Opinion
October 16, 1974.
Criminal Law — Practice — Plea of guilty — Waiver of right to challenge anything but voluntariness of plea and legality of sentence — Voluntariness.
1. When a defendant pleads guilty to voluntary manslaughter, he waives the right to challenge anything but the legality of his sentence and the voluntariness of his plea.
2. It was Held that defendant knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily tendered his plea of guilty.
Submitted November 8, 1973. Before JONES, C. J., EAGEN, O'BRIEN, ROBERTS, POMEROY, NIX and MANDERINO, JJ.
Appeal, No. 316, Jan. T., 1973, from judgment of sentence of Court of Common Pleas, Trial Division, of Philadelphia, Oct. T., 1972, No. 1708, in case of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Robert Greer. Judgment of sentence affirmed.
Indictment charging defendant with voluntary manslaughter. Before CHALFIN, J., without a jury.
Defendant found guilty of voluntary manslaughter following a plea of guilty and judgment of sentence entered. Defendant appealed.
Barry H. Denker, and Shuman, Denker Land, for appellant.
James T. Ranney and Milton M. Stein, Assistant District Attorneys, Richard A. Sprague, First Assistant District Attorney, and Arlen Specter, District Attorney, for Commonwealth, appellee.
Appellant, Robert Greer, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. On direct appeal to this Court appellant's appointed counsel requested permission to withdraw from further representation. We concluded that because the constitutional prerequisites to withdrawal had not been satisfied, withdrawal would not be permitted. Commonwealth v. Greer, 455 Pa. 106, 314 A.2d 513 (1974); see Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S. Ct. 1396 (1967); Commonwealth v. Baker, 429 Pa. 209, 239 A.2d 201 (1968). Counsel has now, in accordance with our earlier order, complied with the Anders-Baker standard and has been permitted to withdraw. Appellant has declined to supplement counsel's brief and we will therefore consider the merits of this appeal on the basis of that brief.
Appellate Court Jurisdiction Act of 1970, Act of July 31, 1970, P.L. 673, art. II, § 202(1), 17 Pa.C.S.A. § 211.202(1) (Supp. 1974).
When he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, appellant waived the right to challenge anything but the legality of his sentence and the voluntariness of his plea. Commonwealth v. McNeill, 453 Pa. 102, 104, 305 A.2d 51, 53 (1973); Commonwealth v. Zanine, 444 Pa. 361, 363, 282 A.2d 367, 368 (1971); Commonwealth v. Stokes, 426 Pa. 265, 267-68, 232 A.2d 193, 194 (1967).
The sentence imposed — one and one-half to ten years imprisonment — was lawful. Act of June 24, 1939, P.L. 872, § 703, 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 4703 (1963) (now 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 2503 (1973), see 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 1103 (1973)). The only remaining inquiry is whether appellant's plea was voluntary.
Examination of the extensive on-the-record colloquy indicates that appellant knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily tendered his plea of guilty. See Commonwealth v. Bell, 449 Pa. 1, 2-3, 295 A.2d 307, 308-09 (1972); Commonwealth v. Zanine, supra, at 364, 282 A.2d at 368. See also Commonwealth v. Maddox, 450 Pa. 406, 300 A.2d 503 (1973); Pa.R.Crim.P. 319, 319A; ABA Project on Minimum Standards for Criminal Justice, Standards Relating to Pleas of Guilty §§ 1.4-.6 (Approved Draft, 1968); ABA Project on Standards for Criminal Justice, Standards Relating to the Function of the Trial Judge §§ 4.1-.2 (Approved Draft, 1972).
The judgment of sentence is affirmed.