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NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION – SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37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. :
:
JOSHUA WAYNE ROBINSON, :
:
Appellant : No. 714 MDA 2016
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence February 16, 2016
in the Court of Common Pleas of Fulton County
Criminal Division at No(s): CP-29-CR-0000210-2011
BEFORE: GANTMAN, P.J., DUBOW, and STRASSBURGER, JJ.*
MEMORANDUM BY STRASSBURGER, J.: FILED DECEMBER 09, 2016
Joshua Wayne Robinson (Appellant) appeals from the judgment of
sentence entered February 16, 2016. We affirm.
The trial court summarized the facts and procedural history as follows.
[Appellant] was convicted after trial by jury on
June 21, 2012 of one count each of criminal attempt
to commit rape of a child and rape of a child, as well
as three (3) counts of indecent assault for acts
involving S.M., a minor child. The charges arose
from S.M.’s allegation that in August of 2011,
[Appellant], her step-father, engaged in
inappropriate sexual activity with her while she
visited his home after [Appellant] and her mother
separated. [Appellant] was sentenced by [the trial
court] on October 2, 2012 to an aggregate term of
imprisonment in a state correctional institution of not
less than fifteen (15) years to not more than thirty
(30) years. [Appellant’s post-sentence motion] was
filed the same date.
[The trial court] denied [Appellant’s] first post[-]sentence
motion. [Appellant] thereafter appealed to the Superior Court
* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court
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[which] affirmed [the trial court’s] judgment of sentence on
November 14, 2013[.] [Appellant’s] Petition for Allowance of
Appeal was denied by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on April
2, 2014. On March 13, 2015, [Appellant] filed a pro se Petition
for Post[-]Conviction Relief [(PCRA)], which [the PCRA court]
granted, in part, on the grounds that an illegal sentence had
been imposed and directed that [Appellant] be resentenced.[1]
Thereafter, [the trial court] resentenced [Appellant] on February
16, 2016, to an aggregate term of 180 to 360 months [of]
incarceration in a [s]tate [c]orrectional [i]nstitution.
Opinion and Order of Court, 4/22/2016, at 1-2 (footnotes and citations
omitted).
Appellant timely filed a post-sentence motion challenging the
discretionary aspects of his sentence. On April 22, 2016, Appellant’s motion
was denied. This appeal followed.2
Appellant raises the following issues for this Court’s review, which we
have reordered for ease of disposition.
I. Did the trial court err in denying Appellant’s request for
relief under the [PCRA] when trial counsel failed to file a
motion to suppress Appellant’s unrecorded confession?
II. Did the trial court abuse its discretion by imposing an
unduly harsh and unreasonable sentence because the trial
court failed to consider Appellant’s rehabilitative needs
versus the public’s safety?
Appellant’s Brief at 6 (suggested answers, unnecessary capitalization, and
emphasis omitted).
1
Appellant had been sentenced to a mandatory minimum, later held
unconstitutional by Alleyne v. United States, 131 S.Ct 2151 (2013), while
Appellant’s direct appeal was pending. As such, Appellant was entitled to
the imposition of a new sentence.
2
Both Appellant and the trial court complied with Pa.R.A.P. 1925.
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Presently, Appellant is seeking relief from his new judgment of
sentence entered on February 16, 2016. Because Appellant is currently on
direct appeal, his claim that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to file a
motion to suppress cannot be pursued at this stage. Except in rare
circumstances not present here, ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims can
be raised only on collateral review. See Commonwealth v. Holmes, 79
A.3d 562, 576 (Pa. 2013) (“[C]laims of ineffective assistance of counsel are
to be deferred to PCRA review; trial courts should not entertain claims of
ineffectiveness upon post-verdict motions; and such claims should not be
reviewed upon direct appeal.”).
Consequently, we address the only remaining issue before us
regarding the discretionary aspects of Appellant’s sentence. Specifically,
Appellant argues that his sentence on counts 1 and 2 should have been
ordered to run concurrently and not consecutively. Appellant avers this is
particularly true considering his background and the fact that he “had never
been in trouble before.” Appellant’s Brief at 25-26.
Challenges to the discretionary aspects of sentencing do not
entitle an appellant to review as of right. An appellant
challenging the discretionary aspects of his [or her] sentence
must invoke this Court’s jurisdiction by satisfying a four-part
test:
We conduct a four-part analysis to determine: (1) whether
appellant has filed a timely notice of appeal, see Pa.R.A.P.
902 and 903; (2) whether the issue was properly
preserved at sentencing or in a motion to reconsider and
modify sentence, see Pa.R.Crim.P. 720; (3) whether
appellant’s brief has a fatal defect, Pa.R.A.P. 2119(f); and
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(4) whether there is a substantial question that the
sentence appealed from is not appropriate under the
Sentencing Code, 42 Pa.C.S.[] § 9781(b).
Commonwealth v. Griffin, 65 A.3d 932, 935 (Pa. Super. 2013) (some
citations omitted).
Here, Appellant timely filed a post-sentence motion and a notice of
appeal, and included a statement pursuant to Rule 2119(f) in his brief. We
now consider whether Appellant has presented a substantial question for our
review.
The determination of what constitutes a substantial question must be
evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Commonwealth v. Paul, 925 A.2d
825, 828 (Pa. Super. 2007). “A substantial question exists only when the
appellant advances a colorable argument that the sentencing judge’s actions
were either: (1) inconsistent with a specific provision of the Sentencing
Code; or (2) contrary to the fundamental norms which underlie the
sentencing process.” Griffin, 65 A.3d at 935 (citation and quotation marks
omitted).
This Court has recognized that a “challenge to the imposition of his
consecutive sentences as unduly excessive, together with his claim that the
court failed to consider his rehabilitative needs upon fashioning its sentence,
presents a substantial question.” Commonwealth v. Caldwell, 117 A.3d
763, 770 (Pa. Super. 2015). Thus, we are empowered to address the merits
of Appellant’s claim.
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Notably, Appellant acknowledges that for each count, he received a
sentence within either the mitigated or standard range. Nonetheless, he
argues that, based on his background, the trial court erred in ordering his
sentences to run consecutively. Appellant’s Brief at 25-26. In response, the
trial court stated the following:
As part of the sentencing proceeding, the [trial court]
heard from and considered the comments of the District
Attorney, Attorney Sembach on [Appellant’s] behalf, the
child/victim’s grandmother, and [Appellant]. Certainly, the [trial
court] heard about and considered the programming [Appellant]
participated in at SCI Fayette. The [trial court] considered a
letter written by [Appellant] dated February 6, 2016, in which he
described educational programs he completed at the state
correctional institution, as well as the fact that he has been
misconduct[-]free since his reception into the Department of
Corrections.
In imposing sentence, the [trial court] considered all of the
evidence presented at [Appellant’s] jury trial over which [the
trial court] presided, as well as the jury’s verdict. The initial
pre[-]sentence investigation report [(PSI)] as well as the
updated [PSI were] considered. The sentence[ing] guidelines
were considered, and the sentences imposed were all within the
standard range of sentences. Specifically, the standard range
for count 2, rape of a child, given [Appellant’s] prior record score
of 0 and an offense gravity score of 14, is 72-240 months; the
minimum sentence imposed was 120 months. The standard
range for count 1, criminal attempt (rape of a child), with an
offense gravity score of 13, is 60-78 months; the minimum
sentence imposed was 60 months. A standard range of 3-12
months was considered for Count 5, indecent assault, which was
calculated using an offense gravity score of 6; the minimum
sentence imposed was 12 months. Both counts 3 and 4,
indecent assault, have a standard range of RS (restorative
sanctions) [to] 9 months, given an offense gravity score of 5;
the minimum sentence imposed was 6 months. Further, counts
3, 4, and 5 were run concurrently to count 2 and each other,
demonstrating that the [trial court] gave careful attention to the
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length of incarceration necessary to accomplish the [trial court’s]
sentencing goals pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S.A. §9721.
The [trial court] weighed the need to protect the
child/victim and the community from future criminal acts
committed by [Appellant]. [Appellant] was found guilty of
sexually assaulting his young step-daughter while she was
entrusted to his care and supervision. Despite the jury’s verdict,
correspondence from [Appellant’s] family essentially urged the
[trial court] to ignore the verdict and assume that he had been
wrongly convicted. Appropriately, the [trial court] refused to do
so.
Considering [Appellant’s] good behavior while
incarcerated, excellent family support, and lack of a prior record
and weighing the jury’s finding as to [Appellant’s] commission of
despicable acts on the child/victim and the need to protect the
child/victim and the community at large, the [trial court] found
that this case presented as a standard range case warranting a
standard range sentence. Accordingly, the sentence imposed
was appropriate.
Trial Court Opinion, 4/22/2016, at 4-6 (citations omitted).3
Upon review of the record, this Court finds the trial court appropriately
considered and weighed all the necessary factors.4 As such, we disagree
3
The trial court’s April 22, 2016 opinion was authored in support of its denial
of Appellant’s post-sentence motion.
4
At resentencing, the trial court stated the following:
So we sentence today considering a whole host of
information required to be considered by the [trial court]. I’ve
considered things such as the evidence presented at trial, the
child’s testimony, [Appellant’s testimony], [] the other evidence
that was offered to the jury[, and the] jury’s verdict in this case.
All of the information that was contained within the initial
[PSI], as well as the updated information. I have considered the
materials that were provided to me by [Appellant’s] counsel
during- actually in advance of these proceedings, but [sic] the
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with Appellant that the trial court failed to consider Appellant’s rehabilitative
needs and background when imposing his sentence.5 Furthermore, in light
of the foregoing, we discern no abuse of discretion in the trial court’s
decision to order two of Appellant’s sentences to run consecutively,6 and the
remaining counts to be served concurrently.
original correspondences from all of these individuals in support
of you, as well as the letter [Appellant] wrote to the [trial court]
dated February 6 indicating how [Appellant] spent [his] time
since [he’s] been incarcerated. And I’ve considered the words of
[victim’s] grandmother who came here today to address the
[trial court]. I’ve considered the comments of the District
Attorney.
N.T., 2/156/2016 at 11-12.
5
“Where the sentencing court had the benefit of a [PSI], we can assume the
sentencing court ‘was aware of relevant information regarding the
defendant’s character and weighed those considerations along with
mitigating statutory factors.’” Griffin, 65 A.3d at 937 (quoting
Commonwealth v. Devers, 546 A.2d 12, 18 (Pa. 1988)).
6
Speaking for myself only and not as the conduit of this Court’s decision,
see Commonwealth v. King, 57 A.3d 607, 633 n. 1 (Pa. 2012) (Saylor, J.,
concurring) (discussing the precedent for a special concurrence by the
author of the majority opinion), while I have no qualms with the trial court’s
exercise of discretion in the instant case, I continue to be concerned about
the nearly unfettered discretion given to trial courts in imposing consecutive
or concurrent sentences. See Commonwealth v. Zirkle, 107 A.3d 127
(Pa. Super. 2014) (Strassburger, J., concurring).
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Judgment of sentence affirmed.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 12/9/2016
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