Com. v. Gupton, A. ( 2019 )


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  • J-S19024-19
    NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
    COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA             :   IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
    :        PENNSYLVANIA
    :
    v.                          :
    :
    :
    ARTHUR F. GUPTON,                        :
    :
    Appellant.         :   No. 731 EDA 2018
    Appeal from the PCRA Order, February 20, 2018,
    in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County,
    Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0004847-2012.
    BEFORE:     LAZARUS, J., KUNSELMAN, J., and STRASSBURGER*, J.
    MEMORANDUM BY KUNSELMAN, J.:                          FILED JUNE 25, 2019
    Arthur F. Gupton appeals from the order denying his first petition for
    relief pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”). 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§
    9541-9546. We affirm the PCRA order, but vacate a portion of the sentence
    as set forth herein.
    The PCRA court has summarized the pertinent facts as follows:
    In 1997, [Gupton] abducted sixteen-year-old A.S. at
    gunpoint as she was walking home, drove her to a remote
    garage, and raped her with a knife to her throat. She ran
    home and told her mother and a family friend what
    happened. They called the police and A.S. gave the arriving
    officer a description of [Gupton]. She then went to the
    hospital, where she submitted to a rape kit examination
    which tested positive for ejaculate. [Gupton] remained a
    fugitive for over fifteen years.
    On January 5, 2011, Detective James Owens, a “cold
    case” investigator for the Special Victims Unit of the
    Philadelphia Police Department, received notification from
    ____________________________________
    * Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.
    J-S19024-19
    the department’s DNA lab that DNA acquired from [Gupton]
    matched that found in the ejaculate of the rape kit
    conducted on A.S. in 1997. Detective Owens met with
    [Gupton] and took a buccal swab to obtain a sample of his
    DNA. The police lab tested the swab against the DNA found
    in the 1997 rape kit and found that [Gupton] was the source
    of the ejaculate found in A.S.’s vaginal and cervical swabs.
    The Commonwealth obtained an arrest warrant for [Gupton]
    on December 28, 2011, and arrested him on January 18,
    2012.
    PCRA Court Opinion, 11/1/18, at 1-2 (citations omitted).
    The PCRA court also summarized the procedural history as follows:
    On October 5, 2012, a jury sitting before this Court
    convicted [Gupton] of rape, kidnapping, sexual assault,
    carrying a firearm without a license, corruption of a minor
    and indecent assault. On May 31, 2013, this Court found
    him to be a sexually violent predator and imposed
    consecutive terms of imprisonment of ten to twenty years
    for rape, eight to twenty years for kidnapping, three and
    one-half to seven years for violating the Uniform Firearms
    Act, two to five years for corruption of a minor, and no
    further penalty for the remaining crimes. As part of the
    hearing, the Court discussed the statute of limitations issue
    with the attorneys for Commonwealth and [Gupton], and
    [Gupton].
    On June 10, 2013, [Gupton] filed a post-sentence motion
    challenging the weight of the evidence, which the Court
    denied on June 25, 2013. The following day, on June 26,
    2013, [Gupton] filed an untimely second post-sentence
    motion purporting to challenge the discretionary aspects of
    sentencing. This untimely second post-sentence motion
    was denied by operation of law [pursuant to] Pa.R.Crim.P.
    720(B)(3)(a).
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    Id. at 2-3 (citations omitted).1
    Gupton filed a timely appeal, and this Court affirmed his judgment of
    sentence on December 15, 2014. Commonwealth v. Gupton, 
    116 A.3d 687
    (Pa. Super. 2014) (unpublished memorandum).                     On May 12, 2015, our
    Supreme      Court    denied     Gupton’s      petition   for   allowance   of   appeal.
    Commonwealth v. Gupton, 
    116 A.3d 603
     (Pa. 2015).
    On April 29, 2016, Gupton filed a timely pro se PCRA petition. The PCRA
    court appointed counsel, and PCRA counsel filed an amended petition on June
    5, 2017. In this amended petition, Gupton contended that trial counsel was
    ineffective “for failing to file a motion barring prosecution” for kidnapping and
    carrying a firearm without a license “because the criminal activity alleged in
    the complaint was beyond the statute of limitations.”               Amended Petition,
    Memorandum of Law, at 1.            The Commonwealth filed a motion to dismiss
    Gupton’s petition on October 10, 2017.
    On December 4, 2017, the PCRA issued Pa.R.Crim.P. 907 notice of its
    intention to dismiss Chamber’s PCRA petition without a hearing. Gupton did
    not file a response.      By order entered February 20, 2018, the PCRA court
    ____________________________________________
    1 The trial court also ordered Gupton to comply with the reporting and
    registration requirements of the Sexual Offender Registration and Notification
    Act (“SORNA”).
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    dismissed the petition. This appeal followed.2 Both Gupton the PCRA court
    have complied with Pa.R.A.P. 1925.
    Gupton raises the following issue:
    1. Did the trial court err by dismissing the PCRA petition
    when trial counsel was ineffective for failing to assert that
    the charges of kidnapping and violation of the Uniform
    Firearms Act were time barred by the applicable statute
    of limitations?
    See Gupton’s Brief at 3.
    Our scope and standard of review is well settled:
    In PCRA appeals, our scope of review is limited to the
    findings of the PCRA court and the evidence on the record
    of the PCRA court's hearing, viewed in the light most
    favorable to the prevailing party. Because most PCRA
    appeals involve questions of fact and law, we employ a
    mixed standard of review. We defer to the PCRA court's
    factual findings and credibility determinations supported by
    the record. In contrast, we review the PCRA court's legal
    conclusions de novo.
    Commonwealth v. Reyes-Rodriguez, 
    111 A.3d 775
    , 779 (Pa. Super. 2015)
    (citations omitted).
    When the PCRA court has dismissed a petitioner’s PCRA petition without
    an evidentiary hearing, we review the PCRA court’s decision for an abuse of
    discretion. Commonwealth v. Roney, 
    79 A.2d 595
    , 604 (Pa. 2013). The
    PCRA court has discretion to dismiss a petition without a hearing when the
    ____________________________________________
    2 By order entered March 13, 2018, the PCRA court permitted PCRA counsel
    to withdraw and, thereafter, appointed present counsel to assist Gupton in
    this appeal.
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    court is satisfied that there are no genuine issues concerning any material
    fact, the defendant is not entitled to post-conviction collateral relief, and no
    legitimate purpose would be served by further proceedings. 
    Id.
     To obtain a
    reversal of a PCRA court’s decision to dismiss a petition without a hearing, an
    appellant must show that he raised a genuine issue of material fact which, if
    resolved in his favor, would have entitled him to relief, or that the court
    otherwise abused its discretion in denying a hearing.     Commonwealth v.
    Blakeney, 
    108 A.3d 739
    , 750 (Pa. 2014).
    Gupton’s issue alleges the ineffective assistance of trial counsel.    To
    obtain relief under the PCRA premised on a claim that counsel was ineffective,
    a petitioner must establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, that counsel's
    ineffectiveness so undermined the truth-determining process that no reliable
    adjudication of guilt or innocence could have taken place. Commonwealth
    v. Johnson, 
    966 A.2d 523
    , 532 (Pa. 2009).                “Generally, counsel’s
    performance is presumed to be constitutionally adequate, and counsel will
    only be deemed ineffective upon a sufficient showing by the petitioner.” 
    Id.
    This requires the petitioner to demonstrate that: (1) the underlying claim is
    of arguable merit; (2) counsel had no reasonable strategic basis for his or her
    action or inaction; and (3) counsel’s act or omission prejudiced the petitioner.
    Id. at 533.
    As to the first prong, “[a] claim has arguable merit where the factual
    averments, if accurate, could establish cause for relief.” Commonwealth v.
    Stewart, 
    84 A.3d 701
    , 707 (Pa. Super. 2013) (en banc). “Whether the facts
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    rise to the level of arguable merit is a legal determination.’”         
    Id.
     (citing
    Commonwealth v. Saranchak, 
    866 A.2d 292
    , 304 n.14 (Pa. 2005).
    As to the second prong of this test, trial counsel's strategic decisions
    cannot be the subject of a finding of ineffectiveness if the decision to follow a
    particular course of action was reasonably based and was not the result of
    sloth or ignorance of available alternatives. Commonwealth v. Collins, 
    545 A.2d 882
    , 886 (Pa. 1988).        Counsel's approach must be "so unreasonable
    that no competent lawyer would have chosen it." Commonwealth v. Ervin,
    
    766 A.2d 859
    , 862-63 (Pa. Super. 2000) (citation omitted).
    As to the third prong of the test for ineffectiveness, “[p]rejudice is
    established if there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s errors,
    the result of the proceeding would have been different." Stewart, 
    84 A.3d at 707
    .    “A reasonable probability ‘is a probability sufficient to undermine
    confidence in the outcome.’” 
    Id.
     (quoting Commonwealth v. Rathfon, 
    899 A.2d 365
    , 370 (Pa. Super. 2006).
    Finally, when considering an ineffective assistance of counsel claim, the
    PCRA court “is not required to analyze these [prongs] in any particular order
    of priority; instead if a claim fails under any necessary [prong] of the
    ineffectiveness   test,   the   court   may   proceed   to   that   [prong]   first.”
    Commonwealth v. Tharp, 
    101 A.3d 736
    , 747 (Pa. 2014) (citations omitted).
    In particular, when it is clear that the petitioner has failed to meet the
    prejudice prong, the court may dispose of the claim on that basis alone,
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    without a determination of whether the first two prongs have been met.
    Commonwealth v. Travaglia, 
    661 A.2d 352
    , 357 (Pa. 1995).
    In his attempt to establish the arguable merit of his ineffectiveness
    claim, Gupton asserts that the “Ex Post Facto” and “Due Process” clauses of
    both the federal and state constitutions “bar prosecution where the previously
    effective statute of limitations had expired before [the Pennsylvania
    legislature] enacted 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 5552(c.1)” in 2004. Gupton’s Brief at 9.
    According to Gupton, “a newly enacted state law cannot be used to revive a
    previously time-barred prosecution.” Id.
    Gupton’s claim fails for a number of reasons. Initially, our review of
    Gupton’s amended petition supports the Commonwealth’s assertion that
    Gupton did not raise this constitutional issue in the petition.          See
    Commonwealth’s Brief at 6. Thus, Gupton inappropriately raises this issue for
    the first time on appeal, and it is therefore waived. See Commonwealth v.
    Edmiston, 
    851 A.2d 883
    , 889 (Pa. 2004) (explaining a claim that is not raised
    in PCRA petition is waived on appeal); see also Pa.R.A.P. 302(a).
    Moreover, Gupton’s claim is also waived because he has failed to
    develop his constitutional claim. See Commonwealth v. Tielsch, 
    934 A.2d 81
    , 93 (Pa. Super. 2007) (holding that undeveloped claims will not be
    considered on appeal).    Although Gupton discusses several U.S. Supreme
    Court decisions, he does not explain how their holdings apply to the
    circumstances of his case. See Gupton’s Brief at 14-15.
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    In Commonwealth v. Rose, 
    127 A.3d 794
     (Pa. 2015), our Supreme
    Court discussed the federal ex post facto clause as follows:
    The Ex Post Facto Clause of the United States Constitution
    is contained in Article [I], § 10, which provides: “No State
    shall . . . pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or
    Law impairing the Obligations of Contracts . . . “ U.S. Const.
    art. I, § 10. The definition of an ex post facto law in the
    context of American law was first set forth more than two
    centuries ago in Calder v. Bull, 3 U.S. (3 Dall.) 386, 
    1 L.Ed. 648
     (1798), wherein Justice Chase offered the following
    description of the term:
    [1] Every law that makes an action, done before the
    passing of the law, and which was innocent when
    done, criminal; and punishes such action. [2] Every
    law that aggravates a crime, or makes it greater than
    it was, when committed. [3] Every law that changes
    the punishment, and inflicts a greater punishment,
    than the law annexed to the crime, when committed.
    [4] Every law that alters the legal rules of evidence,
    and receives less, or different testimony, than the law
    required at the time of the commission of the
    [offense], in order to convict the offender.
    3 U.S. (3 Dall.) 386, 390 (1798).
    Rose, 127 A.3d at 797-98 (footnote omitted).3 Rose involved an ex post
    facto violation, but concerned the proper sentence for a defendant based on
    ____________________________________________
    3 The Rose court noted that, because Pennsylvania’s ex post facto law, Article
    I, § 17, provides the same protections as its federal counterpart, it did not
    need to conduct a separate analysis. Rose, 127 A.3d at 798, n.11; but see
    Commonwealth v. Muniz, 
    164 A.3d 1189
    , 1223 (Opinion Announcing the
    Judgment of the Court, Dougherty, J.) (noting that in previous decisions the
    Pennsylvania Supreme Court has found some divergence between the state
    and federal ex post facto clauses, and, at least in the context of sexual
    offender registration, “Pennsylvania’s ex post facto clause provides even
    greater protections than its federal counterpart”).
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    J-S19024-19
    when he committed the crime. Although Gupton relies on Rose, he fails to
    explain which type of ex post facto violation he claims occurred in his case.
    The deficiency in Gupton’s constitutional claim is understandable. Even
    absent waiver, Gupton’s assertion that trial counsel was ineffective for failing
    to challenge his kidnapping and firearm charge based on an expired statute of
    limitations is meritless.
    Section 5552 of the Judicial Code governs the time in which the
    Commonwealth must initiate a prosecution.        42 Pa.C.S.A. § 5552.      Most
    offenses are subject to a two-year statute of limitations; however, certain
    enumerated offenses have five-year statutes of limitations. See 42 Pa.C.S.A.
    5552(a) & (b). At issue in this case is Section 5552(c.1), which provides:
    (c.1) Genetic identification evidence.—Notwithstanding
    any provision of law to the contrary, if evidence of a
    misdemeanor sexual offense set forth in subsection (c)(3)
    or a felony offense is obtained containing human
    deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) which is subsequently used to
    identify an otherwise unidentified individual as the
    perpetrator of the offense, the prosecution of the offense
    may be commenced within the period of limitations provided
    for the offense or one year after the identity of the
    individual is determined, whichever is later.
    42 Pa.C.S.A. § 5552(c.1) (emphasis added).
    ____________________________________________
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    As noted above, Gupton claims that section 5552(c.1) cannot apply to
    him because the statute of limitations for kidnapping and the firearm violation
    had expired before the Pennsylvania legislature had enacted subsection (c.1)
    in 2004. The trial court found no merit to this claim, and explained as follows:
    [Gupton] argues that trial counsel should have petitioned
    for barring prosecution for kidnapping and carrying a
    firearm without a license because subsection (c.1) does not
    apply to him where it was promulgated as an amendment
    to § 5552 in 2004, two years after the statute of limitations
    would have tolled for kidnapping under subsection (b)
    [(providing a five-year statute of limitation for major
    offenses)], and five years after the statute of limitations
    would have tolled for carrying a firearm without a license
    under subsection (a) [(providing, as a general rule, a two-
    year statute of limitation for offenses)]. However, this
    interpretation of subsection (c.1) is not supported by the
    plain language of the statute nor by any other legal
    authority. Trial counsel could not have been ineffective for
    failing to adopt an interpretation of the statute that lacks
    any basis in law.
    In construing statutory language, “[w]ords and phrases
    shall be construed according to rules of grammar and
    according to their common and approved usage.” 1 Pa.C.S.
    § 1903. Additionally, when determining the intent of a
    statute, it is presumed “that the General Assembly does not
    intend a result that is absurd.” 1 Pa.C.S. § 1922(1)[.]
    According to its plain meaning, the language of the
    statute of limitations has no restriction precluding the
    application of subsection (c.1) to offenses for which the
    statute of limitations would have expired under some other
    subsection.     Such a result would contradict the very
    purpose of subsection (c.1), which is to provide the
    opportunity to prosecute a perpetrator who managed to hide
    his identity for more than the length of the statute of
    limitations, but was subsequently discovered by DNA
    identification evidence.    This statute was designed for
    precisely cases such as this one.
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    PCRA Court Opinion, 11/1/18, at 5-6 (emphasis in original; citations omitted).
    We agree.     The Commonwealth discovers an offense when it gains
    knowledge     or   learns   a   defendant     has    violated    a    penal   statute.
    Commonwealth v. Hawkins, 
    439 A.2d 748
    , 750 (Pa. Super. 1982). Here,
    although the offenses occurred in 1997, law officials did not identify Gupton
    as the perpetrator until January 5, 2011.       Thus, given the plain language
    section 5552(c.1), the Commonwealth had one year from that date to
    commence     its prosecution of Gupton.             Because     the   Commonwealth
    commenced prosecution in December 2011, the charges at issue were not
    time-barred, and trial counsel cannot be deemed ineffective for failing to
    pursue this meritless claim. See generally, Commonwealth v. Loner, 
    836 A.2d 125
     (Pa. Super. 2003) (en banc).
    As he did below, in arguing to the contrary, Gupton relies upon our
    Supreme Court’s decision in Commonwealth v. Laventure, 
    894 A.2d 109
    ,
    116-17 (Pa. 2006). In Laventure, the Commonwealth, four days before the
    expiration of the five-year period of limitations under Section 5552(b), filed a
    complaint alleging arson and other crimes against an unknown defendant,
    identified only as “John Doe ‘Steve’” having an unknown address, and who
    was a white male, in his thirties. Laventure, 894 A.2d at 111. Approximately
    one week later, the Commonwealth identified “John Doe ‘Steve’” as Laventure,
    and amended the criminal complaint accordingly. Id.
    Subsequently, after Laventure filed a pre-trial motion, the trial court
    dismissed the prosecution “holding that, given the generality of the description
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    contained in the initial complaint and warrant, neither instrument was valid or
    sufficient to support the commencement of criminal proceedings under Section
    5552(b).” Id. (citation omitted). The Commonwealth filed an appeal to this
    Court and a divided panel reversed.            See Commonwealth v. Laventure,
    
    858 A.2d 112
     (Pa. Super. 2004). The Laventure majority concluded that
    “the statute of limitations was tolled by the filing of the initial complaint and
    the prompt substitution of the amended complaint and warrant.” Laventure,
    894 A.2d at 114 (citation omitted).4 Upon further review, our Supreme Court
    in turn reversed this Court, holding “that the initial complaint filed and warrant
    issued in this case were ineffective for the purpose of tolling Section 5552(b)’s
    period of limitations, and the amendments cannot be deemed to relate back
    to the dates of the original documents.”            Laventure, 894 A.2d at 119
    (footnote omitted).
    The PCRA court correctly found Gupton’s reliance on our Supreme
    Court’s decision in Laventure to be misplaced:
    [Gupton] misconstrues the holding of [Laventure] to
    support his argument. Laventure addressed subsection (b)
    of 42 Pa.C.S. § 5552, whereas the instant case involves
    subsection (c.1) of 42 Pa.C.S. § 5552. Subsection (b)
    specifies a five or twelve year statute of limitations for
    various offenses, including kidnapping and rape, whereas
    ____________________________________________
    4 Judge Peter Paul Olszewski dissented because he believed the information in
    the original complaint was insufficient to support the commencement of an
    action, and the majority cited no case authority supporting its conclusion that
    the amended complaint could “relate back” to the original complaint. See
    Laventure, 
    858 A.2d at 117-18
    .
    - 12 -
    J-S19024-19
    subsection (c) addresses exceptions to those statute[s] of
    limitations. In Laventure, [our Supreme Court] found that
    filing an arrest warrant was insufficient where it described
    the unknown [defendant] as “John Doe ‘Steve’, having an
    unknown address, and who was a white male, in his
    thirties.” 
    Id. at 118-19
    . The question of whether or not a
    description in an arrest warrant is sufficient to toll the
    statute of limitations is simply not applicable in this case,
    where prosecution commenced within one year of the
    discovery of DNA evidence that identified a previously
    unknown perpetrator. Here, the Commonwealth did not file
    any complaint nor seek any warrant until it discovered
    [Gupton’s] identity.     The subsection of the statute of
    limitations implicated in Laventure, subsection (b), had no
    relevance to the instant case. Only subsection (c.1) applied
    in the instant case, and no legal authority exists that
    prevents its application to [Gupton’s] prosecutions for
    kidnapping or carrying a firearm without a license.
    PCRA Court Opinion, 11/1/18, at 6-7.
    We agree. In fact, in Laventure our Supreme Court noted the trial
    court’s distinguishing Laventure’s claim from “situations in which the
    Commonwealth      is   able   to   furnish     reasonably   specific   identification
    characteristics or criteria of an unknown or unnamed individual, such as a
    DNA profile[.]” Laventure, 894 A.2d at 111 (emphasis added).
    Thus, we affirm the order denying Gupton post-conviction relief on the
    ineffective assistance of counsel claim he raised in his amended petition.
    As an additional matter, we address the legality of Gupton’s sentence
    sua sponte.   See Commonwealth v. DiMatteo, 
    177 A.3d 182
    , 191 (Pa.
    2018) (holding that an illegal sentence may be reviewed in the context of a
    timely PCRA petition); Commonwealth v. Randal, 
    837 A.2d 1211
    , 1214 (Pa.
    Super 2003) (en banc) (explaining challenges to an illegal sentence cannot be
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    waived and may be raised by Superior Court sua sponte; assuming jurisdiction
    is proper, illegal sentence must be vacated).
    Most recently, this Court addressed a situation in which a defendant was
    designated an SVP and who was later ordered to register under SORNA, even
    though he committed the sex offenses prior to the effective date of SORNA.
    In Commonwealth v. Adams-Smith, 
    2019 WL 1997650
    , ___ A.3d ___ (Pa.
    Super. 2019), we first discussed recent decisions by our Supreme Court in
    Commonwealth v. Muniz, 
    164 A.3d 1189
     (Pa. 2017) (declaring SORNA
    unconstitutional as an ex post facto law applied to persons who committed
    sex offenses prior to the effective date of SORNA, December 20, 2012), and
    this Court’s subsequent decisions in Commonwealth v. Rivera-Figueroa,
    
    174 A.3d 674
     (Pa. Super. 2017) (holding Muniz created a substantive rule
    that retroactively applies in the collateral context), and Commonwealth v.
    Butler, 
    173 A.3d 1212
     (Pa. Super. 2017), appeal granted, 
    190 A.3d 581
     (Pa.
    2018) (applying the federal decisions prohibiting judicial fact-finding at the
    time of sentencing in Apprendi v. New Jersey, 
    530 U.S. 466
     (2000), and
    Alleyne v. United States, 
    570 U.S. 99
     (2013), to the SVP process in light of
    Muniz).
    We then concluded:
    Because [Adams-Smith] committed his offenses before the
    effective date of SORNA, the increased reporting
    requirements of SORNA constitute greater punishment for
    [Adams-Smith]. See Muniz, supra. Thus, the imposition
    of SORNA registration requirements on [Adams-Smith]
    violates the ex post facto clauses of both the United States
    and Pennsylvania Constitutions.
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    Adams-Smith, at *7 (footnote omitted).
    Here, Gupton committed his crimes in 1997, long before the legislature
    enacted SORNA in 2012. Thus, like Adams-Smith, the application of SORNA’s
    increased reporting requirements to Gupton violates the ex post facto clauses
    of both the federal and state constitutions.
    In Adams-Smith, we also noted that Adams-Smith had been
    designated an SVP. We then discussed this Court’s decision in Butler, which
    dealt with “the related issue concerning the validity of the process and
    imposition of SVP status on a defendant.”        Adams-Smith, at *8.        We
    observed that in reaching a decision in Butler, to conclude that the SVP
    process involved unconstitutional judicial fact-finding at the time of
    sentencing, “the Butler Court simply applied Alleyne and Apprendi to the
    SVP process, in light of Muniz.” Id.
    Therefore, even though Adams-Smith’s judgment of sentence became
    final prior to this Court’s decision in Butler, the panel determined that Adams-
    Smith was still entitled to relief:
    Both Muniz and Butler were decided during the pendency
    of [Adams-Smith’s] timely PCRA petition. Under these new
    cases, [his] SVP status constitutes an illegal sentence
    subject to correction. See 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9542 (stating
    persons serving illegal sentence may obtain collateral
    relief); DiMatteo, supra (noting unconstitutionality of
    Section of 7508 [of the Judicial Code] in light of Alleyne
    and allowing Alleyne relief in PCRA context, so long as
    judgment of sentence was not final before Alleyne was
    decided) (citing Commonwealth v. Ruiz, 
    131 A.3d 54
    (Pa. Super. 2015) (applying Alleyne to correct illegal
    sentence in context of a timely-filed PCRA petition)).
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    To quiet any conflict in the law, we now hold a PCRA
    petitioner can obtain relief from an illegal sentence under
    Butler, if the petition is timely filed, as long as the relevant
    judgment of sentence became final after June 17, 2013, the
    date Alleyne was decided. Because Butler simply applied
    Alleyne principles to the SVP process, Butler did not
    announce a new constitutional rule that required a [Teague
    v. Lane, 
    489 U.S. 288
     (1989)] retroactivity analysis. See
    [Chaidez v. U.S.] 
    568 U.S. 342
     (2013)]. Therefore, the
    date of the Alleyne decision, not the date of the Butler
    decision, controls for the purposes of obtaining PCRA relief
    from the imposition of SVP status.
    Adams-Smith, at *8 (emphasis in original).
    Although we affirmed the denial of post-conviction relief based upon his
    claim of ineffectiveness counsel, we vacated Adams-Smith’s judgment of
    sentence to the extent it required registration and reporting requirements
    under SORNA, and Adams-Smith’s SVP status. We remanded “the case to the
    trial court to instruct [Adams-Smith] on his proper registration and reporting
    requirements.” 
    Id.
    Here, like Adams-Smith, both Muniz and Butler were decided during
    the pendency of Gupton’s timely PCRA petition. Thus, although Gupton’s claim
    of counsel’s ineffectiveness warrants no relief, we vacate his judgment of
    sentence, to the extent it required SORNA compliance, as well as his
    designation as an SVP. We therefore remand this case to the trial court to
    instruct Gupton on his proper registration and reporting requirements. See
    42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9799.51-9799.75.
    Order affirmed in part; SORNA requirements and SVP status vacated;
    case remanded with instructions. Jurisdiction relinquished.
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    Judgment Entered.
    Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
    Prothonotary
    Date: 6/25/19
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