Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Appeal of: Angelo J. Pozza (2018)

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Before this Court is the appeal of Angelo J. Pozza, who challenges an order of the Court of Common Pleas of Wayne County directing the forfeiture of certain of his property pursuant to Sections 6801 and 6802 of the former act commonly known as the Controlled Substances Forfeiture Act, 42 Pa. C.S. §§ 6801-6802.¹ Appellant asserts that this forfeiture exacted an excessive fine in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 13 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. On May 25, 2017, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued its ruling in Commonwealth v. 1997 Chevrolet and Contents Seized from Young, 160 A.3d 153, 192 (Pa. 2017) (Young), which, inter alia, directed a remand to the trial court because it “did not have the benefit of our explication” of the constitutional analysis to be applied. Likewise, here, the Court of Common Pleas of Wayne County did not have the benefit of the Supreme Court's analysis in Young when it issued its order on March 3, 2017. Accordingly, the order of the trial court will be vacated for a new consideration of Appellant's constitutional challenge to the forfeiture of his property using the Supreme Court's explication in Young, 160 A.3d 153.

ORDER

AND NOW, this 20th day of April, 2018, the order of the Court of Common Pleas of Wayne County, dated March 3, 2017, is hereby VACATED and this matter is REMANDED for proceedings using the specific factors set forth in Young, 160 A.3d 153.

Jurisdiction relinquished.

FOOTNOTES

1.   Former Sections 6801 and 6802 of the Forfeiture Act were repealed by the Act of June 29, 2017, P.L. 247. The new version of the Forfeiture Act, which became effective July 1, 2017, is codified at 42 Pa. C.S. §§ 5801-5808.

PER CURIAM