Pennsylvania DUI Attorney
Sentencing Issues
Defendant's first and second guilty pleas to separate charges of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), both entered in same proceeding and in same proceeding as third guilty plea to separate charge of DUI, were properly treated as "prior convictions" for sentencing purposes, where each guilty-plea conviction preceded sentencing on subsequent convictions. Appellant received an aggregate sentence of fifteen (15) months and three (3) days to ten and one-half (10 1/2) years imprisonment in a state correctional institution. Commonwealth v. Misner, 946 A.2d 119 (Pa.Super.,2008).
When there has been a plea agreement involving a negotiated sentence, an appellant may challenge the sentence as being illegal. Commonwealth v. Smith, 447 Pa.Super. 502, 669 A.2d 1008, 1009 (1996).
One who pleads guilty and receives a negotiated sentence may not then seek discretionary review of that sentence. Commonwealth v. Dalberto, 436 Pa.Super. 391, 648 A.2d 16, 20 (1994).
Generally, the "[i]mposition of sentence is vested within the discretion of the sentencing court and will not be disturbed by an appellate court absent a manifest abuse of discretion." Commonwealth v. Griffin, 804 A.2d 1, 7 (Pa.Super.2002).