Com. v. Walker, D. ( 2019 )

J-A20043-19
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
Appellee :
:
v. :
:
DIANA HURRICANE WALKER :
:
Appellant : No. 1601 MDA 2018
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered August 14, 2018
In the Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County
Criminal Division at No(s): CP-36-CR-0005399-2017,
CP-36-CR-0005434-2017
BEFORE: GANTMAN, P.J.E., McLAUGHLIN, J., and FORD ELLIOTT, P.J.E.
JUDGMENT ORDER BY GANTMAN, P.J.E.: FILED AUGUST 09, 2019
Appellant, Diana Hurricane Walker, appeals from the judgment of
sentence entered in the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas, following
her guilty plea to three counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled
substance (“PWID”). Based on our Supreme Court’s decision in
Commonwealth v. Walker, ___ Pa. ___, 185 A.3d 969 (2018), we must
quash the appeal.
The relevant facts and procedural history of this case are as follows. On
July 24, 2014, and August 22, 2014, a confidential informant (“CI”) arranged
to purchase oxycodone from Appellant. During the transactions, Appellant
delivered a total of 125 tablets of oxycodone to the CI in exchange for
prerecorded funds. Three years later, on September 8, 2017, detectives
executed a search warrant at Appellant’s home and discovered 51 tablets of
J-A20043-19
acetaminophen and hydrocodone, a Schedule II controlled substance.
Appellant admitted owning the drugs, and she was arrested. The
Commonwealth charged Appellant at two separate docket numbers for all the
PWID offenses.
On May 18, 2018, Appellant pled guilty to two counts of PWID (for the
2014 offenses) at Docket No. 5399-2017, and one count of PWID (for the
2017 offense) at Docket No. 5434-2017. The court deferred sentencing and
ordered the completion of a pre-sentence investigation (“PSI”) report.
Following completion of the PSI, the court sentenced Appellant on August 14,
2018, to an aggregate term of three (3) to six (6) years’ incarceration. On
August 23, 2018, Appellant timely filed a post-sentence motion, which the
court denied on August 27, 2018. Appellant filed a single notice of appeal at
Docket No. 5399-2017 on September 26, 2018. On October 1, 2018, the
court ordered Appellant to file a concise statement of errors complained of on
appeal per Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b); Appellant timely complied on October 19, 2018.
Preliminarily, on June 1, 2018, the Walker Court held that the common
practice of filing a single notice of appeal from an order involving more than
one docket would no longer be tolerated, because the practice violates
Pa.R.A.P. 341, which requires the filing of “separate appeals from an order
that resolves issues arising on more than one docket.” Walker, supra at
___, 185 A.3d at 977. The failure to file separate appeals under these
circumstances “requires the appellate court to quash the appeal.” Id.
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Instantly, Appellant’s case involves two separate dockets at Nos. 5399-
2017 and 5434-2017. Appellant filed a single notice of appeal at Docket No.
5399 from the judgments of sentence imposed involving two distinct docket
numbers. The notice of appeal was filed only at Docket No.5399-2017 but
shows Docket No. 5434-2017 printed in the caption and Docket No. 5399-
2017 handwritten above it, indicating the appeal involves both docket
numbers. Likewise, Appellant’s argument on appeal demonstrates Appellant
is challenging the sentences at both dockets. Appellant’s single notice of
appeal was filed on September 26, 2018, which postdates the Walker
decision. In this Court’s November 8, 2018 order, we directed Appellant to
show cause why the appeal should not be quashed under the Walker rule.
Appellant did not respond, and the rule to show cause was discharged and
referred to the assigned merits panel. Absent more, we are bound by the
Walker decision and must quash this appeal.
Appeal quashed.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 8/9/2019
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