Com. v. Felder, M. (judgment order)

Annotate this Case
Download PDF
J-S36005-14 NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37 COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA Appellee v. MICHAEL FELDER Appellant No. 2148 EDA 2012 Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence March 7, 2012 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0014896-2009 BEFORE: GANTMAN, P.J., JENKINS, J., and FITZGERALD, J.* JUDGMENT ORDER BY GANTMAN, P.J.: FILED JUNE 27, 2014 Appellant, Michael Felder, appeals from his judgment of sentence entered in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, following his jury trial convictions for first-degree murder, possessing an instrument of crime, violations of the Uniform Firearms Act, aggravated assault, and recklessly endangering another person.1 On March 7, 2012, a jury convicted Appellant of these offenses stemming from a shooting that occurred during a pick-up basketball game at the Shepard Recreation Center. The same day as the without the possibility of parole for the first-degree murder. On March 15, 2012, Appellant filed a timely post-sentence motion, which the court denied ____________________________________________ 1 18 Pa.C.S.A. ยงยง 2502(a); 907; 610; 6108; 2702(a); 2705, respectively. _____________________________ *Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court. J-S36005-14 on July 19, 2012. Appellant filed a timely notice of appeal on July 30, 2012. On August 1, 2012, the court ordered Appellant to file a concise statement of errors complained of on appeal per Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b), which Appellant timely filed on August 17, 2012, along with a request to submit a supplemental Rule 1925(b) statement when all notes of testimony became available. The court granted this request. On February 19, 2013, the court issued a new order to file a supplemental Rule 1925(b) statement, as all the notes of testimony were available. Appellant timely complied on March 11, 2013. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Commonwealth v. Batts, ___ Pa. ___, 66 A.3d 286 (2013), held that under Miller v. Alabama, ___ U.S. forbids a sentencing scheme that mandates life in prison without the Batts, supra at 296. The Batts Court also outlined variou resentencing: time of the offense, his diminished culpability and capacity for change, the circumstances of the crime, the extent of his participation in the crime, his family, home and neighborhood environment, his emotional maturity and development, the extent that familial and/or peer pressure may have affected him, his past exposure to violence, his drug and alcohol history, his ability to deal with the police, his capacity to assist his attorney, his mental health history, and his potential for rehabilitation. Id. at 297 (recognizing Miller applies to all non-final judgments of sentence -2- J-S36005-14 for murder). Instantly, Appellant, the Commonwealth, and the trial court agree Appellant is entitled to a resentencing hearing under Miller because Appellant was seventeen years old on September 3, 2009, and he received judgment of sentence was non-final on June 25, 2012, the date the U.S. Supreme Court issued Miller, and he properly preserved his claim on this direct appeal. Therefore, he is entitled to a resentencing hearing, including consideration of age-related factors and imposition of a minimum sentence. See Batts, supra. Accordingly, we vacate the judgment of sentence and remand for resentencing. Judgment of sentence vacated; proceedings. Jurisdiction is relinquished. Judgment Entered. Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq. Prothonotary Date: 6/27/2014 -3- case remanded for further

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.