Com. v. Spaulding, B. ( 2018 )


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  • J-S08034-18
    NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
    COMMONWEALTH OF                        :   IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
    PENNSYLVANIA                           :        PENNSYLVANIA
    :
    :
    v.                        :
    :
    :
    BRANDON LEE SPAULDING                  :
    :   No. 1129 WDA 2017
    Appellant
    Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered June 29, 2017
    In the Court of Common Pleas of Mercer County Criminal Division at
    No(s): CP-43-CR-0001848-2016
    COMMONWEALTH OF                        :   IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
    PENNSYLVANIA                           :        PENNSYLVANIA
    :
    :
    v.                        :
    :
    :
    BRANDON SPAULDING                      :
    :   No. 1300 WDA 2017
    Appellant
    Appeal from the Order August 10, 2017
    In the Court of Common Pleas of Mercer County Criminal Division at
    No(s): CP-43-CR-0000834-2011
    BEFORE:    LAZARUS, J., KUNSELMAN, J., and STEVENS*, P.J.E.
    MEMORANDUM BY STEVENS, P.J.E.:                        FILED MAY 08, 2018
    Appellant, Brandon Lee Spaulding, files these consolidated appeals from
    the judgment of sentence entered at Mercer County Court of Common Pleas’
    docketed case #1848-2016 and from the order dismissing his second petition
    filed under the Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA), 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9541-9546,
    at Mercer County Court of Common Pleas’ docketed case #834-2011,
    ____________________________________
    * Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court.
    J-S08034-18
    respectively.1 We affirm the order entered in case #834-2011. We also affirm
    judgment of sentence in case #1848-2016 except for that portion of the
    sentence requiring Appellant to comply with the Sexual Offender Registration
    and Notification Act’s (“SORNA”) registration requirements, as we have sua
    sponte determined this aspect of his sentence runs afoul of Commonwealth
    v. Muniz, 
    164 A.3d 1189
     (Pa. 2017) (OAJC) and its binding precedent2 that
    application of SORNA registration requirements to an offender who committed
    his crimes prior to the effective date of SORNA violates the ex post facto
    clause.3
    ____________________________________________
    1 As indicated infra, the claims raised in Appellant’s direct appeal and his
    second PCRA petition emanate from two distinct cases prosecuted five years
    apart in which Appellant entered guilty pleas involving different crimes
    committed against different children at different times and locations.
    2  In Muniz, five of six justices shared in the conclusion that SORNA’s
    registration requirement is punishment that runs afoul of the ex post facto
    clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution when applied retroactively. See
    Commonwealth v. Hart, 
    174 A.3d 660
    , 667 n.9 (Pa. Super. 2017)
    (observing “the binding precedent emerging from Muniz is confined to the
    determination that SORNA’s registration requirement is punishment that runs
    afoul of the ex post facto clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution when applied
    retroactively.”).
    3 This Court may review issues regarding the legality of sentence sua sponte.
    Commonwealth v. Edrington, 
    780 A.2d 721
    , 723 (Pa. Super. 2001). The
    applicability of Muniz to Appellant's case is apparent in docketed case #1848-
    2016, as Appellant committed his offenses prior to the December 20, 2012,
    effective date of the Sexual Offender Registration and Notificaton Act
    (“SORNA”) but was sentenced under SORNA’s registration requirements on
    June 29, 2017. The record shows Appellant was not designated a Sexually
    Violent Predator but was designated a Tier III offender pursuant to 42
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    J-S08034-18
    With respect to Appellant’s PCRA challenge in case #834-2011,
    Appellant pleaded guilty to one count of indecent assault, 18 Pa.C.S.A. §
    3126(a)(7), committed in August of 2010, and on November 2, 2012, Judge
    Robert G. Yeatts sentenced Appellant to 30 to 94 months of incarceration. In
    a memorandum decision filed on August 2, 2013, this Court denied Appellant
    permission     to   appeal    the   discretionary      aspects    of   sentencing.    See
    Commonwealth           v.    Spaulding,        
    83 A.3d 1056
       (Pa.   Super.      2013)
    (unpublished memorandum). Appellant did not file a petition for allowance of
    appeal from that determination.
    ____________________________________________
    Pa.C.S.A. § 9799.14 (setting forth tier system). Tier III offenders are required
    to register with the Pennsylvania State Police for life.
    In docketed case #834-2011, Appellant received his sentence one month
    before SORNA’s effective date, and there is nothing in the record to suggest
    SORNA registration requirements were ever imposed at some time thereafter.
    Regardless, because Appellant’s PCRA petition is untimely, see infra, he was
    required to demonstrate that Muniz applies retroactively in order to satisfy
    the exception to the PCRA one-year time bar at section 9545(b)(1)(iii). See
    Commonwealth v. Abdul-Salaam, 
    812 A.2d 497
    , 501 (Pa. 2002). Our
    Supreme Court has not issued such a holding at this time, and, in any event,
    Appellant has asserted no such exception to the time bar. See infra.
    Therefore, we cannot sua sponte consider a legality of sentence claim in
    docketed case #834-2011, as we lack jurisdiction to do so based upon the
    untimeliness of the petition. See Commonwealth v. Fahy, 
    737 A.2d 214
    ,
    223 (Pa. 1999) (holding “Although legality of sentence is always subject to
    review within the PCRA, claims must still first satisfy the PCRA’s time limits or
    one of the exceptions thereto.”).
    Accordingly, we vacate that portion of the sentence at docketed case #1848-
    2016 requiring Appellant to comply with SORNA and remand to the trial court
    for consideration of registration requirements in keeping with the Muniz
    decision.
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    Appellant subsequently filed his first PCRA petition on January 11, 2016,
    and the PCRA court appointed counsel. On March 1, 2016, the PCRA court
    dismissed as untimely the petition pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 907. This Court
    dismissed the appeal on jurisdictional grounds, as well, as Appellant had filed
    a patently untimely PCRA petition for which no timeliness exceptions applied.
    Commonwealth        v.   Spaulding,    No.   622   WDA     2016,   unpublished
    memorandum at **2-4 (Pa. Super. filed April 18, 2017). Appellant did not
    appeal from this decision.
    While Appellant’s first PCRA appeal was pending with this Court, he filed
    a second PCRA petition on September 12, 2016. The PCRA court stayed the
    second petition until Appellant exhausted his appellate rights with respect to
    his first petition. On July 12, 2017, after Appellant’s first PCRA appeal became
    final, appointed counsel filed a motion to withdraw from representation
    pursuant to Commonwealth v. Turner, 
    544 A.2d 927
     (Pa. 1988) and
    Commonwealth v. Finley, 
    550 A.2d 213
     (Pa. Super. 1988), along with a
    Turner/Finley no merit letter. On July 18, 2017, the PCRA court filed an
    order and opinion granting PCRA counsel’s motion to withdraw and notifying
    Appellant of its intent to dismiss his second PCRA petition without a hearing
    in 20 days pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 907. On August 10, 2017, after Appellant
    filed no response to the PCRA court’s Rule 907 notice, this Court entered an
    order dismissing Appellant’s second PCRA petition as untimely filed.
    On August 29, 2017, Appellant timely filed the present appeal from the
    dismissal of his second PCRA petition. Appearing in both his court-ordered
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    Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) concise statement of matters complained of on appeal and
    his briefed statement of questions presented, he raises the following issue for
    our review:
    Did the PCRA court err as a matter of law or abuse its discretion
    when it determined that counsel for Appellant was not ineffective
    for failing to bring forward to the trial court a plea agreement
    including a minimum sentence far below the trial court’s imposed
    sentence?
    Appellant’s brief at 6.
    We have previously determined:
    It is well-established that the PCRA's timeliness requirements are
    jurisdictional in nature and must be strictly construed; courts may
    not address the merits of the issues raised in a petition if it is not
    timely filed. Generally, a PCRA petition must be filed within one
    year of the date the judgment of sentence becomes final unless
    the petitioner meets his burden to plead and prove one of the
    exceptions enumerated in 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9545(b)(1)(i)–(iii),
    which include: (1) the petitioner's inability to raise a claim as a
    result of governmental interference; (2) the discovery of
    previously unknown facts or evidence that would have supported
    a claim; or (3) a newly-recognized constitutional right. However,
    the PCRA limits the reach of the exceptions by providing that a
    petition invoking any of the exceptions must be filed within 60
    days of the date the claim first could have been presented.
    Commonwealth v. Walters, 
    135 A.3d 589
    , 591–592 (Pa. Super. 2016)
    (internal citations and quotations omitted).
    As explained above, this Court affirmed judgment of sentence entered
    in case #834-2011 on August 2, 2013. Because Appellant did not appeal that
    determination, his judgment of sentence became final 30 days later when the
    time for taking an appeal with this Court expired.         See 42 Pa.C.S.A. §
    9545(b)(3) (A judgment is deemed final “at the conclusion of direct review,
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    including discretionary review in the Supreme court of the United States and
    the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, or at the expiration of time for seeking
    review.”); Pa.R.A.P. 1113(a). Accordingly, Appellant’s judgment of sentence
    became final on Tuesday, September 3, 2013.           See 1 Pa.C.S.A. § 1908
    (stating that, for computations of time, whenever the last day of any statutory
    period shall fall on Saturday or Sunday, or a legal holiday, such day shall be
    omitted from the computation).
    Therefore, Appellant’s second PCRA petition filed on September 12,
    2016, was patently untimely. Moreover, Appellant does not allege that any of
    the abovementioned exceptions are applicable.           Instead, he raises an
    ineffective assistance of counsel claim. It is well-settled, however, that a claim
    for ineffective assistance of counsel does not save an otherwise untimely
    petition for review on the merits. Commonwealth v. Ward-Green, 141 a.3d
    527, 535 (Pa. Super. 2016). Accordingly, the PCRA court lacked jurisdiction
    to review Appellant’s claim in case #834-2011, and we affirm on that basis.4
    ____________________________________________
    4 Even if Appellant’s claim were reviewable, it is without arguable merit.
    Appellant contends that his upward departure sentence of 30 to 84 months’
    incarceration at case #834-2011 was a product of counsel’s ineffective failure
    to apprise the court of an alleged previous agreement between the parties
    whereby Appellant was to receive a minimum term of 12 months’
    incarceration, plus or minus six months. See Appellant’s brief at 17. The
    claim of a breached plea agreement is at odds with the record.
    At Appellant’s guilty plea colloquy of October 15, 2012, the court advised
    Appellant that he faced a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. N.T.
    10/15/12, at 5. Appellant answered that he understood his sentencing
    exposure. N.T. at 5. Later in the colloquy, after Appellant admitted to the
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    J-S08034-18
    With respect to the present appeal from the judgment of sentence in
    docketed case #1848-2016, Appellant pleaded no contest to aggravated
    indecent assault of a child on March 8, 2017, for conduct occurring in early
    2012. Notes of testimony show that Appellant confirmed he had received no
    promises from either his counsel or anyone else to induce his plea and
    expressed satisfaction with counsel’s services. N.T. 3/8/17, at 7. Counsel
    then informed the court, in Appellant’s presence, that Appellant and the
    Commonwealth agreed to a minimum sentence of seven and a half years’
    incarceration. N.T. at 8. In exchange for Appellant’s plea of no contest, the
    Commonwealth agreed to nol-pros the remaining charges set forth in the
    information. N.T. at 11.
    At Appellant’s sentencing hearing held on June 29, 2017, different
    counsel from the Public Defender’s Office represented Appellant, but he
    ____________________________________________
    facts underlying the charge of indecent assault and agreed that counsel
    explained the guilty plea process to him, he confirmed that no one had
    promised anything, except what was discussed in open court, to induce him
    to plead. N.T., at 12. At the completion of the colloquy, the court indicated
    it was satisfied that Appellant made an understanding and voluntary plea, and
    the court, therefore, accepted the plea. N.T., at 12-13.
    At the outset of the sentencing hearing of November 2, 2012, the court
    addressed Appellant directly and informed him he possessed “an absolute
    right to tell me anything you want, so at this time I’ll hear anything you or
    your attorney wishes to tell me.” N.T., 11/2/12, at 8. When asked by counsel
    if he had anything to say, Appellant replied “no.” N.T. at 8. Accordingly, there
    is simply nothing of record to suggest that ineffective assistance of counsel
    induced Appellant to plead guilty or to refrain from withdrawing his plea prior
    to receiving sentence.
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    reminded the court prior to the announcement of sentence that the parties
    had agreed to a minimum sentence of seven and one-half years.             N.T.,
    6/29/17, at 12. The Court accepted that agreement as having been part of
    the guilty plea.     Id.   After considering the victim impact testimony of the
    victim’s grandfather, the court imposed a seven and one-half-year to 15-year
    sentence and ran it consecutive to any other sentence he was serving, thus
    imposing the minimum sentence to which Appellant agreed.
    Nineteen days later, on July 18, 2017, Appellant filed a counseled
    “Motion to Modify Sentence Nunc Pro Tunc,” in which he alleged the sentence
    in question was manifestly excessive in length. Notably, Appellant did not
    request leave to file a post-sentence motion nunc pro tunc, and the court did
    not grant nunc pro tunc relief in its order of July 18, 2017, summarily denying
    Appellant’s motion.
    On July 20, 2017, Appellant filed a pro se “Motion for Sentence
    Modification” in which he declared he was acting pro se and in forma pauperis.
    In his pro se motion, he complained he was wrongfully denied the benefit of
    his plea agreement that he receive a seven and one-half year sentence to run
    concurrently to any sentence he was then serving.5         On that same day,
    Appellant filed additional motions indicating he was acting pro se in preparing
    his direct appeal. On July 26, Appellant filed pro se his Notice of Appeal to
    this Court.
    ____________________________________________
    5The court subsequently modified Appellant’s seven and one-half to 15-year
    sentence to run concurrently with any current sentence.
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    On August 31, 2017, this Court entered an order directing the trial court
    to make a determination as to the status of Appellant’s counsel. In response,
    on September 12, 2017, the trial court conducted a hearing and appointed
    present counsel, Edwin J. Thorn, to represent Appellant.
    However, in the interim between this Court’s August 31, 2017, directive
    and the trial court’s September 12, 2017, appointment of new counsel, the
    trial court filed an order dated September 6, 2017, directing Appellant to file
    a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) concise statement within 21 days of the order. The record
    indicates a copy of the order was delivered only to Appellant at his prison
    address.
    On September 18, 2017, after new counsel had been appointed to
    Appellant, Appellant filed, pro se, his Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) statement. The record
    indicates copies were delivered only to the District Attorney’s Office and to the
    trial judge; no copy was forwarded to new counsel. On October 2, 2017, the
    trial court, despite knowing it had just appointed counsel to represent
    Appellant on his direct appeal, inexplicably issued a responsive Rule 1925(a)
    Opinion addressing the issues raised in the pro se Rule 1925(b) statement.
    Both the order itself and the docket sheet provide no information as to
    delivery.
    Under our jurisprudence, Appellant’s pro se Pa.R.A.P. 1925 statement
    represented an impermissible attempt at hybrid representation and is, thus,
    a legal nullity, as he was represented by counsel at the time of its filing. See
    Pa.R.Crim.P. 120; Commonwealth v. Keys, 
    580 A.2d 386
    , 387 (Pa. Super.
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    1990). See also Commonwealth v. Ali, 
    10 A.3d 282
    , 293 (Pa. 2010)
    (holding where appellant was represented by counsel on appeal, his pro se
    Rule 1925(b) statement was a “legal nullity”).
    The record provides no indication, however, that the trial court ever
    served new counsel with, or notified him of, its existing Rule 1925(b) order.
    We, therefore, refuse to declare present counsel per se ineffective for having
    failed to file a counseled Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) statement, as the trial court did
    not satisfy all procedural steps necessary to invoke Rule 1925(b) waiver. See
    Commonwealth v. Hooks, 
    921 A.2d 1199
    , 1202 (Pa. Super. 2007) (Rule
    1925(b) waiver dependent upon four conditions, one of which requires
    supplying each party’s attorney with written notice of the Rule 1925(b) order).
    Additionally, we consider the court's failure to forward Appellant's pro se notice
    of appeal to counsel and to direct counsel to file a counseled Rule 1925(b)
    statement in its stead as representing a breakdown in the court’s operation.
    See Commonwealth v. Leatherby, 
    116 A.3d 73
    , 79 (Pa. Super. 2015) (“[An
    appellant] should not be precluded from appellate review based on what was,
    in effect, an administrative breakdown on the part of the trial court.”).
    Because these administrative missteps permit neither the imposition of
    Rule 1925(b) waiver nor a consequential finding of per se ineffective
    assistance of present counsel, this case does not fall under decisional law
    mandating remand for the preparation of a counseled Rule 1925(b) statement
    and a corresponding Rule 1925(a) opinion by the trial court. Instead, we may
    examine the record before us to determine whether counsel has advanced
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    Appellant’s appeal sufficiently to serve the interests of justice and allow for
    meaningful appellate review or if, in the alternative, remand for preparation
    of a counseled Rule 1925(b) statement is necessary.
    A review of Appellant’s counseled brief shows counsel has developed
    the issues Appellant wished to press with this Court. As such, there appears
    to be no strategic disagreement between Appellant and counsel, despite
    Appellant’s initial attempt at hybrid representation. Moreover, the trial court’s
    Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a) opinion addresses these issues, which further enables our
    meaningful review.
    Counsel has also briefed an issue Appellant failed to raise in his pro se
    Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) statement.        Specifically, the counseled brief assails
    Appellant’s seven and one-half to fifteen year sentence as both manifestly
    excessive and violative of the parties’ agreement, accepted by the court, that
    Appellant was to receive a seven and one-half year sentence. Therefore, given
    counsel’s receptiveness to Appellant’s desired slate of issues to be raised on
    appeal, and considering the initiative counsel took in supplementing the
    appellate brief with an additional issue, we are satisfied that counsel
    undertook adequate review of the present matter in preparation of Appellant’s
    brief such that there is no need for remand for preparation of a counseled Rule
    1925(b) statement.
    “Initially, we note that when a defendant enters a guilty plea, he or she
    waives all defects and defenses except those concerning the validity of the
    plea, the jurisdiction of the trial court, and the legality of the sentence
    - 11 -
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    imposed.”     Commonwealth v. Stradley, 
    50 A.3d 769
    , 771 (Pa. Super.
    2012).6 In Appellant’s first question presented, he claims to raise a substantial
    question    that   his   minimum      sentence     of   seven   and   one-half   years’
    incarceration was excessive and unreasonable, as it was based on a prior
    record score stemming from convictions then under appeal. Appellant's Brief
    at 13. Such a claim challenges the discretionary aspects of his sentence. See
    Commonwealth v. Lutes, 
    793 A.2d 949
    , 964 (Pa. Super. 2002) (stating
    claim that sentence is manifestly excessive challenges discretionary aspects
    of sentencing).
    Challenges to the discretionary aspects of sentencing do not entitle an
    appellant to an appeal as of right. Commonwealth v. Sierra, 
    752 A.2d 910
    ,
    912 (Pa.Super. 2000). Prior to reaching the merits of a discretionary aspects
    of sentencing issue:
    [W]e conduct a four-part analysis to determine: (1) whether
    appellant has filed a timely notice of appeal, see Pa.R.A.P. 902
    and 903; (2) whether the issue was properly preserved at
    sentencing or in a motion to reconsider and modify sentence, see
    [Pa.R.Crim.P. 720]; (3) whether appellant's brief has a fatal
    defect, Pa.R.A.P. 2119(f); and (4) whether there is a substantial
    question that the sentence appealed from is not appropriate under
    the Sentencing Code, 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9781(b).
    Commonwealth v. Evans, 
    901 A.2d 528
    , 533 (Pa. Super. 2006). Objections
    to the discretionary aspects of sentence are generally waived if they are not
    raised at the sentencing hearing or raised in a timely motion to modify the
    ____________________________________________
    6 A nolo contendere or no contest plea is treated the same as a guilty plea “in
    terms of its effect upon a case.” Commonwealth v. Kepner, 
    34 A.3d 162
    ,
    166 n.6 (Pa. Super. 2011).
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    J-S08034-18
    sentence imposed at that hearing. Commonwealth v. Sheller, 
    961 A.2d 187
    , 189 (Pa. Super. 2008) (“To properly preserve the discretionary aspects
    of sentencing for appellate review, the issue must be raised during sentencing
    or in a timely post-sentence motion.” (emphasis added)); see also
    Commonwealth v. Smith, 
    563 A.2d 905
    , 906 (Pa.Super. 1989) (“When [a
    post-sentence] motion is not timely filed, the issues presented in the untimely
    motion are deemed waived.”). “This failure cannot be cured by submitting
    the challenge in a Rule 1925(b) statement.” Commonwealth v. McAfee,
    
    849 A.2d 270
    , 275, (Pa. Super. 2004).
    As noted above, Appellant filed a post-sentence motion, nunc pro tunc,
    incorporating a discretionary aspects challenge nineteen days after imposition
    of sentence in open court. However, the trial court did not accept the belated
    motion, dismissing it summarily.           Nor did Appellant challenge the court’s
    exercise of sentencing discretion during the sentencing hearing. Therefore,
    Appellant has failed to preserve for appellate review his discretionary of
    aspects claim.7
    The second aspect to Appellant’s challenge to his sentence declares the
    court denied him the benefit of his bargain associated with pleading no contest
    when it imposed a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment. According
    ____________________________________________
    7Even if Appellant had preserved this challenge to the minimum sentence with
    a timely filed post-sentence motion and a proper Pa.R.A.P. 2119(f) statement,
    we would deem the claim unreviewable, as Appellant received a negotiated
    minimum sentence. See Commonwealth v. O’Malley, 
    95 A.2d 1265
    , 1267
    (Pa. Super. 2008) (“One who pleads guilty and receives a negotiated sentence
    may not then seek discretionary review of that sentence.”).
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    J-S08034-18
    to Appellant, the court thereby violated the parties’ plea agreement, which,
    he says, called for a seven and one-half year sentence.
    This claim would be preserved despite Appellant’s untimely post-
    sentence motion if the claim implicated the legality of Appellant’s sentence,
    as claims pertaining to the legality of sentence, as long as this Court has
    jurisdiction over the matter, are non-waivable. Commonwealth v. Jones,
    
    932 A.2d 179
    , 182 (Pa. Super. 2007).               It is well-settled, however that a
    defendant’s claim that he was sentenced in violation of his plea agreement
    does not implicate the legality of the sentence, where the defendant fails to
    identify any statutory reason or double jeopardy basis for declaring the
    sentence illegal. Commonwealth v. Berry, 
    877 A.2d 479
    , 482 (Pa. Super.
    2005) (en banc). As such, Appellant’s claim goes to the discretionary aspects
    of his sentence, which we have already held Appellant may not challenge in
    the present appeal because he failed to file a timely post-sentence motion.8
    Even if we were to engage in merits review, the record belies Appellant’s
    claim that his plea agreement contemplated a prison sentence of no more than
    seven and one-half years on the present offense. Specifically, the record of
    Appellant’s plea colloquy shows the Commonwealth and his counsel both
    ____________________________________________
    8 Had Appellant preserved the claim with a timely post-sentence motion and
    otherwise satisfied the remaining prerequisites to gaining discretionary
    aspects review, we would note that, unlike Appellant’s challenge to the
    negotiated minimum sentence he received, his challenge to the imposition of
    the maximum sentence would not be unreviewable because there was no
    agreement as to his maximum sentence. See Commonwealth v. Brown,
    
    982 A.2d 1017
    , 1019 (Pa.Super. 2009).
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    J-S08034-18
    informed the court, in Appellant’s presence, that the parties agreed to a
    minimum sentence of seven and one-half years’ incarceration in exchange for
    Appellant’s plea of no contest.     N.T. at 8.     As part of this deal, the
    Commonwealth agreed to nol-pros the remaining charges set forth in the
    information. N.T. at 11. Importantly, there was no negotiated deal as to the
    maximum sentence Appellant would receive. Ultimately, the court imposed a
    seven and one-half year to 15-year sentence and ran it concurrently to any
    other sentence he was serving, thus imposing the minimum sentence to which
    Appellant and the Commonwealth agreed. Accordingly, Appellant’s claim to
    the contrary has no merit.
    The remainder of Appellant’s questions presented relative to docketed
    case #1848-2016 assert the ineffective assistance of plea counsel. Pursuant
    to Commonwealth v. Grant, 
    813 A.2d 726
     (Pa. 2002), defendants should
    not raise claims of ineffective assistance of counsel on direct appeal, but
    should defer them for collateral review.     In accordance with this rule, we
    dismiss Appellant’s claims regarding ineffective assistance of counsel without
    prejudice to his right to raise them in PCRA petition.              See also
    Commonwealth v. Holmes, 
    79 A.3d 562
    , 583 (Pa. 2013) (claims of
    ineffective assistance of trial counsel in Pennsylvania generally are deferred
    to PCRA review and generally are not available on direct appeal).
    Accordingly, in the appeal at 1300 WDA 2017, the order entered in
    Mercer County Court of Common Pleas’ docketed case #834-2011 dismissing
    Appellant’s second PCRA petition is affirmed.
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    In the appeal at 1129 WDA 2017, we vacate that portion of Appellant’s
    judgment of sentence entered in Mercer County Court of Common Pleas’
    docketed case #1848-2016 requiring him to comply with SORNA.                The
    remainder of his judgment of sentence is affirmed. Case remanded for further
    proceedings as discussed in footnote 3, supra. Jurisdiction relinquished.
    Judgment Entered.
    Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
    Prothonotary
    Date: 5/8/2018
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