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NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION – SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P 65.37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. :
:
MEGAN V. JEWELL, :
:
Appellant : No. 109 WDA 2018
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence January 5, 2018
in the Court of Common Pleas of Venango County Criminal Division
at No(s): CP-61-CR-0000312-2014
CP-61-CR-0000353-2017
CP-61-CR-0000366-2017
CP-61-CR-0000387-2017
BEFORE: BOWES, NICHOLS, and STRASSBURGER,* JJ.
MEMORANDUM BY STRASSBURGER, J.: FILED AUGUST 27, 2018
Megan V. Jewell (Appellant) appeals from the January 5, 2018 judgment
of sentence of an aggregate term of 32 to 64 months’ incarceration following
the revocation of her probation and after pleading guilty to two counts each
of retail theft and aggravated assault. Counsel has filed a petition to withdraw
and a brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), and its
progeny. Upon review, we deny counsel’s petition without prejudice and
remand for further proceedings consistent with this memorandum.
Following her arrest for, inter alia, retail theft, state troopers transported
Appellant to the hospital after she complained that she was experiencing
*Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.
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pain.1 After being examined and released by the attending physician, but
before leaving the hospital, Appellant became violent, striking a state trooper
and attempting to bite medical staff. As a result, Appellant was charged at
docket numbers CP-61-CR-0000353-2017, CP-61-CR-0000366-2017, and CP-
61-CR-0000387-2017 (collectively, “2017 cases”) with, inter alia, two counts
of retail theft and eight counts of aggravated assault. On September 25,
2017, as part of a plea agreement, Appellant pled guilty to two counts of
aggravated assault and two counts of retail theft. Plea Agreement Form,
9/28/2017. The remaining counts were nolle prossed. A pre-sentence
investigation (PSI) report was ordered and sentencing was deferred. Request
for PSI Report, 9/28/2017.
Prior to sentencing and based upon Appellant’s new criminal charges,
the Commonwealth sought to revoke Appellant’s probation at docket number
CP-61-CR-0000312-2014. Petition to Revoke Probation/Parole, 6/28/2017.
After waiving her right to a Gagnon I hearing, Appellant proceeded to a
Gagnon II hearing.2 Following the hearing, the court issued an order in which
it, inter alia, noted that Appellant stipulated to the alleged violations. Order
of Court, 12/21/2017. Although not entirely clear from the record, it appears
1
With limited information concerning the factual background of this case, we
consulted counsel’s Anders brief and the charging documents contained in
the certified record to summarize the pertinent facts. See Anders Brief at 6;
Affidavits of Probable Cause (filed June 15 and July 29, 2017).
2
Gagnon v. Scarpelli, 411 U.S. 778 (1973).
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that as a result of Appellant’s stipulations, the trial court revoked Appellant’s
probation. Sentencing was scheduled for the same day Appellant was to be
sentenced in the 2017 cases. Id.
On January 5, 2018, Appellant appeared before the trial court to be
sentenced, and was sentenced as outlined above. Appellant did not file a
post-sentence motion, but on January 16, 2018, Appellant timely filed a notice
of appeal. That same day, the trial court entered an order directing Appellant
to file a concise statement of matters complained of on appeal pursuant to
Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b)(1). No statement was filed. On March 20, 2018, the trial
court entered an order stating that Appellant’s failure to file a concise
statement constituted waiver of all issues on appeal. Opinion of Court,
3/30/2018, at 1-2.
In this Court, counsel for Appellant has filed both an Anders brief and
a petition to withdraw as counsel.3 Accordingly, the following principles guide
our review of this matter.
Direct appeal counsel seeking to withdraw under Anders
must file a petition averring that, after a conscientious
examination of the record, counsel finds the appeal to be wholly
frivolous. Counsel must also file an Anders brief setting forth
issues that might arguably support the appeal along with any
other issues necessary for the effective appellate presentation
thereof….
Anders counsel must also provide a copy of the Anders
petition and brief to the appellant, advising the appellant of the
3 The Commonwealth has elected not to file a brief.
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right to retain new counsel, proceed pro se or raise any additional
points worthy of this Court’s attention.
If counsel does not fulfill the aforesaid technical
requirements of Anders, this Court will deny the petition to
withdraw and remand the case with appropriate instructions (e.g.,
directing counsel either to comply with Anders or file an
advocate’s brief on Appellant’s behalf). By contrast, if counsel’s
petition and brief satisfy Anders, we will then undertake our own
review of the appeal to determine if it is wholly frivolous. If the
appeal is frivolous, we will grant the withdrawal petition and affirm
the judgment of sentence. However, if there are non-frivolous
issues, we will deny the petition and remand for the filing of an
advocate’s brief.
Commonwealth v. Wrecks, 931 A.2d 717, 720-21 (Pa. Super. 2007)
(citations omitted).
Our Supreme Court has clarified portions of the Anders procedure:
[I]n the Anders brief that accompanies court-appointed counsel’s
petition to withdraw, counsel must: (1) provide a summary of the
procedural history and facts, with citations to the record; (2) refer
to anything in the record that counsel believes arguably supports
the appeal; (3) set forth counsel’s conclusion that the appeal is
frivolous; and (4) state counsel’s reasons for concluding that the
appeal is frivolous. Counsel should articulate the relevant facts of
record, controlling case law, and/or statutes on point that have
led to the conclusion that the appeal is frivolous.
Commonwealth v. Santiago, 978 A.2d 349,at 361 (Pa. 2009).
Counsel has failed to satisfy these requirements. Although counsel
states he examined the record and concluded that this appeal is frivolous,
Petition to Withdraw As Counsel, 4/26/2018, at ¶¶ 2, 5, our review of the
record reveals the absence of a written guilty plea colloquy, as well as the
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transcripts of Appellant’s guilty plea and Gagnon II hearing.4 “Without these
notes of testimony, [c]ounsel could not have fulfilled his duty to review the
record for any non-frivolous issues.” Commonwealth v. Flowers, 113 A.3d
1246, 1250 (Pa. Super. 2015).
Without the transcripts of the guilty plea and Gagnon II hearing and
without the benefit of being able to review the written guilty plea colloquy,
neither counsel nor this Court can satisfy its obligations under Anders. See
Flowers, 113 A.3d at 1250 (holding that “this Court must conduct an
independent review of the record to discern if there are any additional, non-
frivolous issues overlooked by counsel”); Commonwealth v. Curry, 931
A.2d 700, 702 (Pa. Super. 2007) (“Failure to supply a complete record to this
Court for independent review will render a request to withdraw technically
inadequate.”).5 Accordingly, we deny counsel’s petition to withdraw and
remand this case for further proceedings consistent with this memorandum.
4 In addition, counsel has not cited to these transcripts in his Anders brief.
5 Moreover, on appeal, counsel has identified only one issue for review, a claim
challenging the discretionary aspects of Appellant’s sentence. However,
counsel cites the standard of review for an illegal sentence claim, and its two-
page “statement” to arguably support this issue contains no citation to the
record and only a mere recitation of the court’s statements at sentencing.
Furthermore, although this Court was provided a copy of the transcript from
the sentencing hearing, counsel does not cite to the relevant parts of the
transcript to support his conclusion that the sole issue presented is frivolous.
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Upon remand, counsel must obtain the missing transcripts and pertinent
documents, and ensure their inclusion in the certified record. Flowers, 113
A.3d at 1251. After review of the entire record, counsel shall file either an
advocate’s brief or a new petition to withdraw and Anders brief that fully
comply with the requirements detailed above.
Motion for leave to withdraw denied. Case remanded with instructions.
Panel jurisdiction retained.
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