Com. v. Castle, B. ( 2021 )

J-S18012-21
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
:
v. :
:
:
BREANA CASTLE :
:
Appellant : No. 879 EDA 2020
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered February 21, 2020
In the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County
Criminal Division at No(s): CP-46-CR-0005444-2019
BEFORE: PANELLA, P.J., McCAFFERY, J., and COLINS, J.*
MEMORANDUM BY PANELLA, P.J.: FILED JULY 9, 2021
Breanna Castle appeals from her judgment of sentence entered in the
Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County for possession of drug
paraphernalia, which included the imposition of mandatory court costs. She
alleges on appeal that the trial court improperly imposed those court costs on
her without first holding an ability-to-pay hearing. As we squarely rejected
this claim in Commonwealth v. Lopez, 248 A.3d 589 (Pa. Super. March 23,
2021), we affirm on the basis of that opinion.
Castle pled guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia as an ungraded
misdemeanor on February 21, 2020. That same day, the court sentenced her
to 12 months of probation and ordered her to pay the costs of prosecution.
____________________________________________
* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.
J-S18012-21
Castle then filed a Motion to Waive Costs of Prosecution Due to Defendant’s
Financial Inability to Pay, which the trial court denied on February 25, 2020.
Castle filed the instant timely appeal and complied with the trial court’s
order to file a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) statement of errors complained of on appeal.
On appeal, Castle argues that the trial court erred in imposing costs of
prosecution without first conducting an ability-to-pay hearing. This claim
plainly fails under our recent decision in Lopez.
In Lopez, this Court explicitly held that a trial court is not required to
hold an ability-to-pay hearing prior to imposing the mandatory costs of
prosecution on a defendant at sentencing. See Lopez, 248 A.3d at 590.
Rather, we explained that Pa.R.Crim.P. 706 only requires a trial court to hold
such a hearing before a defendant faces incarceration for failing to pay those
costs. See id. at 592-93. As Castle has not been threatened with incarceration
for defaulting on the court costs imposed on her, she was not entitled to a
hearing on her ability to pay those costs under Lopez and her claim to the
contrary necessarily fails.
Judgment of sentence affirmed.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 7/9/2021
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