Court Opinion

ID: 9709018
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 03:38:10.723137+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:45.451355
License: Public Domain

SPAETH, Judge,
dissenting:
Appellant argues that his guilty plea colloquy was inadequate because he was not advised of the range of possible sentences. I find this argument meritorious.
In Commonwealth v. Kulp, 476 Pa. 358, 382 A.2d 1209 (1978), the Supreme Court allowed withdrawal of a guilty plea where the judge had merely asked the defendant, “Do you understand what the sentences could be?” and the defendant had answered, “Yes.” The Court said:
This information [the range of possible sentences] is obviously an integral part of the knowledge that should be possessed by one who is called upon to make the difficult decision whether to surrender his right to trial and to place himself at the mercy of the sentencing court. No civilized society could tolerate the waiver of such basic rights from one who was unaware of or misinformed as to such a critical fact. 476 Pa. at 361, 382 A.2d at 1211.
Here there was no colloquy at all about the range of possible maximum sentences. The only factor in this case that might avoid the rule of Commonwealth v. Kulp, supra, is that appellant’s sentence came pursuant to a plea bargain outlined by the assistant district attorney at the start of the hearing and followed by the trial judge in imposing sentence. It is arguable, and so the majority holds, that this made it unnecessary for appellant to have been informed of the range of possible sentences, because if the judge had not agreed to the terms of the plea bargain, appellant could have withdrawn the plea. Commonwealth v. Fazenbacker, *418248 Pa.Super. 433, 375 A.2d 175 (1977). I cannot accept this argument. Even when there is a plea bargain the range of sentences must be stated in the colloquy so that the person who is pleading may accurately evaluate the “bargain” in return for which he has agreed to waive trial. A defendant who is unaware of or misinformed about the range of sentences might well plead guilty under an erroneous evaluation of the worth, to him, of such a step.*
JACOBS, President Judge, joins in this opinion.

 The majority opinion states that appellant entered his plea completely aware of the terms of the agreement. To the extent that this statement implies that appellant was sufficiently informed to evaluate the plea bargain, it is unsupported by the record.