Court Opinion

ID: 9714824
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 05:46:24.993529+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:28.877420
License: Public Domain

TAMILIA, Judge,
concurring:
I join in the majority’s conclusion that Commonwealth v. Allen, 506 Pa. 500, 486 A.2d 363 (1984), aff'g in part and rev’g in part, 322 Pa. Super. 424, 469 A.2d 1063 (1983) disposes of appellant’s claim that the instant charges should have been consolidated.
Regarding appellant’s second contention, I concur in the result but must respectively refrain from joining the majority in its reasoning. Rather than further complicating the law on contempt by drawing a distinction between a summary proceeding and a contempt hearing for double jeopardy purposes, I would adopt the reasoning of the lower court which held that the crimes at issue involve separate statutory elements and, consequently, require the proof of separate facts. (Slip op. at 5-8) See Commonwealth v. Allen, supra, 506 Pa. at 510, 486 A.2d at 368-70. See also Illinois v. Vitale, 447 U.S. 410, 100 S.Ct. 2260, 65 L.Ed.2d 228 (1980); Brown v. Ohio, 432 U.S. 161, 97 S.Ct. 2221, 53 L.Ed.2d 187 (1977); Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299, 52 S.Ct. 180, 76 L.Ed. 306 (1932). As our nation’s
*615highest court stated in Ianelli v. United States, 420 U.S. 770, 95 S.Ct. 1284, 43 L.Ed.2d 616 (1975):
[T]he Court’s application of the [Blockburger] test focuses on the statutory elements of the offense. If each requires proof of a fact that the other does not, the Blockburger test is satisfied, notwithstanding a substantial overlap in the proof offered to establish the crimes.
Id. at 785 n. 17, 95 S.Ct. at 1294 n. 17, 43 L.Ed.2d at 627 n. 17.
In the instant case, the crimes of contempt1 and escape2 involve different elements, and thus, even though the same conduct may provide the basis for both charges, appellant’s prosecution for escape is not barred by his conviction for contempt. Allen, supra. Finally, it should be emphasized that the purpose of the contempt charge was to protect the court’s dignity and to avoid any actual obstruction of the administration of justice, Matter of Campolongo, 495 Pa. 627, 633, 435 A.2d 581, 584 (1981); a purpose quite distinct from punishment for the crime of escape.

. 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 4132 provides:
§ 4132. Attachment and summary punishment for contempts
The power of the several courts of this Commonwealth to issue attachments and to impose summary punishments for contempts of court shall be restricted to the following cases:
(1) The official misconduct of the officers of such courts respectively.
(2) Disobedience or neglect by officers, parties, jurors or witnesses of or to the lawful process of the court.
(3) The misbehavior of any person in the presence of the court, thereby obstructing the administration of justice.

. 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 5121 defines the crime of escape as follows:
§ 5121. Escape
(a) Escape. — A person commits an offense if he unlawfully removes himself from official detention or fails to return to official detention following temporary leave granted for a specific purpose or limited period.