Title: Com. v. Wildermuth

State: pennsylvania

Issuer: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Document:

347 Pa. Superior Ct. 640 (1985) 501 A.2d 258 COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania v. Richard WILDERMUTH, Appellant. Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Argued June 20, 1985. Filed November 22, 1985. *641 Michael Mustokoff, Philadelphia, for appellant. Christopher J. Serpico, Assistant District Attorney, Philadelphia, for Commonwealth, appellee. Before MONTEMURO, POPOVICH and WATKINS, JJ. MONTEMURO, Judge: Appellant, Richard Wildermuth, herein appeals from the judgment of sentence of the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County. On November 15, 1984, appellant pled guilty to charges of rape, statutory rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault and exposure, and corrupting a minor, age 6, and to charges of statutory rape, indecent assault, and corrupting a minor, age 12. Applying the mandatory sentencing provisions of 42 Pa.C.S. § 9718 (relating to offenses against infant persons), the court below thereafter sentenced appellant to two concurrent terms of five to ten years imprisonment. This appeal followed the denial of appellant's motion for modification of sentence. Appellant herein raises a plethora of constitutional challenges to the provisions of section 9718,[1] and to their *642 application to the instant circumstances, which we will address seriatim. Initially, we note that our analysis has been guided by the precepts reiterated in Commonwealth v. Bannister, 345 Pa.Super. 178, 182, 497 A.2d 1362, 1364 (1985): Appellant first argues that section 9718 violates his right to equal protection in that the legislature failed to limit section 9718's applicability to offenders under 60 years of age. Directing our attention to the mandatory sentencing provisions of 42 Pa.C.S. § 9717 (relating to offenses against elderly persons), appellant, approximately 80-81 years of age during the period within which the instant offenses occurred, observes that, had his offenses been against persons older than 60, he would not be subject to mandatory sentencing due to the fact that section 9717's applicability is limited to those offenders under 60 years of age. Appellant therefore specifically contends that the unequal treatment of offenders over 60 years of age based *643 upon the ages of their victims can not pass constitutional muster. We disagree. Appellant, in his brief, relies upon the standard of review for equal protection challenges set forth in Moyer v. Phillips 462 Pa. 395, 341 A.2d 441 (1975). In Moyer, our supreme court noted that it is not impermissible for a state to statutorily "treat different classes of persons in different ways"; however, "[t]he classification must be reasonable, not arbitrary, and must rest upon some ground of difference having a fair and substantial relation to the object of the legislation so that all persons similarly circumstanced shall be treated alike." Id., 462 Pa. at 401, 341 A.2d at 443.[2] Despite appellant's assertion that the "age cap" included in section 9717 was designed to protect older offenders from mandatory imprisonment, we decline to so interpret the legislature's intent. We view the apparent legislative intent as being to protect older citizens rendered vulnerable as a result of their advanced age to certain crimes perpetrated by more youthful offenders. In its effort to effectuate this legitimate intent, the legislature reasonably classified the group of offenders to which section 9717 would be applied on the basis of their age or relative youthfulness. In light of the foregoing analysis, it is clear why in fact section 9718 does not include a similar "age cap". In imposing mandatory sentences upon those who commit any of the enumerated offenses against infant persons, the legislature was similarly concerned with the vulnerability of individuals under 16 years of age. Appellant herein is no less a threat to a child than a 25 year old person if either is predisposed toward committing one of the offenses provided for in section 9718. While section 9718 does indeed omit language rendering it's provisions expressly applicable to *644 only those offenders over 16 years of age, we view such a limitation as being implicit, and unnecessary, in that section 9718 could not be applied to an adjudication of delinquency in juvenile court. Furthermore, we note, of course, that the absence or presence of such an express limitation does not impact on the circumstances before us. Accordingly, we find the instant claim to be meritless. Appellant's next contention is that section 9718 violates his right to equal treatment in that, unlike 42 Pa.C.S. § 9712 (relating to offenses committed with firearms), under section 9718 no mitigating circumstances may be considered. Specifically, appellant alleges that in electing whether to invoke section 9712, "the District Attorney may consider the age of the defendant, the nature of the offense and the effect of incarceration on the defendant to determine the appropriateness of mandatory sentencing." Appellant's brief at 12. However, quite to the contrary, in a recent opinion, this court held that indeed the Commonwealth is utterly without discretion in electing whether or not to apply section 9712. See Commonwealth v. Anderson, 345 Pa.Super. 407, 498 A.2d 887 (1985). Since we are unable to discern any other basis for appellant's claim of unequal treatment in this regard, we find the claim to be meritless. Appellant next argues, in a somewhat vague fashion, that the "arbitrariness" of section 9718 is demonstrated by section 9718's alleged failure to provide for a right of appeal by the Commonwealth. We decline to reach the merits of this claim in that we find that appellant has no standing to present it. *645 Commonwealth v. Bonadio, 490 Pa. 91, 94 n. 2, 415 A.2d 47, 49 n. 2 (1980); see also, Bannister, supra, 345 Pa.Super. at 183, 497 A.2d at 1365. Appellant further posits, "The statute provides for other possibilities of arbitrary and unequal treatment of offenders." In support of this proposition, appellant offers two hypothetical situations and reasserts the claim which we initially addressed and disposed of herein. Regarding appellant's latter reasserted claim, we see no need for repetition. As to the two scenarios fabricated by appellant, neither is relevant to the circumstances presented herein nor does either overbear our necessarily strong presumption of section 9718's constitutionality. A substantial portion of appellant's brief is devoted to the general contention that the application of section 9718 to the case sub judice violates the constitutional prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishments. In so far as appellant's arguments generally maintain that mandatory sentences impermissibly preclude individualized sentencing, we are of the opinion that Commonwealth v. Wright, 508 Pa. 25, 494 A.2d 354 (1985), and its recent progeny, have, at least implicitly, laid those arguments to rest. See also Commonwealth v. Hernandez, 339 Pa.Super. 32, 488 A.2d 293 (1985). Additionally, we note that the court below, in its opinion filed on February 14, 1985, cogently observed: Lower court opinion at 4-5. Appellant next alleges that section 9718 is constitutionally infirm in that it denied appellant his right to due process. Contrasting the language of section 9712, appellant argues that section 9718 unconstitutionally fails to (1) provide for the giving of notice of its applicability, (2) indicate during which procedural state its applicability should be established, and (3) designate the standard of proof necessary to determine its applicability. Appellant further asserts that section 9718 is unconstitutionally vague in failing to set forth at what point in time a victim's age is operative for the purpose of invoking the statute's provisions. In addressing these claims, we rely again upon the well-reasoned opinion of the court below: Lower court opinion at 7-8 (footnote omitted). We see no need for further comment regarding these claims. *648 Appellant's final argument is that section 9718 represents an impermissible interference by the legislature with the sentencing powers of the trial courts. In Commonwealth v. Cooke, 342 Pa.Super. 58, 492 A.2d 63 (1985), we were confronted with the identical contention challenging section 9712's constitutionality. We concluded therein that "the creation of mandatory minimum sentences which remove judicial sentencing discretion in non-capital cases is not a constitutional violation." Id., 342 Pa.Superior Ct. at 70, 492 A.2d at 70. See also Wright, supra. Because we are of the opinion that Cooke forecloses appellant's instant claim, we consider it meritless. Based on the foregoing, we affirm the judgment of sentence. Judgment of sentence affirmed. [1] § 9718. Sentences for offenses against infant persons (a) Mandatory sentence. A person convicted of the following offenses when the victim is under 16 years of age shall be sentenced to a mandatory term of imprisonment as follows: 18 Pa.C.S. § 2702(a)(1) and (4) (relating to aggravated assault) not less than two years. 18 Pa.C.S. § 3121 (relating to rape) not less than five years. 18 Pa.C.S. § 3123 (relating to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse) not less than five years. (b) Eligibility for parole. Parole shall not be granted until the minimum term of imprisonment has been served. [2] We note that, although neither appellant nor the Commonwealth makes any further contentions regarding our standard of review, we are of the opinion that a statute which classifies convicted offenders, for the purpose of mandatory sentencing, on the basis of the relative ages of their victims does not involve a "suspect class" or a "fundamental right" warranting the utilization of a more strict standard of judicial review.