Com. v. Clarke, R. ( 2015 )

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NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Appellee
v.
RODNEY CLARKE,
Appellant No. 2179 EDA 2014
Appeal from the PCRA Order June 25, 2014
in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County
Criminal Division at No.: CP-51-CR-0505591-1998
BEFORE: DONOHUE, J., LAZARUS, J., and PLATT, J.*
MEMORANDUM BY PLATT, J.: FILED DECEMBER 01, 2015
Appellant, Rodney Clarke, appeals, pro se, from the dismissal of his
petition filed pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA), 42 Pa.C.S.A.
§§ 9541-9546. The PCRA court concluded that Appellant is not eligible for
PCRA relief. We affirm.
On June 1, 1999, Appellant entered a negotiated guilty plea to
homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, and involuntary
manslaughter. He was sentenced to a term of not less than two nor more
than four years’ incarceration on the homicide by vehicle charge and a
consecutive sentence of five years’ probation on the offense of
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*
Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.
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manslaughter. His probation was later revoked and on August 23, 2007, he
received a sentence of two-and-a-half to five years’ incarceration on the
manslaughter charge. This Court affirmed judgment of sentence and our
Supreme Court denied allowance of appeal on May 13, 2010.
Appellant filed a pro se PCRA petition on September 7, 2010. The
PCRA court appointed counsel, who filed a Turner/Finley “no merit” letter.1
The court permitted counsel to withdraw. On June 25, 2014, the court
dismissed the petition after issuing a Rule 907 notice (and Appellant’s
response). See Pa.R.Crim.P. 907(1). This timely appeal followed.
Appellant raises one question for our review:
1. Whether the PCRA court erred when dismissing Appellant’s
timely Post-Conviction Relief collateral relief [sic] Act petition
because he no longer is subject to a sentence pursuant to 42
Pa.C.S.A. 9545(a)(1)(i)[?]
(Appellant’s Brief, at 2) (emphasis in original; most capitalization omitted). 2
Appellant challenges the PCRA court’s dismissal of his petition, decided
on the ground that he is no longer serving a sentence for the crime at
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1
Commonwealth v. Turner, 544 A.2d 927 (Pa. 1988); Commonwealth
v. Finley, 550 A.2d 213 (Pa. Super. 1988) (en banc).
2
The Commonwealth did not file a brief.
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issue.3 He claims entitlement to relief because he timely filed his petition.
(See id. at 7). We disagree.
Our standard of review is well-settled.
To the extent review of the PCRA court’s determinations is
implicated, an appellate court reviews the PCRA court’s findings
of fact to determine whether they are supported by the record,
and reviews its conclusions of law to determine whether they are
free from legal error. The scope of review is limited to the
findings of the PCRA court and the evidence of record, viewed in
the light most favorable to the prevailing party at the trial level.
Commonwealth v. Spotz, 84 A.3d 294, 311 (Pa. 2014) (citations omitted).
In pertinent part, section 9543 of the PCRA provides:
To be eligible for relief under this [PCRA] subchapter, the
petitioner must plead and prove by a preponderance of the
evidence all of the following:
(1) That the petitioner has been convicted of a crime
under the laws of this Commonwealth and is at the time
relief is granted:
(i) currently serving a sentence of imprisonment,
probation or parole for the crime[.]
42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9543(1)(i).
Our [S]upreme [C]ourt has held that, to be eligible for relief
under the PCRA, the petitioner must be “currently serving a
sentence of imprisonment, probation or parole for the crime.”
42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9543(a)(1)(i). As soon as his sentence is
completed, the petitioner becomes ineligible for relief,
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3
Appellant is currently an inmate at S.C.I. Benner in Bellefonte, apparently
on unrelated charges, possibly including the conviction for sexual crimes
against his daughter and granddaughter, or other crimes mentioned passim
in the certified record, some referenced in his brief. (See Appellant’s Brief,
at 3).
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regardless of whether he was serving his sentence when
he filed the petition. In addition, this [C]ourt determined in
Commonwealth v. Fisher, 703 A.2d 714 (Pa. Super. 1997),
that the PCRA precludes relief for those petitioners whose
sentences have expired, regardless of the collateral
consequences of their sentence. Id. at 716 (citations omitted).
Commonwealth v. Williams, 977 A.2d 1174, 1176 (Pa. Super. 2009)
(some case citations omitted) (emphasis added).
Here, Appellant concedes his sentence expired in 2011. (See
Appellant’s Brief, at 5, 7). Nevertheless, he maintains that because his
PCRA petition was timely, he is still entitled to relief. Appellant
misapprehends controlling authority. See Williams, supra at 1176. He is
ineligible for relief.4
Order affirmed.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 12/1/2015
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4
Because we agree with the PCRA court that Appellant is ineligible for relief
under the “currently serving” requirement, we decline to address the
numerous other defects in his argument and brief which would otherwise
preclude relief.
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