Pennsylvania v. Borrin (opinion announcing the judgment of the court)
Annotate this CaseIn the summer of 2005, in connection with a charity event, several persons were riding motorcycles southbound on Route 309 in Wilkes-Barre. At that same time, Appellee was driving his vehicle on Route 309 in the opposite direction. His child was in the back seat of the car. As the motorcycles approached, Appellee crossed the double yellow line and drove directly into them. One person was killed, and four others were seriously injured. A blood test to which Appellee submitted upon his arrest showed he had .76 nanograms of morphine in his system. As a result, Appellee was charged in a criminal information with multiple offenses including homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence; homicide by vehicle; aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence; accidents involving death or personal injury while not properly licensed; and endangering the welfare of children. Appellee entered an open guilty plea to all 20 counts in the information. On June 9, 2006, Appellee was committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections (“DOC”) to commence serving his jail sentence. Over two years later, the trial court was asked by the DOC to comment on Appellee’s application for participation in a pre-release program. The trial court informed the DOC that Appellee was ineligible for participation in such a program “at this stage of his sentence.” The trial court further informed the DOC that a review of the transcript from Appellee’s sentencing hearing demonstrated "beyond all doubt that the intent of this court was to impose consecutive sentences.” The Commonwealth subsequently filed a Petition to Clarify Sentence, alleging that it and the DOC calculated Appellee’s aggregate term of imprisonment differently. Over Appellee’s objections, the court granted the Commonwealth's Petition and restated Appellee’s sentence. On appeal, the Superior Court held that the trial court did not have the inherent power to issue the latter order. Finding no error with the Superior Court's order, the Supreme Court affirmed.
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