A three-judge state Superior Court panel has upheld the conviction and prison sentence of a Pine Grove man who drove with a suspended license for the seventh time.
In a six-page opinion filed Wednesday in Pottsville, the panel ruled Michael S. Catherman, 53, showed no reason to overturn either his conviction or his sentence for driving under suspension.
As a result, Catherman must spend two to six months in prison and pay costs and a $1,000 fine, the sentence imposed by Judge Charles M. Miller on Oct. 18, 2011, the day the defendant was convicted of driving under suspension.
State police at Schuylkill Haven had charged Catherman with driving with a suspended license on June 2, 2011, on Route 443 in Washington Township. Police alleged Catherman's vehicle swerved within his lane, crossed the double yellow center line and touched the white fog line.
Magisterial District Judge Carol A. Pankake, Tremont, had found Catherman guilty July 12, 2011, but the defendant appealed that decision July 14, 2011.
In the panel's opinion, Judge Christine Donohue wrote that the section of the Vehicle Code under which Miller sentenced Catherman is a penalty enhancement, not a separate violation, and prosecutors do not need to advise a defendant in advance that they will be using it.
Also, any claim that Catherman's driving record should not have been introduced into evidence is waived, since his lawyer did not object to it during the trial of the case, Donohue wrote.
Judge John L. Musmanno and Senior Judge Robert E. Colville, the other panel members, joined in Donohue's opinion.