Court Opinion

ID: 9762679
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 02:28:49.727556+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:29:36.647994
License: Public Domain

ROWLEY, Judge,
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent. The imposition of sentence is a matter vested in the discretion of the trial court, and on appeal, we can vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing only if there has been a manifest abuse of discretion, Commonwealth v. Plank, 498 Pa. 144, 445 A.2d 491 (1982), or if the sentence exceeds the statutorily prescribed limits for a sentence. Commonwealth v. Cottle, 493 Pa. 377, 426 A.2d 598 (1981). An abuse of discretion is more than simply an error of judgment; an abuse of discretion will not be found unless the trial court’s judgment is manifestly unreasonable, or the result of partiality, prejudice, bias, or ill-will. Commonwealth v. Lane, 492 Pa. 544, 424 A.2d 1325 (1981). Ordinarily, an appellate court should not disturb a sentence so long as it is within the statutory limits *167because the trial court is in a much better position to weigh the factors involved in sentencing. Commonwealth v. Scatena, 332 Pa.Super. 415, 481 A.2d 855, reversed on other grounds, 508 Pa. 512, 498 A.2d 1314 (1985). Moreover, it is not the function of the appellate court to determine whether it agrees with the reasons of the trial court for imposing a particular sentence or whether it would impose the same sentence were it the trial court. Commonwealth v. Rooney, 296 Pa.Super. 288, 442 A.2d 773 (1982); Commonwealth v. Campolei, 284 Pa.Super. 291, 425 A.2d 818 (1981). Our standard for reviewing a sentence is limited to ascertaining whether or not there is a manifest abuse of the trial court’s discretion.
Applying this standard of review to the present case, I conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing appellee. Regardless of whether I or any of the other judges on this panel might have imposed the same sentence were any of us the trial judge, nevertheless, I perceive nothing in the record to indicate that the sentence imposed is manifestly unreasonable or that is a result of any bias or prejudice. Moreover, the sentence is within the statutory limits. Therefore, I find no basis for concluding that the trial court abused its discretion and I would affirm the judgment of sentence.
Moreover, although the sentence imposed is outside the guidelines, upon remand, there will be no guidelines for the trial court even to consider, regardless of the fact that the constitutionality of the guidelines has not been raised in the present appeal. See Commonwealth v. Sessoms, 516 Pa. 365, 532 A.2d 775 (1987) and Commonwealth v. Samuels, 516 Pa. 300, 532 A.2d 404, (1987). Therefore, should the trial court reimpose the identical sentence, appellant will not then be able to argue on a second appeal that the sentence is outside the guidelines. The sentence would be within the statutory limits, and in the absence of any evidence of manifest unreasonableness of the sentence or of bias or prejudice, there could be no abuse of discretion and we *168would have to affirm the sentence imposed by the trial court.
Although I do not join in any portion of the majority’s opinion, I also write separately to express my specific disagreement with the majority’s conclusion that where a Pa.R.A.P. 2119(f) statement has been included in the appellant’s brief, we may look at not only that statement, but also the statement of questions presented to determine whether there is a substantial question that the sentence is inappropriate under the Sentencing Code. Under Pa.R.A.P. 902, the notice of appeal operates as a petition for allowance of appeal from the discretionary aspects of sentence. The exclusive purpose of the statement of reasons for allowance of appeal, which is required to be included in the brief when one appeals from the discretionary aspects of sentencing, is to expand upon the petition and provide the reasons why the petition should be granted. Thus, the notice of appeal and the statement of reasons for allowance of appeal alone constitute the actual petition for allowance of appeal and alone contain the matters which can be considered in determining whether to grant the petition for allowance of appeal. The statement of questions presented, summary of argument, argument, conclusion and the record itself are matters which it is appropriate to examine only after the petition for allowance of appeal has been granted.
Moreover, if the requirement of filing a statement pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 2119(f) is to have any meaning, then we must be required to look no further than this statement to determine whether or not to exercise our jurisdiction and grant permission to appeal. If we are permitted to examine statements outside the concise statement of reasons for allowance of appeal, such as the statement of questions presented, in order to have sufficient information to rule upon the petition for allowance of appeal, then there is no reason for specifically mandating, as the Supreme Court has done, in Commonwealth v. Tuladziecki, 513 Pa. 508, 522 A.2d 17 (1987), that the concise statement be included to *169complete the petition for allowance of appeal. If the information contained within the statement of reasons for allowance of appeal lacks adequate specificity for us to determine that there is a substantial question warranting the exercise of our discretionary jurisdiction, it is inappropriate for us to look to any of the materials filed pursuant to an ordinary appeal, such as the statement of questions presented or the summary of the argument to satisfy the inadequacy of the statement of reasons.
Justice Zappala stated in Commonwealth v. Tuladziecki, 513 Pa. 508, 512-15, 522 A.2d 17, 19-20 (1987), that the purpose of the procedure set forth in the appellate rules regarding appeals from the discretionary aspects of sentencing is to limit to exceptional cases challenges to the trial court’s evaluation of the multitude of factors considered at sentencing. It is the obligation of the appellant to set forth in the statement of reasons facts supporting the conclusion that the appellant’s case is one of those exceptional cases. It is not our responsibility, nor our prerogative to search through various portions of an appellant’s brief seeking information to substantiate the petition for allowance of appeal. Furthermore, this court has held that failure to set forth adequate information, such as the length of the sentence and the crimes for which it was imposed, in the statement of reasons relied upon for allowance of appeal prevents us from finding that there is a substantial question that the sentence is inappropriate under the Sentencing Code. Commonwealth v. Cummings, 368 Pa.Super. 341, 534 A.2d 114 (1987). Therefore, I specifically dissent from the majority’s determination that where a Pa.R.A.P. 2119(f) statement of reasons has been included in the appellant’s brief, we may examine not only that statement but also the statement of questions presented to determine whether or not to grant the petition for permission to appeal.