Summary
The Pennsylvania Superior Court reviews an appeal from a judgment of sentence for a third DUI conviction. The appellant challenges the trial court's order that his one-to-seven-year prison term run consecutively to a probationary sentence he was already serving for a second DUI conviction. The court holds that under Pa.R.Crim.P. 705(B) and the mandatory consecutive sentencing requirement of 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3804(c.2), the trial court properly imposed the sentence, affirming the judgment.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the trial court erred in ordering the sentence to run consecutively under 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3804(c)(2).
- Whether Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 705(A) requires the trial court to state a definite commencement date for the incarceration sentence.
Holdings
- The trial court correctly imposed a consecutive sentence; the statutory word “shall” makes the consecutive requirement mandatory and the appellate court affirms.
- Rule 705(A) does not apply because Rule 705(B) governs when a defendant is already serving another sentence; thus the trial court’s lack of a specific commencement date is not error.
Key quotations
“A sentence imposed upon an individual under this section … who has two or more prior [DUI] offenses shall be served consecutively to any other sentence the individual is serving and to any other sentence being then imposed by the [trial] court, except for those with which the offense must merge as a matter of law. 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3804(c)(2).” (at 2)
“When imposing a sentence to imprisonment, the [trial court] shall state the date the sentence is to commence. Pa.R.Crim.P. 705(A).” (at 6)
Factual background
Alfonso Lua, Jr. pleaded guilty to a DUI‑controlled substance offense and a driving‑while‑license‑suspended offense. It was his third DUI conviction. He was serving a non‑restrictive probationary sentence for a second DUI that would not expire until February 2027. The trial court sentenced him to one‑to‑seven years’ incarceration, ordering that sentence to run consecutively to the probationary sentence under 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3804(c)(2).
Procedural history
The trial court accepted a guilty plea to three DUI offenses and sentenced the appellant to one to seven years’ incarceration on Count 1 and a $1,000 fine on Count 5, ordering the incarceration to run consecutively to the probationary sentence the appellant was serving for a prior DUI conviction.