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NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION – SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
Appellee :
:
v. :
:
TERRANCE ROBERT MOODY, :
:
Appellant : No. 1640 MDA 2016
Appeal from the PCRA Order August 22, 2016
in the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County
Criminal Division at No(s): CP-22-CR-0003426-2000
CP-22-CR-0003913-2000
BEFORE: BENDER, P.J.E., OTT, and STRASSBURGER,* JJ.
MEMORANDUM BY STRASSBURGER, J.: FILED JULY 28, 2017
Terrance Robert Moody (Appellant) appeals from the August 22, 2016
order that dismissed his petition filed pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief
Act (PCRA), 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541-9546. We affirm.
In 2001, Appellant pled guilty to sex crimes involving his step-
daughter and another child, was determined to be a sexually violent
predator, and was sentenced to an aggregate term of 12 to 44 years of
imprisonment. This Court denied Appellant relief on direct appeal, and his
judgment of sentence became final in 2005 after our Supreme Court denied
his petition for allowance of appeal. Commonwealth v. Moody, 843 A.2d
402 (Pa. Super. 2004), appeal denied, 882 A.2d 477 (Pa. 2005).
*Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.
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On March 10, 2016, Appellant filed a motion to vacate his judgment of
sentence, claiming therein that his sentence is illegal under Alleyne v.
United States, 133 S.Ct. 2151 (2013) (holding that a fact which triggers
the imposition of a mandatory minimum sentence is an element of the crime
and must, therefore, be determined beyond a reasonable doubt by a jury).
The PCRA court determined that Appellant’s motion should be
addressed under the PCRA and appointed counsel. On July 15, 2016,
counsel filed a motion to withdraw and a letter brief pursuant to
Commonwealth v. Turner, 544 A.2d 927 (Pa. 1988), and
Commonwealth v. Finley, 550 A.2d 213 (Pa. Super. 1988) (en banc). The
PCRA court determined that Appellant’s petition was untimely filed, granted
counsel’s petition to withdraw, and issued notice of its intent to dismiss the
petition without a hearing. Order, 7/21/2016. The PCRA court dismissed
the petition by order of August 22, 2016.
Appellant timely filed a notice of appeal, and both Appellant and the
PCRA court complied with Pa.R.A.P. 1925. On appeal, Appellant claims that
the Alleyne decision applies retroactively to invalidate his sentence, and
that he “challenged this invalid sentence in a timely manner.” Appellant’s
Brief at 10-12, 17.
The timeliness of a post-conviction petition is jurisdictional. See,
e.g., Commonwealth v. Lewis, 63 A.3d 1274, 1280-81 (Pa. Super. 2013)
(quoting Commonwealth v. Chester, 895 A.2d 520, 522 (Pa. 2006)) (“[I]f
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a PCRA petition is untimely, neither this Court nor the [PCRA] court has
jurisdiction over the petition. Without jurisdiction, we simply do not have
the legal authority to address the substantive claims.”).
Generally, a petition for relief under the PCRA, including a second or
subsequent petition, must be filed within one year of the date the judgment
of sentence is final unless the petition alleges, and the petitioner proves,
that an exception to the time for filing the petition is met, and that the claim
was raised within 60 days of the date on which it became available. 42
Pa.C.S. § 9545(b) and (c).
It is clear that Appellant’s petition is facially untimely: his judgment of
sentence became final in 2005. Without addressing the statute specifically,
Appellant’s argument suggests that he believes his petition satisfies the
following timeliness exception: “the right asserted is a constitutional right
that was recognized by the Supreme Court of the United States or the
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania after the time period provided in this section
and has been held by that court to apply retroactively.” 42 Pa.C.S.
§ 9545(b)(1)(iii).
However, our Supreme Court has held that Alleyne does not apply
retroactively to cases on collateral review. Commonwealth v.
Washington, 142 A.3d 810 (Pa. 2016). Even if it did apply retroactively,
Appellant’s 2016 petition was not filed within 60 days of the 2013 Alleyne
decision. See Commonwealth v. Secreti, 134 A.3d 77, 82-83 (Pa. Super.
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2016) (noting petitions filed within 60 days of Supreme Court decision
recognizing retroactive application of new constitutional right satisfied
requirement of 42 Pa.C.S. § 9545(b)(2)). Because Appellant failed to
establish the applicability of a timeliness exception, the PCRA court properly
dismissed the petition for lack of jurisdiction.
Order affirmed.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 7/28/2017
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