Pennsylvania v. Barnes

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Philadelphia police officers executed a search warrant for a residence where appellant Kareem Barnes lived with his two younger brothers. The search of one of the bedrooms yielded a firearm, assorted drugs and drug paraphernalia. As a result, the Commonwealth charged Appellant with possession with intent to deliver ("PWID"), possession of a firearm prohibited, and other related charges. Appellant waived his right to a jury trial and proceeded to a bench trial. At trial, Appellant's youngest brother testified that he, not Appellant, occupied the bedroom where the seized items were found and he, not Appellant, owned the contraband. The trial court, however, did not credit the brother's testimony, and instead, found Appellant guilty of the crimes charged. The trial court sentenced Appellant to 5 to 10 years' imprisonment on the PWID conviction, which included a 5-year mandatory minimum sentence based on the trial court's finding that Appellant was in constructive possession of drugs "in close proximity to" a firearm. No further penalty was imposed for the other convictions. This appeal presented the issue of whether a challenge, on direct appeal, alleging that a mandatory minimum sentence violated "Alleyne v. United States," (133 S.Ct. 2151 (2013)), implicating the "legality" of a sentence for issue preservation purposes, and thus was not waivable. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that an "Alleyne" challenge implicated legality of sentence, and that Appellant's sentence violated "Alleyne." Accordingly, the Court reversed the trial court's decision, vacated Appellant's judgment of sentence, and remanded for resentencing. View "Pennsylvania v. Barnes" on Justia Law