COMMONWEALTH оf Pennsylvania, Appellant, v. George RIPLEY, Appellee. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Appellant, v. Calyn Arnold, Appellee. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Appellant, v. Alexis Badenmayer, Appellee. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Appellant, v. Curtis Dahn, Appellee. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Appellant, v. Mark Debrew, Appellee. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Appellant, v. Paul B. Osher, Appellee.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania
Argued March 11, 2003. Filed Sept. 18, 2003.
833 A.2d 155
George Ripley, appellee, pro se.
Paul M. George, Public Dеfender, Philadelphia, for Arnold, appellee.
Alexis Badenmayer, appellee, pro se.
James T. Marsh, Philadelphia, for Dahn, appellee.
Albert J. Raman, Philadelphia, for Debrew, appellee.
Aaron C. Finestone, Philadelphia, for Osher, appellee.
BEFORE: DEL SOLE, P.J., GRACI and BECK, JJ.
¶ 1 The Commonwealth appeals from the order granting Appellees’ motion to quash. Upon review, we reverse.
¶ 2 The trial court summarized the procedural history of this case as follows:
Defendants Calyn Arnold, Alexis Badenmayer, Curtis Dahn, Mark Debrew, Paul B. Osher, and George Ripley were charged with Possession of Instruments of Crime, Obstructing the Administration of Law or Government, Disorderly Conduct, Obstructing the Highway and Conspiracy. The charges stem from a protеst at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia in which the defendants attempted to impede delegates from reaching the First Union Center.
On Friday, February 2, 2001, a trial was held without a jury before the Honorable Seamus P. McCaffery in the Municipal Court of Philadelphia. The defendants were each found guilty of Possession of Instruments of Crime, Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice, Conspiracy to Commit Disorderly Conduct, and Conspiracy to Obstruct the Highway. Ms. Arnold, Mr. Osher, Ms. Badenmayer, Mr. Ripley, and Mr. Debrew were sеntenced to time in to one year [sic], and mandatory court costs. The court ordered immediate non-reporting parole. Mr. Dahn was sentenced to sixteen days to one year with the same mandatory costs and parole.
An appeal for a trial de novo was filed in this Court. Defendants Arnold and Debrew, joined by the remaining defendants, directly filed a motion to quash. On November 21, 2001, this Court granted the motion to quash. After timely filing its Notice of Appeal, the Commonwealth was ordered, pursuant to
Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) , to file a Statement of Matters Complained of on Appeal. In its statement, the Commonwealth claims that there was sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case for all charges at the preliminary hearing, and that this Court erred in its grant of defendant‘s Motion to Quash.
Trial Court Opinion, 6/28/02, at 1-2.
¶ 3 On appeal, the Commonwealth presents two issues for our review:
- Did the lower court lack jurisdiction to grant defendants’ pre-trial motions to quash the bills of information that were filed after they chose to be tried de novo?
Did the Municipal Court trial transcript cоntain sufficient evidence for a prima facie case of possession of an instrument of crime, conspiracy to obstruct justice, conspiracy to commit disorderly conduct, and conspiracy to obstruct the highway, such that the court below erred in quashing these charges?
Appellant‘s Brief at 4.
¶ 4 The Commonwealth first argues that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to grant Appellees’ motions to quash. Appellant‘s Brief at 15. The Commonwealth asserts that where a defendant appeals from a municipal cоurt conviction for a trial de novo, the Common Pleas Court has no statutory jurisdiction to entertain a pre-trial motion to quash bills of information based on a review of the record. Id. It reasons the trial court‘s ability to hold de novo trials results from its appellate jurisdiction and not its original jurisdiction, and thus, in its capacity as an appellate court, the trial court does not have jurisdiction to entertain a motion to quash. Id. at 16-17.
¶ 5 First we must note that this case was first tried in Philadelphia Municipal Court. Jurisdiction for this Court is set by statute. Section 1123 of the Judicial Code provides, in pertinent part, as follows:
§ 1123. Jurisdiction and venue
(a) General rule.-Except as otherwise prescribed by any general rule adopted pursuant to section 503 (relating to reassignment of matters), the Philadelphia Municipal court shall have jurisdiction of the following matters:
* * *
(2) Criminal offenses by any person (other than a juvenile) for which no prison term may be imposed or which are punishable by imprisonment for a term of not more than five years, including indictable offenses under Title 75 (relating to vehicles). In cases under this paragraph the defendant shall have no right of trial by jury in the municipal court, but shall have the right of appeal for trial de novo, including the right of trial by jury, to the court of common pleas. The judges of the municipal court exercising jurisdiction under this paragraph shall have the same jurisdiction in probation and parole arising out of sentences imposed by them as judges of the court of common pleas.
Except as otherwise prescribed by any general rule adopted pursuant to section 503 (relating to reassignment of matters), each court of common pleas shall have exclusive jurisdiction of appeal from final orders of the minor judiciary established within the judicial district.
Unless and until changed by general rule, the judges of the courts of common pleas, within their respective judicial districts, shall have power, in addition to the right of appeal under section 9 of Article V of the Constitution of Pennsylvania, to issue writs of certiorari to the minor judiciary.
¶ 6 Accordingly, there are two means of appealing a municipal court determination in Philadelphia. An individual may seek a trial de novo or file a writ of certiorari. Whereas the petition requests that the common pleas court review the record made in the municipal court, the appeal de
¶ 7 Here, Appellees sought a trial de novo. After seeking a trial de novo, Appellees filed a motion to quash on the basis that the Commonwealth had not established a prima facie case of the charges. Despite the Commonwealth‘s argument that the trial court had no jurisdiction to grant this motion, we conclude that a trial court, following an appeal for a trial de novo from a municipal court determination, has jurisdiсtion to hear and rule on a motion to quash. See Commonwealth v. Nelson, 230 Pa.Super. 89, 326 A.2d 598 (1974) (trial court order granting motion to quash filed following de novo appeal from municipal court conviction affirmed in part and reversed in part by Superior Court). We find further support for this determination in Rule 1010 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure, which provides that where a defendant appeals for a trial de novo, “[t]he attorney for the Commonwealth, upon receiving the notice of appeal shall prepare an information and the matter shall thereafter be treated in the sаme manner as any other court case.”
¶ 8 Furthermore, we do not find Chapter 10 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure to preclude review of the municipal court proceeding to determine whether a prima facie case has been established in ruling on the motion to quash. Rule 1012 provides in pertinent part:
(B) No testimony produced at the Municipal court trial or at any pretrial hearing in the Municipal Court shall be admissible at the trial de novo except in those cases in which defendant wаs represented by counsel and had the opportunity to cross examine, and the witness afterwards dies, or is out of the jurisdiction so that the witness cannot be effectively served with a subpoena, or cannot be found, or becomes incompetent to testify for any legally sufficient reason properly provided.
¶ 9 The Commonwealth argues in the alternative, that should it be determined that the trial court had jurisdiction to grant the motion to quash, then the evidence presented at the municipal court proceeding establishes a prima facie case of thе charges at issue and the trial court erred in granting the motion to quash. Appellant‘s Brief at 23. The decision to grant a motion to quash a criminal information or indictment “is within the sound discretion of the trial judge and will be reversed on appeal only where there has been a clear abuse of discretion.” Commonwealth v. Lebron, 765 A.2d 293, 294 (Pa.Super.2000). Discretion is abused when the course pursued by the trial court represents not merely an error of judgment, but where the judgment is manifestly unreasonable or where the law is not applied оr where the record shows that the action is a result of partiality, prejudice, bias or ill will. Lebron, 765 A.2d at 294-295.
¶ 10 As stated, the trial court had jurisdiction to entertain the motion to quash, and accordingly it was then required to determine whether a prima facie case of the charges had been established. The prima facie standard requires that
¶ 11 When reviewing a motion to quash on the basis of failure to establish a prima facie case, the trial court looks to the evidence presented at the preliminary hearing. See Commonwealth v. McBride, 528 Pa. 153, 595 A.2d 589 (1991). While there was no preliminary hearing here, this Court has stated that in this situation, the municipal court hearing servеs as the preliminary hearing. Commonwealth v. Nelson, 230 Pa.Super. 89, 326 A.2d 598 (1974). Accordingly, in order to determine whether the Commonwealth established a prima facie case, we must review the evidence presented at the municipal hearing.
¶ 12 A person is guilty of possession of an instrument of crime if he or she “possesses any instrument of crime with intent to employ it criminally.”
¶ 13 Appellees were also convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice, conspiracy to commit disorderly conduct, and conspiracy to obstruct the highway. Criminal conspiracy is defined as follows:
(a) Definition of conspiracy. A person is guilty of conspiracy with another person or persons to commit a crime if with the intent of promoting or facilitating its commission he:
(1) agrees with such other person or persons that they or one or more of them will engage in conduct which constitutes such crime or an attempt or solicitation to commit such crime; or
(2) agrees to aid such other person or persons in the planning or commission of such crime or of an attempt or solicitation to commit such crime.
¶ 14 A person is guilty of the crime of obstructing administration of law or other governmental function if he “... intentionally obstructs, impairs or perverts the ad-
¶ 15 There was evidence that Appellees entered into an agreement to conduct the lock-down protest. This conduct would result in obstruction of the administration of law or other governmental function because Appellees intended to physically obstruct lawful police efforts to ensure that public streets were free from obstruction and open for safe use by cars and pedestrians. This intent is indicated by the Appelleеs’ design and intended use of the lock-boxes, which were to physically link the protestors together and interfere with police efforts to disperse the protest. Furthermore, Appellees covered the lock-boxes in tar and chicken wire, for the sole purpose of slowing down police efforts to disassemble the human chain. Thus, we find the Commonwealth established a prima facie case of this charge.
¶ 16 A person is guilty of disorderly conduct if:
... [w]ith intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof, he:
(1) engages in fighting or threatening, or in violent or tumultuous behavior;
(2) makes unreasonable noise;
(3) uses obscene language, or makes an obscene gesture; or
(4) creates a hazardous or physically offensive condition by any act which serves no legitimate purpose of the actor.
¶ 17 The crime of obstructing highways and other public passages is defined as follows:
(a) Obstructing.-A person, who, having no legal privilege to do so, intentionally or recklessly obstructs any highway, railroad track or public utility right-of-way, sidewalk, navigable waters, other public passage, whether alone or with others, commits a summary offense, or in case he persists after warning by a law officer, a misdemeanor of the third degree.
¶ 18 Order reversed. Matter remanded for proceedings consistent with this Opinion. Jurisdiction relinquished.
¶ 19 GRACI, J. files a concurring opinion.
CONCURRING OPINION BY GRACI, J.:
¶ 1 I agree with the majority that the trial court erred in concluding that the Commonwealth had failed to make out a prima facie case against the Appellees and join the opinion to the extent that it reverses the order granting the motion to quash the informations filed against them. I am unable, however, to join the majority‘s discussion of the first issue raised by the Commonwealth as Appellant since I believe that the Commonwealth waived that issue by failing to include it in its statement of matters complained of on appeal pursuant to
¶ 2 There is no doubt that questions of subject matter jurisdiction may be raised by the parties at any time or sua sponte by the appellate court. Riedel v. Human Relations Commission of City of Reading, 559 Pa. 34, 739 A.2d 121, 124 (1999). As the Court observed in Riedel, however:
Jurisdiction and power аre not interchangeable although judges and lawyers often confuse them. Jurisdiction relates solely to the competency of the particular court or administrative body to determine controversies of the general class to which the case then presented for its consideration belongs. Power, on the other hand, means the ability of a decision-making body to order or effect a certain result.
Id. (citations omitted). See also Commonwealth v. Morris, 565 Pa. 1, 771 A.2d 721, 737 (2001) (same; citing Riedel).
¶ 3 We have previously had occasion to describe the jurisdiction of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County to review the decisions of the Philadelphia Municipal Court in the following manner:
[T]he common pleas court has jurisdiction to review an order of the municipal court, under both
42 Pa.C.S.A. § 932 and§ 1123(a)(2) . Section 932 addresses appeals from final orders to the courts of common pleas from minor judiciary determinations, in general.§ 932. Appeals from minor judiciary
Except as otherwise prescribed by any general rule adopted pursuant to section 503 (relating to reassignment of matters), each court of common pleas shall have exclusive jurisdiction of appeals from final orders of the minor judiciary established within the judicial district.
1976, July 9, P.L. 586, No. 142, § 2, effective June 27, 1978.
Section 1123 defines the jurisdiction and venue of the Philadelphia Municipal
§ 1123. Jurisdiction and venue
(a) General rule.-Except as otherwise prescribed by any general rule adopted pursuant to section 503 (relating to reassignment of matters), the Philadelphia Municipal Court shall have jurisdiction of the following matters:
* * *
(2) ... In cases under this paragraph the defendant shall have no right of trial by jury in the municipal court, but shall have the right of appeal for trial de novo, including the right of trial by jury, to the court of common pleas.
See Commonwealth v. White, 228 Pa.Super. 23, 324 A.2d 469 (1974).
In Commonwealth v. Poindexter, 248 Pa.Super. 564, 375 A.2d 384 (1977), this court further recognized in a footnote that appeal may also be sought from municipal court to cоmmon pleas by the issuance of a Writ of Certiorari.
Section 26 of the Schedule to Article 5 of the Pennsylvania Constitution provides: ‘Unless and until changed by rule of the Supreme Court, in addition to the right of appeal under section nine of this article, the judges of the courts of common pleas ... shall have power to issue writs of certiorari to the municipal court in the City of Philadelphia....’ Although the Supreme Court, by Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 159(e), has suspended the Act of Dec. 2, 1968, P.L. 1137, Nо. 355, § 6,
Id. at 567, 375 A.2d at 386.
In sum, the nature and scope of the review by the court of common pleas of orders entered by the municipal сourt is carefully delineated by statute.
Commonwealth v. Rosario, 419 Pa.Super. 481, 615 A.2d 740, 742 (1992).
¶ 4 The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has recently addressed the subject of subject matter jurisdiction and has reiterated:
Subject matter jurisdiction relates to the competency of a court to hear and decide the type of controversy presented. Jurisdiction is a matter of substantive law. Appellee was charged with violations pursuant to the Crimes Code. Controversies arising out of violations of the Crimes Code are entrusted to the originаl jurisdiction of the courts of common pleas for resolution. Every jurist within that tier of the unified judicial system is competent to hear and decide a matter arising out of the Crimes Code.
Commonwealth v. Bethea, 574 Pa. 100, 828 A.2d 1066, 1074 (2003) (citations omitted).
¶ 5 Thus it clearly appears that the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas was competent to determine the issues before it in these criminal cases. The general class to which these cases belong is that arising under the Crimes Code as in Bethea. The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas
¶ 6 It may be that the Commonwealth is correct that the common pleas court lacked the authority or power to entertain a motion to quash the informations on the basis that there was no prima facie case on an appeal for de novo trial. That is a question separate and apart from the court‘s competency or jurisdiction to decide issues raised in criminal cases as the cases cited above make clear. The issue of the court‘s power or authority had to be properly raised and preserved in the Rule 1925(b) statement for it to be considered on appeal. See Riedel, 739 A.2d at 124 (since issue was not jurisdictional, appellate court improperly raised it sua sponte and since claim was not raised in trial court it was waived under
¶ 7 Though I am unable to join the majority in this portion of its Opinion, I hasten to join its proper resolution of the
Notes
Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County shall have concurrent jurisdiction over the matters specified inSection 10 of Act 1976, July 9, P.L. 586, No. 142, as affected by Act 1982, Dec. 20, P.L. 1409, No. 326, § 316,42 Pa.C.S.[A.] § 1123(a)(2) (relating to jurisdiction and venue) and the assignment of cases between the two courts shall be determined by rule prescribed by the President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia Cоunty.