Sean Burton v. John E. Wetzel (Secretary of Corrections)

Summary

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court sustained the Secretary of Corrections’ preliminary objection and dismissed Sean Burton’s petition challenging deductions from his inmate account for court-ordered restitution. The court held that a request to modify or terminate a restitution obligation must be directed to the sentencing court, and dismissal was appropriate because the proper criminal-case party was not named.

Holdings

1. A request by an inmate to end Act 84 deductions by removing or modifying a financial obligation imposed in the original criminal sentence must be presented to the sentencing court, not pursued as a civil action seeking injunctive relief against the Department of Corrections.
2. The Commonwealth Court must dismiss, rather than transfer, a petition seeking modification of a criminal restitution order when the proper party to the criminal matter is not named in the petition.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a prisoner may use a civil petition for review seeking an injunction against the Department of Corrections to terminate or modify a restitution obligation imposed as part of a criminal sentence.
2. Whether the Commonwealth Court should transfer the petition to the sentencing court under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5103(a) when the proper criminal-party representative, the District Attorney, is not named in the petition.

Disposition

dismissed