliest opportunity, absent explicit legislative direction to the contrary.
Concurrence Opinion
concurring.
I join the Majority Opinion, writing separately only to note, irrespective of the presumption arising from the statutory “castle doctrine,” under current law, the Commonwealth has the burden to disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt. It would appear that this burden arising from this Court’s decisional law, see infra, already effectively establishes
The jury here was explicitly informed of the Commonwealth’s burden in the trial court’s final charge:
The defendant has raised the issue of whether he acted in self[-]defense when he stabbed Bryant Bell. Self[-]defense is called justification in the law of Pennsylvania. If the defendant's actions were justified you can not find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of any of these offenses. The issue having been raised, it is the Commonwealth’s burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in justifiable self[-]defense.
N.T. 11/16/2012 at 113-14. However, the Commonwealth does not suggest this standard charge rendered a castle doctrine charge superfluous, or its absence harmless.
Notably, the amendment to the statute encompassing the castle doctrine was adopted in 2011, the year before this Court’s decision in Commonwealth v. Mouzon,
The Mouzon Court further explained the prediction of a change in the burden of proof commanded by federal law proved erroneous with respect to self-defense. See id. at 742-43 (“Subsequent decisions from the High Court, however, reveal that the federal constitutional predictions respecting
Thus, if the General Assembly determines to revisit justification, whether focusing on the castle doctrine or not, it may affirmatively address the broader underlying issue of burden of proof now that Mouzon effectively recognized our prior decisional law may have erroneously recalibrated the governing principles reflected in the Crimes Code.
Concurrence Opinion
concurring.
I join the Majority Opinion in full. I write to address the expressions of Justice Dougherty in his Concurring Opinion in which he offers, should the General Assembly revisit the issue, that our decision in Commonwealth v. Mouzon,