Superior Court - 3/10/08 - COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. CARL NORTHRIP

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. CARL NORTHRIP
No. 384 EDA 2007 2008 PA Super 35 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 3/10/2008
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence dated September 7, 2006 In the Court of Common Pleas of Pike County Criminal No. CP-52-CR-0000033-2005
Before: BENDER, ALLEN, and FITZGERALD, JJ.
Opinion by: FITZGERALD, J.
Appellant, Carl Northrip, appeals from the judgment of sentence entered in the Pike County Court of Common Pleas following his convictions of sexual crimes involving his minor daughter, S.F. We hold that the trial court erred when it prevented Appellant’s wife from testifying to S.F.’s motive to fabricate the allegations based on the Pennsylvania Rape Shield Statute, 18 Pa.C.S. § 3104(a), but that this error was harmless in light of Appellant’s telephone conversation with S.F. However, we hold that the trial court erred in treating Appellant’s conviction of New York Penal Law section 150.10, arson in the third degree, as a crime of violence in Pennsylvania under 42 Pa.C.S. § 9714. Accordingly, we affirm the convictions, but vacate the judgment of sentence and remand for resentencing.