Com. v. Semidey, J. ( 2021 )

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NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
:
v. :
:
:
JOSE ANGEL SEMIDEY :
:
Appellant : No. 1051 MDA 2020
Appeal from the PCRA Order Entered July 21, 2020
In the Court of Common Pleas of York County Criminal Division at No(s):
CP-67-CR-0000698-1998
BEFORE: LAZARUS, J., McCAFFERY, J., and STEVENS, P.J.E.*
MEMORANDUM BY STEVENS, P.J.E.: FILED MARCH 22, 2021
Appellant, Jose Angel Semidey, appeals from the order entered in the
Court of Common Pleas of York County dismissing his “Petition to Enforce Plea
Agreement” as an untimely petition filed pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief
Act (“PCRA”), 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541-9546. He asserts that his petition did not
fall within the ambit of the PCRA because it relied on contract principles to
contest the retroactive imposition of SORNA II,1 Subsection I heightened
registration requirements to his case. He asks this Court to vacate the lower
court’s order and remand the matter for an evidentiary hearing where he may
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* Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court.
1“Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act,” 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.10 et
seq.
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present evidence that his original 10-year registration period prescribed under
Megan’s Law I 2 was a term of his negotiated plea that requires enforcement.
After careful review, we vacate and remand with instructions.
On June 11, 1997, 22 year-old Appellant was charged with Involuntary
Deviate Sexual Intercourse-Forcible Compulsion, 18 Pa.C.S. § 3123(a)(1),
Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse-Person less than 16 years of age, 18
Pa.C.S. § 3123(a)(7), and Corruption of Minors, 18 Pa.C.S. § 6301(a) for his
involvement with a 15 year-old girl. Because the alleged victim shortly
thereafter retracted her claim that Appellant used force during the alleged
episode, the IDSI-forcible compulsion charge was dropped.
Appellant and the Commonwealth eventually entered into plea
negotiations and reached an agreement whereby Appellant would plead guilty
to both remaining charges in exchange for a two to five year sentence.
Specifically, Appellant’s written plea colloquy, at paragraph “30”, indicates the
“agreement” calls for Appellant to serve a “2-5” year sentence. Written Plea
Colloquy, 4/22/98, at ¶ 30. Paragraph 34 of the written plea states that no
other promises were made except for that specified in Paragraph 30. Id. at
¶ 34. Nowhere in the written colloquy are Appellant’s registration
requirements mentioned.
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2 18 Pa.C.S. 9795.1 (repealed).
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Appellant pleaded guilty on April 22, 1998.3 The sexual offender
registration law then in effect was first iteration of Pennsylvania’s Megan’s
Law, which required offenders convicted of IDSI—Person less than 16 years
of age to register for a period of 10 years pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 9793.4
On August 10, 1998, the trial court conducted Appellant’s sentencing
hearing. After discussing Appellant’s status as a non-SVP Megan’s Law
offender, the court announced that it was sentencing Appellant to two to five
years’ incarceration “consistent with the plea agreement.” 8/10/98, at 7.
Appellant was asked to read the sexual offender notification that he had
signed, after which the prosecutor summarized the contents, stating, “You
realize that the registration period is for 10 years, and that does not involve
any community notification.” N.T. at 8. Receiving no reply from Appellant,
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3 The notes of testimony from Appellant’s guilty plea hearing are not included
in the certified record. In response to our request for the notes of testimony,
the common pleas court informed us that no transcription of the hearing
exists. We also note that the record has not been amended with a Pa.R.A.P.
1923 “statement in absence of a transcript” alluding to any statement made
during Appellant’s guilty plea hearing that identified his registration period as
a product of negotiations.
For reasons made apparent infra, we determine that the lack of either a
transcript or a statement in its absence does not impair our ability to resolve
the matter before us, as the remainder of the record enables full
understanding of all relevant circumstances surrounding Appellant’s plea and
consequential registration period.
4 Section 9793 was repealed effective July 9, 2000 and subsequently amended
effective February 18, 2001 as 42 Pa.C.S. § 9795.1, pursuant to Megan’s Law
II.
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the prosecutor requested that a copy of the hearing be made and transmitted
to the Pennsylvania State Police, Megan’s Law Division. N.T. at 9. At no time
did either the prosecutor or Appellant indicate that the term of registration
was affected by plea negotiations.
Appellant completed a five-year prison sentence and commenced his
10-year registration period on August 14, 2003. On December 3, 2012, with
only eight months left to his registration, the Pennsylvania State Police notified
him that under newly enacted Act 11 of 2011 and Act 91 of 2012, known as
SORNA I, he was a Tier III violator subject to lifetime registration. Appellant
did not challenge his new categorization or its attendant registration
requirements. Subsequently, in 2018, Appellant was notified that he
remained a lifetime registrant under Act 10 of 2018 HB 631, known as SORNA
II, Subsection I.5
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5 The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in Commonwealth v. Muniz, 640 Pa.
699, 164 A.3d 1189 (Pa. 2016) determined that SORNA I registration
requirements were punitive and may not be applied retroactively without
violating ex post facto laws. In 2018, The Pennsylvania General Assembly
responded to the constitutional concerns addressed in Muniz by enacting
SORNA II, which, inter alia, comprised new registration requirements in
Subsection H (for registrations commencing, or criminal acts committed,
between 2012 and present) and Subsection I (for registrations commencing,
or criminal acts committed, between 1996 and 2012). This Court has
summarized the iterations of SORNA, as follows:
SORNA was originally enacted on December 20, 2011, effective
December 20, 2012. See Act of Dec. 20, 2011, P.L. 446, No. 111, §
12, effective in one year or Dec. 20, 2012 (Act 11 of 2011). Act 11
was amended on July 5, 2012, also effective December 20, 2012, see
Act of July 5, 2012, P.L. 880, No. 91, effective Dec. 20, 2012 (Act 91
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On December 23, 2019, Appellant filed with the lower court a counseled
petition seeking relief from SORNA II’s lifetime registration requirement either
through specific enforcement of the terms of his plea agreement—which he
maintained included a 10-year registration period—or, in the alternative, on
ex post facto grounds by asserting that the registration requirements of
SORNA II, Subsection I were punitive in effect and, thus, could not be imposed
retroactively. Upon review of Appellant’s petition, the lower court deemed it
an untimely PCRA petition and dismissed it in its entirety. This timely appeal
follows.
Appellant raises the following issues for our consideration:
1. Did the court err when it categorized Appellant’s petition to
enforce his plea agreement as a Post Conviction Relief Act
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of 2012), and amended on February 21, 2018, effective immediately,
known as Act 10 of 2018, see Act of Feb. 21, 2018, P.L. 27, No. 10,
§§ 1-20, effective Feb. 21, 2018 (Act 10 of 2018), and, lastly,
reenacted and amended on June 12, 2018, P.L. 140, No. 29, §§ 1-23,
effective June 12, 2018 (Act 29 of 2018). Acts 10 and 29 of 2018 are
generally referred to collectively as SORNA II. Through Act 10, as
amended in Act 29 (collectively, SORNA II), the General Assembly split
SORNA I's former Subchapter H into a Revised Subchapter H and
Subchapter I. Subchapter I addresses sexual offenders who
committed an offense on or after April 22, 1996, but before December
20, 2012. See 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9799.51-9799.75. Subchapter I
contains less stringent reporting requirements than Revised
Subchapter H, which applies to offenders who committed an offense
on or after December 20, 2012. See 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9799.10-
9799.42.
Commonwealth v. Reslink, --- A.3d ----, 2020 PA Super 289 (Dec. 18,
2020)
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Motion and thereby deemed that it did not have jurisdiction to
rule on said petition?
2. Did the court fail to follow case precedent when it failed to
enforce Appellant’s plea agreement with the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania thereby abusing its discretion contrary to
Pennsylvania law?
Appellant’s brief, at 8.
Appellant’s first issue addresses the lower court’s decision to construe
his petition challenging the requirement that he register for life under SORNA
II as a PCRA petition. Because his petition contained a discrete contract claim
seeking enforcement of the terms of his negotiated plea, Appellant posits, it
fell outside the ambit of the PCRA and required merits review. We agree.
Decisional law of this Commonwealth has clarified that a petition seeking
enforcement of negotiated plea terms need not be filed under the PCRA:
A petition for collateral relief will generally be considered a PCRA
petition if it raises issues cognizable under the PCRA. See
Commonwealth v. Peterkin, 554 Pa. 547, 533, 722 A.2d 638,
640 (Pa. 1998); 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9542 (stating PCRA shall be sole
means of obtaining collateral relief and encompasses all other
common law and statutory remedies for same purpose). The plain
language of the PCRA mandates that claims which could be
brought under the PCRA, must be brought under the PCRA.
...
On the other hand, a collateral petition to enforce a plea
agreement is regularly treated as outside the ambit of the PCRA
and under the contractual enforcement theory of specific
performance. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Martinez, 637 Pa.
208, 147 A.3d 517 (2016) Commonwealth v. Fernandez, 195
A.3d 299 (Pa.Super. 2018) (en banc); Commonwealth v.
Hainesworth, 82 A.3d 444 (Pa.Super. 2013) (en banc), appeal
denied, 626 Pa. 683, 95 A.3d 276 (2014); Commonwealth v.
Farabaugh, 136 A.3d 995 (Pa.Super. 2016), appeal denied, 643
Pa. 140, 172 A.3d 1115 (2017); Commonwealth v. Nase, 104
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A.3d 528 (Pa.Super. 2014), appeal denied, 640 Pa. 389, 163 A.3d
405 (2016). . . . The designation of the petition “does not preclude
a court from deducing the proper nature of a pleading.” See
Commonwealth v. Porter, 613 Pa. 510, 524, 35 A.3d 4, 12
(2012) (citing Commonwealth v. Abdul–Salaam, 606 Pa. 214,
996 A.2d 482 (2010) (involving deceptive labeling of PCRA
pleading)).
Commonwealth v. Kerns, 220 A.3d 607, 611-12 (Pa. Super. 2019).
More recently, in the consolidated appeal Commonwealth v.
Lacombe, ---A.3d---- (Pa. filed June 20, 2020), the Pennsylvania Supreme
Court reaffirmed this jurisprudence by “declin[ing] to find that the PCRA, or
any other procedural mechanism, is the exclusive method for challenging
sexual offender registration statutes[.]” Id. at *6. Also notable for our
purposes in the case sub judice is that the procedural history for appellant
Claude Lacombe mirrors that of Appellant herein.
In 1997, Lacombe was convicted of IDSI and lesser offenses, subjecting
him to a prescribed 10-year registration under Megan’s Law I. He was
released from prison in 2005 and his registration period would have ended in
2015 but for the intervening enactment of SORNA I, which reclassified IDSI
as a Tier III offense requiring lifetime registration.
Like Appellant, Lacombe did not challenge the changes to his
registration until 2018, when SORNA II, Subsection I had already taken effect.
The Commonwealth contended that Lacombe’s filing was an untimely PCRA
petition, but the lower court viewed it as raising an issue outside the aegis of
the PCRA. Therefore, the court conducted merits review and deemed the
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registration requirements of Subsection I punitive in effect so as to constitute
an ex post facto violation.
Pursuant to Pa.C.S. § 722(7),6 the Commonwealth appealed directly to
the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which granted review. On the threshold
jurisdictional question of whether review of Lacombe’s challenge should have
been confined to the PCRA, the court noted that it has “consistently decided
cases regarding sexual offender registration statutes that were challenged via
different types of filings.” Id. at 617 (listing “petition to enforce plea
agreement” as one of the qualifying types). The Court expounded:
Our approach in this regard takes into account the fact that
frequent changes to sexual offender registration statutes, along
with more onerous requirements and retroactive application,
complicate registrants’ ability to challenge new requirements
imposed years after their sentences become final.
This is especially so under the PCRA as many registrants, Lacombe
included, would be ineligible for relief on timeliness grounds. See
42 Pa.C.S. § 9545(b)(1) (PCRA petition must be filed within one
year of judgment of sentence becoming final unless exception
applies). Other registrants may be ineligible because their
sentence has expired while their registration requirements
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6 Section 722(7) provides, in relevant part:
The Supreme Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction of appeals
from final orders ... [in m]atters where the court of common pleas
has held invalid as repugnant to the Constitution, treaties or laws
of the United States, or to the Constitution of this Commonwealth,
any treaty or law of the United States or any provision of the
Constitution of, or of any statute of, this Commonwealth, or any
provision of any home rule charter.
42 Pa.C.S. § 722(7).
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continue. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 9543(a)(1) (PCRA petitioner must be
serving sentence to be eligible for relief). Both situations arise
from the fact that the registration period does not begin until
registrants are released from prison, which may be well after their
sentence has become final or may signal the completion of their
sentence.
Id., 234 A.3d at 617–18.
Accordingly, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected the
Commonwealth’s jurisdictional challenge, finding the lower court appropriately
conducted merits review of Lacombe’s petition outside the auspices of the
PCRA.7 For reasons expressed in both Lacombe and other precedent
discussed supra, we find the lower court erred in dismissing as an untimely
PCRA petition Appellant’s petition to enforce the terms of his plea agreement.
In Appellant’s remaining issue, he argues that retroactive imposition of
SORNA II, Subsection I, lifetime registration requirements for his offense
denies him of the benefit of the bargain struck in his negotiated guilty plea.
To this end, he claims a 10-year registration requirement was a “term” of his
plea negotiations that required continued observance by both the
Commonwealth and the court which accepted it, regardless of revised
requirements of successor sexual offender registration laws. As Appellant
raised this issue before the lower court, we may address it presently.
The law on the enforcement of agreements is well
established. “Although a plea agreement occurs in a criminal
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7 The Supreme Court went on to hold that the reduced registration
requirements of SORNA II, Subsection I were constitutional, vacated the lower
court’s order, and reinstated Lacombe’s lifetime registration under Subsection
I. Id., 234 A.3d at 618-627.
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context, it remains contractual in nature and is to be analyzed
under contract-law standards.” [ ]Farabaugh, 136 A.3d [at]
1001 [ ] (citation omitted). “In determining whether a particular
plea agreement has been breached, we look to what the parties
to this plea agreement reasonably understood to be the terms of
the agreement.” Hainesworth, 82 A.3d 447 (citation and
internal quotation marks omitted). When the Commonwealth's
promise or agreement provides consideration for the defendant's
acceptance of the plea, the Commonwealth must fulfill that
promise
Fernandez, 195 A.3d at 308.
Controlling precedent recognizes that petitioners may avoid retroactive
application of new legislation imposing heightened sex offender registration
requirements by demonstrating their registration terms were the product of
plea agreement negotiations. Specifically, such a demonstration may be
made by reference to either a guilty plea made in exchange for an agreement
to nolle prosse or withdraw charges which, if proven at trial, would have
resulted in greater registration requirements, or to a specific
acknowledgement made at the guilty plea or sentencing hearing confirming
that the registration period was a negotiated term. See Farabaugh (finding
registration avoidance a term of negotiations where Commonwealth nolle
prossed felony, which would have required registration, in exchange for plea
to non-reportable charge); Martinez (consideration established by offenders’
respective agreements to plead guilty to lesser charges carrying reduced or
no registration requirement in exchange for either nolle prosse or withdrawal
of most serious offense carrying greater registration requirements);
Hainesworth (affirming order granting claim of specific performance of plea
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agreement and invalidating retroactive application of SORNA registration
requirements where, pursuant to agreement, Commonwealth dropped sole
charge requiring registration in exchange for Appellant’s guilty plea to
remaining charges); and Commonwealth v. Ritz, 153 A.3d 336, 339 (Pa.
Super. 2016) (affirming order granting motion to enforce plea agreement;
though record lacked explicit reference to registration as term of negotiation,
offender pleaded guilty to one charge requiring 10-year registration in
exchange for agreement to nolle prosse remaining charges, which, if
collectively proven at trial, would have subjected offender to lifetime
registration).
In the case sub judice, however, Appellant makes no such
demonstration. At the time his plea negotiations commenced, Appellant faced
one count of IDSI-Person less than 16 years of age, which carried a 10-year
period of registration under Megan’s Law I, and one count of Corruption of
Minors, which carried no registration requirement.
Appellant pleaded guilty to both charges in exchange for the promise of
a reduced sentence of two to five years’ incarceration. In this regard, the
written guilty plea identifies the reduced sentence as the sole negotiated term
of the plea. Furthermore, there was neither the bargaining away of a more
serious offense nor the avoidance of trial and a guilty verdict on multiple
counts that would have subjected Appellant to a lengthier registration period.
Therefore, we conclude that Appellant’s registration period was not a
negotiated term of his plea bargain. In reaching this conclusion, we
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distinguish the present case from those discussed supra, as the record evinces
neither an express acknowledgment that registration was a negotiated term
nor the restructuring of charges and consequential reduction of registration
requirements that would allow for such an inference.
It is well-settled that defendants are entitled to the “benefit of their
bargain” in plea negotiations, but the benefit negotiated and obtained here
pertained only to the duration of Appellant’s sentence. Whether Appellant had
pleaded guilty to, or suffered a guilty verdict on, the charges he faced, a
prescribed 10-year registration period would have resulted. Accordingly, we
affirm the order denying relief on Appellant’s petition to enforce the terms of
his plea agreement, albeit on different grounds.
Order affirmed.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 03/22/2021
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