Court Opinion

ID: 9707739
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 02:20:19.293693+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:37.045814
License: Public Domain

TAMILIA, Judge,
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent as the trial judge was correct in declaring a mistrial, as evidenced by the strong factual situation expounded by the majority. Clearly, this case required the trial judge to call a mistrial, sua sponte, out of manifest necessity, as the motion judge unequivocally ruled. I am not certain that overruling Commonwealth v. Learn, 356 Pa.Super. 382, 514 A.2d 910 (1986), is the proper course as we now send a message that if trial judges do not pronounce the word “frivolous” in a written statement in a double jeopardy case, an appeal will lie. It is hornbook law that we look to the Order, decree, findings, Opinion or record as a whole to ascertain the intent of the trial judge. Recently, the Supreme Court in Commonwealth v. Devers, 519 Pa. 88, 546 A.2d 12 (1988), revisited a long line of Opinions by Superior Court which interpreted Commonwealth v. Riggins, 474 Pa. 115, 377 A.2d 140 (1977), in sentencing procedures, holding that Superior Court carried language dictates to the point of absurdity in requiring trial judges to state on the record “the thought processes by which he arrives at a particular sentence” (Devers, supra 519 Pa. at 98, 546 A.2d at 16) and rejected Superior Court remand where “the trial court appears to have fulfilled the fact-finding responsibility but not the explanation responsibility.” Id., 519 Pa. at 102, 546 A.2d at 18. In rejecting this constricted approach, the Supreme Court said: “We *222criticize them again, for we fail utterly to see how, based on the Superior Court’s own statement of the case above, it is at all rational to believe that the sentencing judge could not have been so informed as to have arrived at a balanced judgment.” Id., 519 Pa. at 102-103, 546 A.2d at 19. Just as we were criticized in Devers for circumscribing Riggins, I believe we are subject to the same criticism here for misconstruing Commonwealth v. Brady, 510 Pa. 336, 508 A.2d 286 (1986). Since I believe the case, as analyzed by the majority, clearly establishes a basis for asserting a finding by the motion judge that the double jeopardy claim is frivolous as the rulings of the trial judge as to the manifest necessity for a new trial permitted no other result, I would remand with instructions to the trial court to make such a determination or to proceed as though such a determination had been made.
My reading of the majority Opinion is that it holds there is no frivolousness finding because the trial judge failed to file a written statement that it was frivolous (Majority Opinion, p. 217). This leads me to believe that if the trial judge had found the claim to be frivolous, in a written statement to that effect, the majority would have quashed the appeal as being interlocutory. I do not believe Brady, supra, intended our review of an appeal on double jeopardy issues, which serves to delay a retrial, turn on whether or not the trial judge failed to say in so many words that the claim was frivolous. If the record clearly shows the claim to be frivolous and the trial judge, as here, clearly found the claim to be without merit and allowing for no other conclusion, we should recognize it as such and not resolve the issue on the merits, since to do so distorts the lesson of Brady. I acknowledge the majority has quoted language from Brady which would lead to the conclusion the trial court must state with specificity, in writing, that the appeal was frivolous in order to impose the Brady rule. However, this narrow interpretation, when viewed against the overall intent of Brady, almost effects a return to Commonwealth v. Bolden, 472 Pa. 602, 373 A.2d 90 (1977), which Brady sought to correct.
*223I agree with the Commonwealth that although this case came before the Court en banc because of an apparent conflict between Learn, supra, and Commonwealth v. Keenan, 365 Pa.Super. 437, 530 A.2d 90 (1987), there is in fact no conflict, as in Keenan, the trial court indicated the issue of double jeopardy had some merit and an appeal would be proper, whereas in Learn, the motions judge left no room to assume that an appeal would be anything but frivolous.
For the sake of judicial economy, I would find the trial court’s determination was sufficient for this Court to conclude the appeal is frivolous and remand for a new trial.