Friday, October 30, 2009

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v.TERRY L. SNAVELY


COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v.TERRY L. SNAVELY
No. 1996 MDA 2008 2009 PA Super 208 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 10/30/2009

Appeal from the Order entered October 10, 2008
In the Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County
Criminal Division at No. CP-36-CR-0001377-2006
Before: KLEIN, FREEDBERG and CLELAND, JJ.
Opinion by: CLELAND, J.
Dissenting Opinion by: KLEIN, J.
Appellant Terry L. Snavely (Snavely) appeals the order revoking his parole on a sentence of imprisonment imposed on a corruption of minors charge to which he had entered an Alford plea. Because the parole-violation order recommitted him to prison but made him immediately eligible again for parole on condition he enroll in a sex offender treatment program which required an admission of guilt to the original corruption of minors offense, he contends invoking his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination renders impossible his ability to satisfy the condition. As such, he submits the sentence is manifestly unreasonable. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.
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COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. STEVEN T. SMITH

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. STEVEN T. SMITH
No. 286 WDA 2009 2009 PA Super 209 Atlantic: n/a Petition for Reargument Filed 11/13/2009 Filed: 10/30/2009

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence of
January 14, 2009 in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny
County, Criminal Division, No. CP-02-CR-0010635-2007
Before: KLEIN, J., McEWEN, P.J.E., and HUDOCK, J.
Opinion by: KLEIN, J.
Steven T. Smith appeals from his judgment of sentence imposed following his open plea to four counts of possession of a controlled substance (cocaine), four counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance (cocaine), and three counts of delivery of a controlled substance (cocaine). Smith was sentenced to an aggregate term of 7-14 years’ imprisonment after the trial court imposed the mandatory minimum for each sentence pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. § 7508.
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Monday, October 26, 2009

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. JUAN M. RIVERA

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. JUAN M. RIVERA
No. 2354 EDA 2007 2009 PA Super 207 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 10/26/2009

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence September 4, 2007
In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County
Criminal, No. CP-51-CR-0005117-2007
Before: GANTMAN, DONOHUE, JJ., AND MCEWEN, P.J.E.
Opinion by: GANTMAN, J.
Appellant, Juan M. Rivera, appeals the judgment of sentence entered in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, following his bench trial convictions for first degree burglary, criminal trespass, theft, receiving stolen property, possessing an instrument of crime, and simple assault. We affirm.
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Friday, October 23, 2009

NANCY BRAUN, GUARDIAN OF THE PERSON AND ESTATE OF JOHN BRAUN, AN INCAPACITATED PERSON, AND NANCY BRAUN IN HER OWN RIGHT v. TARGET CORPORATION

NANCY BRAUN, GUARDIAN OF THE PERSON AND ESTATE OF JOHN BRAUN, AN INCAPACITATED PERSON, AND NANCY BRAUN IN HER OWN RIGHT v. TARGET CORPORATION AND THOMAS LINDSTROM & CO., INC. AND JEFFREY M. BROWN & ASSOCIATES
No. 2221 EDA 2006 2009 PA Super 206 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 10/23/2009

Appeal from the Judgments July 26, 2006 and July 28, 2006
In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County
Civil, May Term, 2004, No. 2886
Before: KLEIN, GANTMAN, AND KELLY, JJ.
Opinion by: GANTMAN, J.
Appellant, Nancy Braun, as guardian of the person and estate of her husband John Braun (“Mr. Braun”), and in her own right, appeals from the judgments entered in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas following the denial of her post-trial motions for removal of the compulsory nonsuit entered in favor of Appellee, Jeffery M. Brown & Associates (“JMB”), for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (“JNOV”) in favor of Appellee, Target Corporation (“Target”) and/or a new trial against both Target and JMB. We affirm.
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Wednesday, October 21, 2009

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. MATTHEW ALEXANDER BASINGER

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. MATTHEW ALEXANDER BASINGER
No. 1830 WDA 2008 2009 PA Super 204 Atlantic: 982 A.2d 121 Filed: 10/21/2009

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence entered October 20, 2008
In the Court of Common Pleas of Clearfield County
Criminal Division at No. CP-17-CR-0000684-2007
Before: BENDER, BOWES and CLELAND, JJ.
Opinion by: BENDER, J.
Matthew Alexander Basinger appeals the judgment of sentence imposed following his conviction of two counts of Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol (DUI) and the summary traffic offense of Vehicle Entering or Crossing Roadway. See 75 Pa.C.S. §§ 3802(a)(1), (b), 3324 (respectively). Basinger contends, inter alia, that the sentence the court imposed, which consisted of a period of probation conditioned on the defendant’s completion of a flat term of incarceration, is not consistent with the Pennsylvania Sentencing Code, 42 Pa.C.S. § 9721, et seq., and therefore is illegal. We concur in Basinger’s assessment. Accordingly, we vacate the judgment of sentence and remand for re-sentencing.
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TIJEN HARCAR v. DOGAN TALHA HARCAR

TIJEN HARCAR v. DOGAN TALHA HARCAR
No. 1851 WDA 2008 2009 PA Super 203 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 10/21/2009

Appeal from the Order Entered October 9, 2008,
Court of Common Pleas, Beaver County,
Domestic Relations Division, at No. 10639 of 2006.
Before: MUSMANNO, DONOHUE and SHOGAN, JJ.
Opinion by: SHOGAN, J.
Appellant, Dogan Talha Harcar (“Father”), appeals from the order dated October 7, 2008, and entered October 9, 2008, finding Appellee, Tijen Harcar (“Mother”), in contempt of the trial court’s orders entered on June 2, 2006 and September 5, 2006 by remaining in the Republic of Turkey with the parties’ son, Taha Murat Harcar (“Child”). The trial court declined to impose any sanctions on Mother. The trial court also ruled that Beaver County was an inconvenient forum under 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 5427, and directed that any further child custody proceedings should be instituted in the Republic of Turkey. After careful review, we affirm to the extent that the trial court held Mother in contempt. To the extent that it refused to impose any sanction, we reverse and remand. To the extent that the trial court declined to exercise jurisdiction in the future, we vacate.
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IN RE: K.T.E.L. APPEAL OF: A.R., MOTHER

IN RE: K.T.E.L.
APPEAL OF: A.R., MOTHER

No. 858 EDA 2009 2009 PA Super 205 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 10/21/2009

Appeal from the Decree entered February 18, 2009,
in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County,
December Term No. 90016, D 7157-05-12, J 324009-03
Before: STEVENS, KELLY, and POPOVICH, JJ.
Opinion by: KELLY, J.
A.R. (Mother) appeals from the decree entered in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia, involuntarily terminating her parental rights to her child, K.T.E.L., born October 28, 2003. We affirm. In this case, we address an issue of first impression: the disposition of an appeal in which an appellant in a case involving termination of parental rights fails to comply with Pennsylvania Rules of Appellate Procedure 905(a)(2) and 1925(a)(2), both adopted January 13, 2009. We hold that henceforth, in all children’s fast track cases, the failure to file a concise statement of errors complained of on appeal with the notice of appeal will result in a defective notice of appeal, to be disposed of on a case by case basis.
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Monday, October 19, 2009

ROBERT ZIMMERMAN v. HARRISBURG FUDD I, L.P.

ROBERT ZIMMERMAN v. HARRISBURG FUDD I, L.P.,
No. 1997 MDA 2008 2009 PA Super 202 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 10/19/2009

Appeal from the Order entered October 13, 2008
In the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County
Civil Division at No. 2005-CV-4222
Before: ALLEN, FREEDBERG AND CLELAND, JJ.
Opinion by: CLELAND, J.
We are asked to decide whether a contractor who has obtained a judgment against an owner under the Contractor and Subcontractor Payment Act may recover post-judgment interest and penalties, as well as attorney’s fees and expenses incurred to collect the money owed. We hold he can.
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Friday, October 16, 2009

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. RICK ELWOOD HULL

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. RICK ELWOOD HULL
No. 1353 WDA 2008 2009 PA Super 201 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 10/16/2009

Appeal from the PCRA Order entered July 14, 2008
In the Court of Common Pleas of Fayette County
Criminal Nos.: CP-26-CR-0000624-2003, CP-26-CR-0001306-2003
Before: STEVENS, DONOHUE, and FITZGERALD, JJ.
Opinion by: FITZGERALD, J.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania files this appeal from the order entered in the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas, which granted relief to Appellee, Rick Elwood Hull, based on his petition filed pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”). We hold that counsel lacked a reasonable basis for failing to call good character witnesses based on his overall trial strategy to show that the children were lying. Specifically, we hold that trial counsel may not state a broad concern that opposing counsel might introduce bad character evidence on cross-examination without having conducted any kind of investigation to determine if, in fact, there exists bad-character evidence. Accordingly, we affirm.
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COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. RODNEY SOTO COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. WILLIAM AVILES COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. MELVIN WISE

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. RODNEY SOTO
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. WILLIAM AVILES
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. MELVIN WISE
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. JOSE SANCHEZ
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. KEVIN WILSON
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. EUGENE HUDNELL
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. PETE ROBINSON

No. 165, 172, 179, 180, 181, 183 and 185 PHL 2008 2009 PA Super 200 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 10/16/2009

Appeal from the PCRA Order of November 20, 2007
In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County,
Criminal, No. CP-51-CR-1204871-2001, CP-51-CR-1203211-2001
CP-51-CR-0511611-2002, CP-51-CR-1000691-2001,
CP-51-CR-0405351-2004, CP-51-CR-1200351-2001, CP-51-CR-0507581-2001
Before: STEVENS, KLEIN and KELLY, JJ.
Opinion by: KLEIN, J.
These consolidated appeals are from the orders entered by the Honorable D. Webster Keogh denying defendants’ petitions for Post Conviction Relief, 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9541-9546 (PCRA). The PCRA petitions were filed when it was discovered through a newspaper article that a chemist for the police department, Colleen Brubaker, was a drug addict and had been taking confiscated pain pills for her own use and possibly selling other types of drugs to support her habit. The PCRA court denied relief on the grounds that defendants failed to prove that the newly discovered evidence would have compelled a different result at trial. While the individual cases are different, we agree with Judge Keogh that, viewing the totality of the circumstances, none of the defendants has shown that the evidence of Brubaker’s improper activity would have compelled a different result at any of the trials. Therefore, we affirm.
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Wednesday, October 14, 2009

CHRYSTAL CAMPBELL v. EARL R. WALKER, JR. APPEAL OF: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE

CHRYSTAL CAMPBELL v. EARL R. WALKER, JR.
APPEAL OF: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE

No. 1631 EDA 2008 2009 PA Super 198 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 10/14/2009

Appeal from the Order entered May 20, 2008,
in the Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County,
Domestic Relations, No. 99-17726; Pacses No. 849101063
Before: BENDER, SHOGAN, JJ., and McEWEN, P.J.E.
Opinion by: McEWEN, P.J.E.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department, of Public Welfare (hereinafter DPW) has appealed from a Court of Common Pleas order that vacated a lien against proceeds that were due appellee, Earl R. Walker, Jr., from Allstate Insurance Company pursuant to the settlement of a personal injury lawsuit. We reverse.
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COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. ZEBULA MELVIN BROWN

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. ZEBULA MELVIN BROWN
No. 254 MDA 2009 2009 PA Super 199 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 10/14/2009

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence of October 17, 2008,
in the Court of Common Pleas of Union County,
Criminal Division at No. CP-60-CR-0000078-2008
Before: ORIE MELVIN, DONOHUE and COLVILLE, JJ.
Opinion by: COLVILLE, J.
Zebula Brown (“Petitioner”) seeks permission to appeal the discretionary aspects of his sentence. We deny the petition for allowance of appeal
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Friday, October 9, 2009

VALERIE H. MILLER v. WILLIAM R. MILLER and UPPER ST. CLAIR SCHOOL DISTRICT and UPPER ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP v. WILLIAM R. MILLER and VALERIE H. MILLER

VALERIE H. MILLER v. WILLIAM R. MILLER and UPPER ST. CLAIR SCHOOL DISTRICT and UPPER ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP v. WILLIAM R. MILLER and VALERIE H. MILLER
APPEAL OF: WILLIAM R. MILLER

No. 752 WDA 2008 2009 PA Super 197 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 10/9/2009

Appeal from the Order entered on April 3, 2008
in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County,
Family Court Division, No. FD-93-12111-006
Before: MUSMANNO, DONOHUE and SHOGAN, JJ.
Opinion by: MUSMANNO, J.
William R. Miller (hereinafter “Husband”) appeals, pro se, from the Order granting the Motion for summary judgment filed by his ex-wife, Valerie H. Miller (hereinafter “Wife”). We affirm.
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Tuesday, October 6, 2009

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. THOMAS A. PERRY, JR.

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. THOMAS A. PERRY, JR.
No. 2061 MDA 2008 2009 PA Super 196 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 10/6/2009

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence entered August 27, 2008
In the Court of Common Pleas of Lebanon County
Criminal No.: CP-38-CR-0000150-2008
Before: ORIE MELVIN, COLVILLE, and FITZGERALD, JJ.
Opinion by: FITZGERALD, J.
Appellant, Thomas A. Perry, Jr., appeals from the judgment of sentence entered in the Lebanon County Court of Common Pleas, following his convictions for driving under the influence and driving vehicle at safe speed. We hold that this Court’s decision in Commonwealth v. Minnich, 874 A.2d 1234 (Pa. Super. 2005), finding that potential danger of causing an accident is sufficient to establish probable cause to initiate a traffic stop, applies in full to the current reasonable-suspicion standard. Accordingly, we affirm.
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COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. DARYL J. BOICH

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. DARYL J. BOICH
No. 1856 MDA 2006 2009 PA Super 195 Atlantic: 982 A.2d 102 Filed: 10/6/2009

Appeal from the Order entered October 5, 2006
In the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County
Criminal, No. CP-40-CR-0000024-2006
Before: FORD ELLIOTT, P.J., STEVENS, ORIE MELVIN, LALLY-GREEN*, KLEIN, BENDER, BOWES, GANTMAN, AND SHOGAN, JJ.
Opinion by: GANTMAN, J.
Dissenting Opinion by: KLEIN, J.
Appellant, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, appeals from the order entered in the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas, which granted the pre-trial motion of rape defendant Appellee, Daryl J. Boich, to direct the adult rape complainant (“C.U.”) to submit to an involuntary psychiatric examination for purposes of deciding her competency to testify at trial. The Commonwealth asks whether the court erred when it found compelling reasons to grant Appellee’s request. We hold the court erred when it ordered an involuntary psychiatric examination of C.U. on the grounds alleged. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.
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Friday, October 2, 2009

NANCY A. WHITE, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated v. CONESTOGA TITLE INSURANCE COMPANY

NANCY A. WHITE, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated v. CONESTOGA TITLE INSURANCE COMPANY
No. 1437 EDA 2008 2009 PA Super 194 Atlantic: n/a Petition for Reargument Denied 11/23/2009 Filed: 10/2/2009

Appeal from the Order Entered April 21, 2008
In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County
Civil at No(s): 0388 December Term, 2006
Before: STEVENS, PANELLA, and FREEDBERG, JJ.
Opinion by: PANELLA, J.
Appellant, Nancy White, appeals from the order entered on April 21, 2008 by the Honorable Jane Cutler Greenspan, Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, which dismissed the complaint with prejudice for failure to exhaust statutory remedies and denied the motion to certify class as moot. After careful review, we reverse.
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