Opinion
June 10, 1974.
September 23, 1974.
Practice — Guilty plea — Colloquy preceding guilty plea — Commonwealth v. Ingram, 455 Pa. 198 (1974) to be applied prospectively only — Record not disclosing that defendant was informed of presumption of innocence.
1. A defendant must be informed on the record of the elements of the crime to which he is pleading guilty. Commonwealth v. Ingram, 455 Pa. 198 (1974).
2. Commonwealth v. Ingram is to be applied prospectively only.
3. In this case, the colloquy preceding defendant's guilty plea disclosed that he was informed of his right to a jury trial; the elements thereof; the crimes with which he was charged and the possible sentence he could receive. The factual basis for the charges against defendant was established. The colloquy failed to show that defendant was informed of the presumption of innocence. It was Held that defendant's guilty plea, which was entered prior to Commonwealth v. Ingram, was valid.
4. Although the colloquy fails to show that the defendant was informed of the presumption of innocence, this alone is not fatal to a guilty plea.
5. It was Held in this case that the defendant's guilty plea was voluntarily and understandingly tendered.
Before WATKINS, P.J., JACOBS, HOFFMAN, CERCONE, PRICE, VAN DER VOORT, and SPAETH, JJ.
Appeal, No. 786, Oct. T., 1974, from order of Court of Common Pleas, Trial Division, of Philadelphia, March T., 1971, Nos. 851 and 852, in case of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Leroy Thompson. Order affirmed.
Petition for post-conviction relief. Before DOTY, J.
Order entered dismissing petition. Defendant appealed.
David Rudovsky, David Kairys, and Kairys Rudovsky, for appellant.
James A. Shellenberger, David Richman, Mark Sendrow, and Steven H. Goldblatt, Assistant District Attorneys, Abraham J. Gafni, Deputy District Attorney, Richard A. Sprague, First Assistant District Attorney, and F. Emmett Fitzpatrick, District Attorney, for Commonwealth, appellee.
Submitted June 10, 1974.
In this case, appellant contends that his guilty plea tendered in 1971 was invalid because the colloquy preceding the plea did not conform with the requirements set forth by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Commonwealth v. Ingram, 455 Pa. 198, 316 A.2d 77 (1974). Because of our decision in Commonwealth v. Hanna, 230 Pa. Super. 194, 326 A.2d 538 (1974), which holds that Ingram is not to be applied to guilty pleas tendered before the date of that decision and because the colloquy satisfied the requirements of pre- Ingram law, we affirm the lower court's denial of relief.
Appellant's plea of guilty to possession of burglary tools, burglary, larceny, and receiving stolen goods was tendered on June 16, 1971, more than two years before the Supreme Court's decision in Ingram. The on-the-record colloquy discloses that appellant was informed by his privately-retained counsel of his right to a jury trial; the elements thereof; and the crimes with which he was charged. The lower court advised appellant of the possible sentence he could receive. There was also testimony establishing a factual basis for the charges and that no plea agreement had been negotiated.
Although the colloquy failed to show that appellant was informed of the presumption of innocence, this alone is not fatal to the plea. Commonwealth v. Ingram, supra. Although Ingram now requires that a defendant be informed on the record of the elements of the crime to which he is pleading, we have held in Commonwealth v. Hanna, supra, that this requirement does not apply to guilty pleas tendered before the date when Ingram was decided.
We are satisfied from our review of the record that appellant's plea was voluntarily and understandingly tendered. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Jackson, 450 Pa. 417, 299 A.2d 209 (1973); Commonwealth v. Maddox, 450 Pa. 406, 300 A.2d 503 (1973); Commonwealth v. Martin, 445 Pa. 49, 282 A.2d 241 (1971); see also Pa. R. Crim. P. 319.
Order affirmed.