Opinion
J-S69008-19 J-S69009-19 J-S69010-19 J-S69011-19 J-S69012-19 No. 3556 EDA 2018 No. 3561 EDA 2018 No. 3563 EDA 2018 No. 3565 EDA 2018 No. 3568 EDA 2018
03-11-2020
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. DOUGLAS PHYFAR Appellant
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered September 27, 2018
In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0011428-2016, CP-51-CR-0011436-2016, CP-51-CR-0011437-2016, CP-51-CR-0011438-2016, CP-51-CR-0011439-2016 BEFORE: SHOGAN, J., KUNSELMAN, J., and COLINS, J. JUDGMENT ORDER BY SHOGAN, J.:
Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.
Appellant, Douglas Phyfar, appeals from the judgments of sentence entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County. Upon review, we quash the above-captioned appeals pursuant to Commonwealth v. Walker , 185 A.3d 969 (Pa. 2018).
On June 19, 2018, Appellant pled guilty to various crimes related to five robberies and attempted robberies that took place over two months. On September 27, 2018, the trial court sentenced Appellant to serve an aggregate term of incarceration of five to twelve years, followed by three years of probation. Appellant filed timely post-sentence motions, which the trial court denied on October 9, 2018. On October 19, 2018, counsel filed three separate notices of appeal, each referencing a single trial court docket number.
Specifically, counsel filed the following notices of appeal: at Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas docket number CP-51-CR-0011428-2016, which received Superior Court docket number 3200 EDA 2018; at Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas docket number CP-51-CR-0011436-2016, which received Superior Court docket number 3201 EDA 2018; and at Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas docket number CP-51-CR-0011439-2016, which received Superior Court docket number 3203 EDA 2018.
On November 14, 2018, Appellant, pro se, filed a single notice of appeal referencing the following five common pleas court docket numbers: CP-51-CR-0011428-2016, CP-51-CR-0011436-2016, CP-51-CR-0011437-2016, CP-51-CR-0011438-2016, and CP-51-CR-0011439-2016. The Superior Court assigned the following docket numbers to Appellant's pro se filing: 3556 EDA 2018, 3561 EDA 2018, 3563 EDA 2018, 3565 EDA 2018, and 3568 EDA 2018.
We note that Appellant's pro se notice of appeal contains three common pleas court docket numbers that are duplicative of the three appeals filed by counsel.
Subsequently, appellate counsel filed with this Court a brief pursuant to Anders v. California , 386 U.S. 738 (1967), and a motion seeking permission to withdraw as counsel referencing eight Superior Court docket numbers, those being the three docket numbers assigned to the appeals filed by counsel and the five docket numbers assigned to the appeals filed by Appellant pro se. Appellant has not filed a response.
In Walker , our Supreme Court addressed the issue of filing separate notices of appeal when a single order resolves issues arising on more than one trial court docket, and held that "prospectively, where a single order resolves issues arising on more than one docket, separate notices of appeal must be filed for each case." Walker , 185 A.3d at 971. "The failure to do so will result in quashal of the appeal." Id. at 977. The Walker decision was rendered on June 1, 2018.
Because Appellant filed his five pro se appeals after the Supreme Court decided Walker , this Court issued orders on January 8, 2019, in each of the five above-cited appeals, directing Appellant to show cause as to why the appeals should not be quashed pursuant to Walker. Appellant's counsel filed a response on January 22, 2019. On May 29, 2019, the Court issued five separate orders indicating that the issues raised pertaining to Walker would be referred to the panel assigned to decide the merits of the appeals.
It is undisputed that Appellant filed a single pro se notice of appeal on November 14, 2018, from the sentences entered at multiple docket numbers. Because Appellant filed his notice of appeal after our Supreme Court's decision in Walker , we are required to quash the above-captioned pro se appeals. See Commonwealth v. Williams , 206 A.3d 573, 576 (Pa. Super. 2019) (quashing non-compliant pro se notice of appeal filed after Walker ). This disposition does not affect the cases at Superior Court docket numbers 3200 EDA 2018, 3201 EDA 2018, and 3203 EDA 2018, which counsel filed in compliance with Walker , and will be addressed in a separate memorandum.
Appeals quashed. Motions to withdraw as counsel filed at docket numbers 3556 EDA 2018, 3561 EDA 2018, 3563 EDA 2018, 3565 EDA 2018, and 3568 EDA 2018, are denied as moot. Judgment Entered. /s/_________
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary Date: 3/11/20