Court Opinion

ID: 9648861
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 14:36:50.849256+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:12:05.851589
License: Public Domain

HESTER, Judge,
dissenting:
The majority concludes that the trial court did not comply with Commonwealth v. Riggins, 474 Pa. 115, 377 A.2d 140 (1977), thus appellant’s sentence must be vacated.
Riggins holds that the trial court must state its reasons for the imposition of a particular sentence, on the record, at the time of sentencing, the rationale being that then a defendant might bring to the sentencing court’s attention any erroneous facts upon which it relied in imposing sentence.
With this rule, we have no quarrel, its ultimate purpose being the elimination of trial errors at the trial level.
Its application instantly, however, defies common sense. Appellant was originally sentenced to a jail term of 9-23 years. Subsequently, upon petition by appellant, the sentence was modified to a jail term of 8-20 years. One can hardly conclude that this is a situation where a criminal defendant was denied an opportunity to petition the sentencing court for a modification of sentence. In addition, even assuming arguendo that the majority is correct, there is no reason to vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing. Appellant, now supplied with the court’s “reasons”, does not assert anything which would merit a change in his sentence.
The court considered the pre-sentence report, the nature and seriousness of the crime, appellant’s involvement in other violent crime and the rehabilitative needs of appellant. The sentence imposed is within the statutory guidelines. Having brought to our attention no reasons to alter the sentence as imposed, we see no reason to afford appellant another sentencing hearing.