Commonwealth v. Richards, J. - No. (Granted) (petitions for allowance of appeal)
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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA MIDDLE DISTRICT COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, Respondent v. JONATHAN RICHARDS, Petitioner : No. 518 MAL 2022 : : : Petition for Allowance of Appeal : from the Order of the Superior Court : : : : : : ORDER PER CURIAM AND NOW, this 15th day of March, 2023, the Petition for Allowance of Appeal is GRANTED. The issues, as stated by petitioner, are: (1) In light of Alleyne v. United States, 70 U.S. 99 (2013) is it not unconstitutional to consider an acceptance of ARD as a prior offense for sentencing purposes without the procedural protections afforded by Alleyne, i.e., a prior offense can only be determined by proof beyond a reasonable doubt? (2) Is it not fundamentally unfair and a violation of due process to equate a prior acceptance of ARD with a prior conviction for purposes of a recidivist mandatory minimum sentence even though that acceptance involved no proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt? Petitioner’s Motion for Stay of Proceedings is DENIED.
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