3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 2007 Important

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 2007 1

1 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS LANCASTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 2 CRIMINAL 3 4 _______________________________ : 5 COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : : 6 vs. : No. 3179 of 2006 : 7 STANLEY CATERBONE : _______________________________: 8 9 10 11 SENTENCING 12 Before: HONORABLE JAMES P. CULLEN13 Date : October 24, 200714 Place : Courtroom No. 1 15 50 North Duke Street Lancaster, Pennsylvania16 17 18 APPEARANCES: 19 DEBORAH MUZEREUS, ESQUIRE Assistant District Attorney20 For - The Commonwealth 21 JANICE L.M. LONGER, ESQUIRE Court-appointed counsel22 For - The Defendant 23 24 25 ORDERED: 3/4/08 LODGED: ______ FILED: _______ 2

1 P R O C E E D I N G S (11:09 a.m.) 2

3 THE COURT: Are you ready, Ms. Longer?

4 MS. LONGER: I am, Your Honor. However, I had

5 phoned your chambers yesterday in light that in Page 1

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 2007

6 reviewing the presentence investigation yesterday,

7 Mr. Caterbone found what he considers to be significant

8 inaccuracies or misstatements in the report.

9 THE COURT: By whom?

10 MS. LONGER: Well, by -- I guess it would be by

11 the author of the report, that would be Mr. Stiner, but

12 there are also misstatements in some of the

13 attachments.

14 What I explained to Mr. Caterbone is that our

15 procedure normally would be to come in and make those

16 corrections on the record. He has requested additional

17 time, because what he would like to do is actually

18 prepare something in writing and it's -- what I reviewed

19 with him yesterday was just maybe eight points that he

20 had noted as points that needed to be either amplified

21 or modified or disputed and --

22 THE COURT: Well, Mr. Stiner from the probation

23 department is here. We will go over any claims of

24 alleged inaccuracies in the report that Mr. Stiner

25 prepared.

3

1 I believe virtually all of the documents that

2 were attached were provided by Mr. Caterbone. If he

3 claims there are inaccuracies in them, there's nothing

4 we can do about that if he provided the documents.

5 MS. LONGER: Well, Your Honor, as I do on

6 almost all of my cases, I asked Mr. Caterbone to review

7 this just yesterday, the day before sentencing, not

8 anticipating that this would be a problem. So it would

9 be his position that at this point he hasn't had

10 adequate time to review all of this information that's

Page 2

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 200711 in the report.

12 THE COURT: Well, the report itself is about 12

13 and a quarter substantive pages. That omits the

14 signature page and it includes the cover page, which is

15 simply the charges and the very basic biographical

16 information.

17 Now, if your client wants more time to read

18 those, essentially, 11 pages, how much more does he

19 want? Because everything else he submitted.

20 MS. LONGER: Stanley, how much more time would

21 you want?

22 THE DEFENDANT: I'm sorry. Do you mean days?

23 THE COURT: You don't need days to read 11

24 pages, Mr. Caterbone. We're talking minutes.

25 THE DEFENDANT: Well, I'd like to go through

4

1 all of the attachments.

2 THE COURT: Mr. Caterbone, you sent them in.

3 If you didn't read them before you sent them in, we're

4 not spending more time and continuing this case because

5 you chose not to read them.

6 THE DEFENDANT: May I speak, Your Honor?

7 I was told that I couldn't review the

8 presentence report until the psychiatric was done. I

9 was waiting for the psychiatric, which they never

10 completed.

11 THE COURT: Mr. Caterbone, it's my

12 understanding the psychiatric was not done because

13 Dr. Gottlieb -- because of your lawsuit against

14 Lancaster General Hospital and his colleague,

15 Dr. Presley, and he, I understand, is the chief of the

16 medical staff at the General Hospital. Page 3


17 THE DEFENDANT: I understand. But I was

18 told --

19 THE COURT: And there is significant

20 information in the presentence report with respect to

21 your mental health history.

22 It is my view, having read all of the material

23 that you've submitted, that your mental health problems,

24 whatever they may be, are of long-standing duration and

25 since this offense carries a maximum penalty of two

5

1 years' supervision or two years' incarceration, they

2 will not be resolved in that period of time.

3 I will not continue this matter so you can

4 dispute what you submitted. If you wish to take 15

5 minutes or so, if that's what you need to read the 11

6 pages of the presentence report again, I will give you

7 that.

8 THE DEFENDANT: No, I have those inaccuracies

9 documented.

10 THE COURT: All right. Then we apparently are

11 ready to go forward, Miss Longer.

12 MS. LONGER: Well, Your Honor, what he has

13 prepared is a five-page written summary.

14 THE COURT: Well, if you want to submit that in

15 lieu of commenting on it orally, I will accept that.

16 MS. LONGER: Do you want to just submit that or

17 would you just like to go through the report and read

18 the comments?

19 THE DEFENDANT: Let's go through and read it

20 for the record.

21 MS. LONGER: All right.

Page 4

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 200722 I think we can accomplish this by following the

23 report and pointing out page -- pages and lines where

24 there are inaccuracies and presenting the correct

25 information.

6

1 THE COURT: Well, what I will do is consider

2 that when we get to that point. But your request for a

3 continuance of this matter is denied.

4 Do you have anything further?

5 MS. LONGER: With respect to that request?

6 THE COURT: With respect to your request for a

7 continuance or anything else before we proceed.

8 MS. LONGER: No, if that's the Court's ruling,

9 I'll proceed.

10 THE COURT: That's my ruling.

11 MS. LONGER: Then I have nothing further on

12 that issue.

13 THE COURT: All right. The next matter is this

14 post verdict motion filing that was made. Although this

15 is not technically proper since it's not an

16 extraordinary issue, nonetheless, I did consider this

17 and I obtained a response from the Commonwealth.

18 The first issue that's raised is that the

19 verdict was against the weight of the evidence as

20 required by the affirmative defense. Specifically,

21 defendant avers that the jury did not understand and

22 apply the proper burden of proof, preponderance of the

23 evidence in weighing the defendant's affirmative defense

24 of concern for personal safety.

25 Do you have anything further you wish to say

7

1 with respect to that, Ms. Longer? Page 5


2 MS. LONGER: Well, Your Honor, I think that

3 also encompasses the second objection -- or issue in the

4 post verdict motion and --

5 THE COURT: Well, then let me get the second

6 one.

7 The second one is the Court erred in refusing

8 to allow the jury to hear the entire recording of the

9 incident, which would have offered the jury more

10 evidence of the defendant's concern for his personal

11 safety.

12 MS. LONGER: Right. Because one of the reasons

13 that we've raised the weight of the evidence in this

14 case is because it is our position that the jury didn't

15 hear or evaluate all of the evidence since they did not

16 hear the complete tape.

17 Originally, I believe that there was a concern

18 that playing that tape would somehow amount to a

19 violation of the Wire Tap Act, and subsequent to the

20 trial the district attorney and I, with the Court,

21 reviewed the current case law on that issue and it

22 appears that since there was no expectation of privacy

23 in the moment when Mr. Caterbone was pulled over, that

24 this would not -- this recording would not amount to a

25 violation of the Wire Tap.

8

1 Therefore, that recording should have been

2 evaluated or should be evaluated under normal standards

3 applied to relevant evidence. And it would be our

4 position that that evidence is relevant and that it goes

5 directly to the concern for personal safety that he was

6 feeling at that time and is, in fact, corroborative of

Page 6

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 2007 7 the testimony that he gave on the stand.

8 Furthermore, I believe it is the law of the

9 case in that we had a previous trial in this matter and

10 which ended in a mistrial and in that trial the entire

11 tape was allowed to come in and the jury did hear the

12 entire tape, which supports our theory that that tape

13 does, in fact, support the defense and in that instance,

14 in that first trial, it resulted in a hung jury as there

15 were several people on that jury who did believe that

16 Mr. Caterbone had essentially asserted an affirmative

17 defense and proved that defense.

18 THE COURT: Well, we don't know what it was

19 other than the fact it was a hung jury.

20 MS. LONGER: Well, we would support our

21 position that having heard all of the evidence, that

22 there was greater weight given to the affirmative

23 defense that was positive in that trial, just as it was

24 put forth in this trial.

25 THE COURT: Well, there's no way of knowing

9

1 what the jury considered or didn't consider other than

2 the fact that it was a hung jury.

3 Now, it's my understanding when this objection

4 with respect to the Wire Tap act was raised, it was

5 raised right before lunch, that you and Ms. Muzereus --

6 I told you to work it out. You apparently did. I

7 believe the Commonwealth stipulated to the tape being

8 played even though your client on the stand was not able

9 to authenticate the tape.

10 I don't recall ever having to formally rule on

11 the issue of an objection under the Wire Tap Act. You

12 are certainly correct that when we all reviewed the law Page 7


13 that the initial concern I had when it was raised by the

14 Commonwealth that this may have been a violation, in

15 fact, was incorrect because of the expectation of

16 privacy issue.

17 However, I don't recall ever ruling on that and

18 you and Ms. Muzereus in effect worked this out. You got

19 your tape in up until a certain point in this pursuit at

20 which point it was turned off. I was never presented

21 with issues with respect to whether this was cumulative,

22 whether it was relevant, whether it was an adequate

23 foundation, whether it was authenticated, or anything

24 else. None of these issues were presented because of

25 the agreements of counsel.

10

1 There is no transcript, as I understand it, yet

2 of this proceeding. So at this point, unless the

3 Commonwealth has something different, I don't know how

4 these issues can be addressed.

5 Do you have anything different, Ms. Muzereus?

6 MS. MUZEREUS: No, Your Honor.

7 THE COURT: Well, these will be denied. That's

8 without prejudice to your right to raise them in a

9 postsentence motion at which time if you have the

10 transcript ordered we can address it and see exactly

11 what happened.

12 But it's my recollection that counsel worked

13 this whole matter out and if that is, in fact, accurate

14 I never ruled on anything. So a ruling I never made

15 cannot be erroneous.

16 The third issue is defendant's request for a

17 new trial is further supported by the following

Page 8

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 200718 allegations which were provided to counsel in

19 correspondence:

20 The first paragraph, in the last trial the jury

21 took almost six hours to return a hung jury with a

22 nine/three count.

23 In this case the jury deliberated approximately

24 30 minutes with a twelve/zero guilty verdict. That

25 defies logic when you consider not much of the trial was

11

1 different.

2 Do you have anything you wish to add to that?

3 MS. LONGER: Well, I think that also supports

4 our first contention that there was evidence that was

5 excluded from this trial that should have been heard and

6 evaluated by the jury.

7 I think that's all I have to say on that.

8 THE COURT: Do you have anything further on

9 that?


11 THE COURT: That's denied. The fact that he

12 had two different results from two different juries

13 simply happens as a result of trying a case in front of

14 two different jurors. If you try this case in front of

15 10 different juries, you may get six guilty verdicts,

16 four not guilty, 10 acquittals, 10 convictions. You

17 have no way of knowing what's going to happen. Every

18 jury is different. That's not a basis for any type of

19 relief.

20 Paragraph 2: The refusal of Judge Cullen to

21 recuse himself. When Ms. Cathy Harrison, a county

22 employee, e-mailed me in 2005 and tried to intimidate me

23 about my civil action against the county by saying that, Page 9


24 quote, Maryanne Cullen knows people in high places, end

25 paren, PA, close paren, AG, meaning Attorney General,

12

1 close paren, office, close quote.

2 Do you have anything to add to that?

3 MS. LONGER: Your Honor, we addressed that

4 issue before the trial actually started. As the Court

5 is well aware, Mr. Caterbone perceives that there is a

6 conflict of interest in that the judge should have

7 recused himself by virtue of the fact --

8 THE COURT: Wait a minute. This is a different

9 issue. Before trial we talked about the fact that he

10 filed a lawsuit against numerous parties, including

11 myself, which was found to be frivolous. That issue is

12 on appeal.

13 MS. LONGER: Well, this -- I thought we had

14 also addressed this --

15 THE COURT: He made an unsupported claim that

16 my wife at one point represented someone in his family

17 in an estate matter, which in open court he admitted was

18 incorrect.

19 I don't know anything about this situation he's

20 referring to in 2005. I believe this criminal complaint

21 was not even filed until sometime in 2006, and the

22 matter was not tried until 2007.

23 Now, do you have this e-mail?

24 MS. LONGER: Do you actually have the actual

25 e-mail?

13

1 This was e-mailed to me.

2 THE COURT: Well, I want the e-mail supposedly

Page 10

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 2007 3 from this Cathy Harrison woman

4 THE DEFENDANT: I thought you had it. I don't

5 have it with me.

6 MS. LONGER: Do you actually have the original

7 e-mail? Because when you e-mail me something, you're

8 just e-mailing me a copy.

9 THE DEFENDANT: When you say original, what do

10 you mean? I mean, I don't have the original computer I

11 guess that I took the e-mail from. I'd have to go to

12 Microsoft to get the original one.

13 MS. LONGER: I don't know whether the original

14 e-mail can be retrieved from the computer at this

15 point.

16 The information that was provided to me by

17 Mr. Caterbone is that he basically summarized the

18 essence of that e-mail and this was information --

19 THE COURT: He summarized the absence of it?

20 MS. LONGER: The essence of the e-mail that he

21 received from this Cathy Harrison.

22 This information was provided to me by

23 Mr. Caterbone after the trial.

24 THE COURT: And, obviously, it was not provided

25 to me before the trial.

14

1 MS. LONGER: No. I think we had discussed this

2 issue of whether your wife -- well, I recall that we

3 discussed in chambers whether your wife represented a

4 member of his family at one point.

5 THE COURT: Which he concedes was incorrect.

6 MS. LONGER: Right. And I could be wrong about

7 this, but I thought we had also discussed whether your

8 wife had dealings with or taken a position publicly with Page 11


9 respect to the convention center that's been an ongoing

10 issue in this county, because this --

11 THE COURT: I don't know whether she has or has

12 not.

13 MS. LONGER: Well, this information that

14 Mr. Caterbone has is that a county employee basically

15 said that Maryanne Cullen would interfere with

16 Mr. Caterbone's attempts to take civil action against

17 the county because Mrs. Cullen knows people in the

18 Attorney General's office.

19 That's my understanding of the complaint.

20 THE COURT: So, as I understand it, this is

21 something by some county employee about what my wife is

22 supposed to be doing about the convention center, which

23 is not involved in this litigation at all.

24 Is that the essence of it?

25 MS. LONGER: Yes.

15

1 THE COURT: And I'm not involved in this at all

2 other than the fact I'm married to my wife?

3 MS. LONGER: Right.

4 THE COURT: Well, for the benefit of the

5 record, this Cathy Harrison woman, as I understand it,

6 is a candidate for city council. I have been told I met

7 this woman, although I have no recollection of having

8 done so, when my wife handed out political literature in

9 connection with her campaign.

10 I could not pick this woman out of a lineup

11 today. I have never, to my knowledge, spoken to this

12 woman about the convention center or anything else other

13 than whatever pleasantries we may have exchanged when I

Page 12

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 200714 was introduced to her when she dropped off this campaign

15 literature to my wife.

16 Without a specific e-mail in front of me that

17 indicates anything, this is nothing but a hearsay

18 allegation involving somebody reporting the fact that my

19 wife knows people in the Attorney General's office and I

20 cannot possibly see how that has anything to do with my

21 impartiality in this case.

22 This also was never brought up before trial as

23 a matter so I could have addressed it then when I would

24 have told you what I just told you now. If I met this

25 woman, it was one occasion when she dropped off campaign

16

1 literature which my wife distributed on her behalf and I

2 would not know this woman if she walked in the

3 courthouse right now. So I see no basis to proceed with

4 that.

5 The next paragraph: The fact that on Monday

6 you sent an e-mail that Judge Georgelis recused himself

7 on Monday from this trial and that Judge Cullen, you or

8 Deborah Muzereus, Assistant District Attorney, failed to

9 admit that and put that on the record during the ruling

10 on the motion for recusal.

11 What is that about?

12 MS. LONGER: Yes. My understanding of that is

13 that when this case was called to trial in the June

14 trial term it was originally assigned to Judge

15 Georgelis, who recused himself, I thought on the basis

16 that he had been named in one of the defendant's

17 numerous civil suits naming judges on the bench as

18 defendants.

19 So Mr. Caterbone's position is that if one Page 13


20 judge recused himself on that basis, then any other

21 judge who is a defendant in the civil lawsuits must also

22 recuse himself on that basis.

23 These civil suits, as I understand it, are

24 still pending. They have not been resolved and,

25 therefore --

17

1 THE COURT: Which civil suits involving me have

2 not been resolved? The only one in which I am aware I

3 am a defendant is the one that was dismissed as

4 frivolous and is currently on appeal.

5 MS. LONGER: There's a matter pending in the

6 United States District Court for the Eastern District of

7 Pennsylvania captioned --

8 THE COURT: Am I a named defendant?

9 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, you were, Your Honor.

10 MS. LONGER: The defendant's list is quite

11 exhaustive. I'll just need a minute to review it.

12 Where is it, Stanley?

13 THE COURT: Do you have the caption of the

14 case?

15 THE DEFENDANT: Yes. It's Caterbone v.

16 Lancaster County Prison, et al.

17 THE COURT: Ms. Longer, do you know what type

18 of action that appears to be?

19 THE DEFENDANT: That was the original complaint

20 I filed in 2005, Your Honor. It's still pending.

21 THE COURT: Well, Mr. Caterbone, I'm not

22 speaking to you. I'm speaking to your attorney.

23 THE DEFENDANT: I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Your

24 Honor.

Page 14

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 200725 MS. LONGER: There are counts of Rico, federal

18

1 false claims act, extortion, defamation, slander,

2 wrongful interference of business relations, wrongful

3 interference of contracts, breach of contract, a plea

4 for an account, deceptive and fraudulent practices,

5 breach of fiduciary duty, unfair competition --

6 THE COURT: Am I named as a defendant in this?

7 MS. LONGER: I don't see any judges named as a

8 named defendant on the defendant's list, but

9 Mr. Caterbone advises that this is not the complete

10 defendant's list. What I'm looking at is actually an

11 amendment to the complaint that was filed on October

12 15th, so I am --

13 THE COURT: Of what year?

14 MS. LONGER: Of this year, October of 2007.

15 THE COURT: Well, I've never been served with

16 process in any type of federal proceeding, and if I'm

17 not on -- named as a defendant, I'm not going to

18 consider that as a basis for recusal.

19 As you indicated, there are no judges who are

20 named there.

21 MS. LONGER: Well, I'm looking at the amended

22 complaint. I don't have the original.

23 THE COURT: Well, then that's the one that's

24 currently pending if he's amended it.

25 THE DEFENDANT: I don't have these with me.

19

1 There are two federal suits.

2 MS. LONGER: This has two numbers on it.

3 There may be another complaint out there that I

4 don't -- that Mr. Caterbone does not have with him.Page 15


5 THE COURT: Well, we're talking about what's in

6 here and I'm not going to take these vague allegations

7 as a basis for recusal.

8 I can represent to you I've never been served

9 with process. I have never been contacted by anybody in

10 the federal court system.

11 The only action of which I am aware is a habeas

12 corpus filing that was made in the Eastern District, and

13 for some reason Mr. Caterbone has sent me copies of

14 things, although I'm not named as a defendant in that

15 case either.

16 Do you have anything on this, Ms. Muzereus?

17 MS. MUZEREUS: I don't, Your Honor. I know

18 that there are numerous lawsuits filed by the defendant

19 and I receive copies of a lot of things. I am not aware

20 that you are a named defendant in any case.

21 THE COURT: Do you have anything else,

22 Ms. Longer?

23 MS. LONGER: What Mr. Caterbone has just

24 explained to me, Your Honor, is that this amended

25 complaint was due by October 15th, 2007. He has filed

20

1 the amended complaint.

2 It is his understanding -- and I'm not going to

3 comment on whether it's a correct understanding or

4 not -- that the judge has to notify him that this

5 amended complaint has been accepted and he will then

6 have 120 days to serve all of the parties who have been

7 named.

8 THE COURT: Then it is a determination that

9 it's not frivolous on its face.

Page 16

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 200710 MS. LONGER: Excuse me?

11 THE COURT: It's a determination by the Court

12 it's not frivolous on its face.

13 MS. LONGER: Well, I'm -- I'm not familiar with

14 the status of this case. I don't know whether there

15 were preliminary -- you know, in the state system there

16 would be preliminary objections raised and he would have

17 an opportunity to amend his complaint to address those

18 preliminary objections.

19 In the federal system there may have been a

20 motion to dismiss that was denied with relief to amend.

21 THE COURT: If he's proceeding pro se --

22 MS. LONGER: He is.

23 THE COURT: -- it may very well be that the

24 Court will not do anything with it until it's determined

25 whether it's frivolous on its face or not.

21

1 MS. LONGER: Your Honor, may I take a moment to

2 get some more information from Mr. Caterbone?

3 THE COURT: You may.

4 MS. LONGER: Okay. Mr. Caterbone's

5 understanding is that some of these causes of action

6 have already been deemed to be of merit by the District

7 Court.

8 THE COURT: Well, I'm not inclined to take your

9 client's word for what is determined to be meritorious

10 by the Federal Court. That is a matter of record

11 somewhere.

12 Do you have anything else with respect to this

13 motion?

14 MS. LONGER: I don't have any additional

15 information at this point.Page 17


16 THE COURT: Well, I will bring to your

17 attention that in the case of Caterbone v. CopyMax, et

18 al., which is a civil docket number, CI-07-03924,

19 Mr. Caterbone apparently accused me of improperly

20 delaying the settlement of that case.

21 Correspondence was sent to me by the attorney

22 representing the defendant requesting a settlement

23 hearing and asking that I recuse myself because

24 Mr. Caterbone did not wish me to preside.

25 I wrote back to counsel indicating it was

22

1 unnecessary to have a hearing, that the matter could

2 simply be settled by the parties with an exchange of

3 documents. There was no need for judicial intervention

4 because there were no minors, it is not a wrongful death

5 case, there was nothing that required court

6 intervention.

7 I also told the attorney if they wish to file

8 any of these settlement documents with the Prothonotary,

9 they were free to do that, or if she still wished to

10 have a hearing on the matter to call my chambers and

11 schedule it. I declined to recuse myself because no

12 basis was given.

13 In response to that correspondence with counsel

14 with a copy to Mr. Caterbone, I received a letter dated

15 September 15, 2007, from Mr. Caterbone in which he

16 apologized for accusing me of delaying the settlement of

17 this case. He claims to have been misled and that the

18 defendant's counsel possibly had been misled into

19 believing that judicial involvement was required to

20 record the settlement. He says, regardless, I apologize

Page 18

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 200721 for the accusation and thank you for setting the record

22 straight.

23 He does not explain how he managed to be misled

24 and how counsel managed to be misled about something so

25 fundamentally simple.

23

1 You may see this if you wish, Ms. Longer. I

2 simply call this to your attention because Mr. Caterbone

3 apparently views recusing motions as a means to

4 disqualify every member of this Court apparently in the

5 hope that he can then avoid the legal consequences of

6 his behavior.

7 Now, to the extent I can document in his own

8 submissions the error of his ways or where he has

9 admitted in open court he is incorrect, I have done so.

10 I have no personal bias whatsoever against your

11 client. However, at some point someone is left to

12 address Mr. Caterbone's cases. For better or for worse,

13 I am that person since almost every other judge in this

14 Courthouse, to my knowledge, who sits in the criminal or

15 civil division, has recused themselves from handling

16 Mr. Caterbone's cases.

17 There is such a thing as a rule of necessity

18 that somebody has to handle these matters so long as

19 Mr. Caterbone keeps bringing them forward. I have no

20 animosity whatsoever toward him. I am perfectly willing

21 to hear whatever issue he wishes to submit. I have yet

22 to see a legitimate basis advanced for my recusal and I

23 will not do so in this instance.

24 Now, are you ready to proceed with sentencing?

25 MS. LONGER: Well, we still have to address the

24Page 19


1 issue of the corrections in the presentence.

2 THE COURT: That's the second part.

3 At this point I was addressing your post

4 verdict motions. As I said, the first two you may

5 refile without prejudice should you file a postsentence

6 motion. The others are denied.

7 MS. LONGER: Well, just one additional

8 consideration for this recusal issue --

9 THE COURT: I'm not going to hear that,

10 Ms. Longer, because I have absolutely no confidence in

11 the legitimacy of your client's complaints. He simply

12 makes them in the hope that he will eliminate every

13 judge which could possibly hear his cases and that will

14 not happen.

15 MS. LONGER: Your Honor, I don't think he's

16 motivated by a desire to eliminate every potential

17 judge. I think that he -- Mr. Caterbone has had

18 numerous contacts with the criminal justice system in

19 this county and with other county officials that lead

20 him to believe that he can't get a fair shake in this

21 county.

22 And I am aware that in other cases where the

23 District Attorney's office perceives that there is some

24 kind of conflict or -- I guess in this case the conflict

25 isn't actually with the DA's office, but more so with

25

1 the fact that he perceives that there is a conflict of

2 interest with members of the Bench, would it -- would it

3 not be appropriate in an instance like this to, perhaps,

4 have someone else prosecute the case -- for example, the

5 Attorney General's office -- if this individual believes

Page 20

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 2007 6 that he's not getting a fair shake in front of the local

7 court system? I mean, that's the --

8 THE COURT: We will not replace a judge of this

9 court. I'm dealing only with my own recusal. Nothing

10 has been said about the District Attorney's office.

11 Now, he makes, to the extent that his own words

12 or writings demonstrate they are false, I've given you

13 two instances where he has made accusations that have

14 been false and he has admitted they are false.

15 He does not have this e-mail that purportedly

16 was sent by this woman two years ago, which again makes

17 no reference to me, my handling this of case, or

18 anything else.

19 He simply makes completely unsupported

20 allegations and expects that the legal system will

21 simply come to a screeching halt so his cases will not

22 be adjudicated.

23 The system does not work that way. If he

24 presents a legitimate basis for recusal, I will

25 certainly consider it. I don't think anyone is rushing

26

1 to the head of the line to preside over Mr. Caterbone's

2 cases. He simply makes allegations with no support

3 whatsoever, each of which I have taken seriously and

4 each of which I have tried to address.

5 MS. LONGER: Well, if --

6 THE COURT: But I will not recuse myself

7 because he has not presented any legitimate basis for

8 doing so. I have nothing against your client. I didn't

9 even know him until he introduced himself to me at one

10 point in the coffee shop. I assumed he was an attorney

11 from outside the county because I had never laid eyes on Page 21


12 him before. And he approached me to complain about

13 Judge Allison.

14 THE DEFENDANT: I did not.

15 MS. LONGER: Well, if I could just verify one

16 thing. If he had the original e-mail from Cathy

17 Harrison, would that -- would that give us a different

18 result in this motion for recusal?

19 THE COURT: No; because I don't know what some

20 third party with whom I have no relationship chooses to

21 say about my wife in some completely unknown context.

22 MS. LONGER: Well, simply that political

23 influence may be brought to bear because Mr. Caterbone

24 has filed these civil lawsuits.

25 THE COURT: By whom? I have absolutely no

27

1 political ambitions and I can assure you no one is going

2 to tap me for any position which requires political

3 appointment to anything.

4 MS. LONGER: All right. I just wanted to make

5 sure that I covered all of the bases.

6 THE COURT: Well, as I said, you have presented

7 no legitimate basis for recusal. That request is

8 denied.

9 Now we will proceed to sentencing.

10 MS. LONGER: The first correction would be on

11 Page 4. There's an indication on the right-hand side of

12 the page under the column headed attorney that

13 Mr. Bomberger had represented Mr. Caterbone in

14 harassment and disorderly citations.

15 Mr. Caterbone's position is that he litigated

16 those matters pro se. He would -- he would say that he

Page 22

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 200717 was not represented by Mr. Bomberger.

18 THE COURT: That makes no difference whatsoever

19 as far as any sentence to be imposed.

20 MS. LONGER: Okay. On Page 5, Line 5,

21 Mr. Caterbone believes that this is somewhat misstated.

22 He claims that he did not run the dry cleaning business

23 with his mother. He helped her and provided support in

24 consulting at an early age, but the business was

25 actually sold in ninth grade -- when he was in ninth

28

1 grade. So that's just a matter of clarification.

2 Page 6, Line 6, the reference to his brother,

3 Phil, Phil did not play professional football. Michael

4 Caterbone played professional football.

5 Page 6, Line --

6 THE COURT: Wait a minute. Go ahead.

7 MS. LONGER: On Page 6, Line 6, just underneath

8 there, Mr. Caterbone disputes that he reported that he

9 was closest to his father.

10 THE DEFENDANT: No, I did not report that.

11 MS. LONGER: He did not report that.

12 THE COURT: Are you saying Mr. Stiner made that

13 up?

14 THE DEFENDANT: I did not report that, Your

15 Honor.

16 THE COURT: Well, was there anybody else in the

17 room besides you and Mr. Stiner?

18 THE DEFENDANT: I'm not sure when that

19 conversation took place to be honest.

20 THE COURT: Fine. This has nothing to do with

21 the sentence to be imposed, either, but if he wants to

22 dispute it, fine. Page 23


23 MS. LONGER: Staying on Page 6, Line 9, he does

24 still have contact with his family and has continued

25 that contact in the past several years. It just has not

29

1 been contact on a regular basis.

2 He visited his brothers Steve and Mike and his

3 mother in Florida in January of 2005. In October of

4 2006, his mother and his two brothers came to Lancaster

5 for a week and stayed at the Fremont Street address with

6 Mr. Caterbone. And in July and August of 2005, he

7 traveled to Austin, Texas, to visit his brother, Phil.

8 Continuing along those lines, on Page 6, Line

9 10, Mr. Caterbone did not say that he would not discuss

10 his family. However, he did indicate that he would not

11 discuss issues that are now before the United States

12 District Court in Case Number 2288 of 2005. In fact,

13 the report indicates that he did discuss his family

14 quite a bit with Mr. Stiner.

15 On Page 6 --

16 THE COURT: You'll have to wait until I make

17 that note.

18 MS. LONGER: Okay.

19 THE COURT: Go ahead.

20 MS. LONGER: Okay. Staying on Page 6, we're

21 now at Line 22, Mr. Caterbone has this to say with

22 respect to the sale of his property: My property and

23 residence, 220 Stonehill Road, Conestoga, was illegally

24 sold at Sheriff's sale on December 20, 2005, which

25 issues are still pending before the court.

30

1 All of my contents were stolen when Parula Penn

Page 24

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 2007 2 Settlement illegally took possession of the property

3 before the Sheriff's deed and settlement proceeds were

4 distributed on February 1, 2006.

5 From December 2, 2006 until February 1, 2007, I

6 was the only person legally allowed to have possession

7 of the property. In addition, an eviction notice was

8 required to remove me from that property after February

9 1, 2007. All of these matters are still pending before

10 the court.

11 And he did get a distribution from his

12 insurance company for stolen property since that time.

13 Shall I go on?

14 THE COURT: I'll listen to whatever you have to

15 say.

16 MS. LONGER: All right. Page 7, he was not

17 asked in person regarding drug use by Joel Stiner. In

18 other words, the information that Mr. Stiner put in the

19 report must have been based on conclusions that

20 Mr. Stiner made based on information that Mr. Caterbone

21 provided.

22 Page 8, Line 23 --

23 THE COURT: Wait a minute. They must have been

24 conclusions based on information Mr. Caterbone

25 provided?

31

1 MS. LONGER: Well, that's the only way I can --

2 if Mr. Caterbone didn't give him this information, then

3 I'm assuming Mr. Stiner was drawing conclusions based on

4 other information that he gave him.

5 THE COURT: Well, I don't know how you draw a

6 conclusion that Mr. Caterbone used cocaine once from

7 other information unless Mr. Caterbone said it. I don't Page 25


8 know how you draw a conclusion that Mr. Caterbone said

9 he smoked marijuana a few times when he was in college

10 unless Mr. Caterbone said it.

11 MS. LONGER: Well, he doesn't recall discussing

12 this in person with Mr. Stiner.

13 THE COURT: Well, there's a difference between

14 a claim of I don't recall and I didn't do it.

15 MS. LONGER: Well, his belief is that he did

16 not have this discussion.

17 THE COURT: So then it's his position that

18 Mr. Stiner made this up?

19 MS. LONGER: No, I'm misstating.

20 THE DEFENDANT: Just -- I was trying to note

21 that report didn't match up with what -- with what -- it

22 didn't match up with what General Hospital said, because

23 General Hospital lied on their report. There were

24 inconsistencies.

25 MS. LONGER: What we're talking about is the

32

1 drug use right now.

2 Now we're going to the psychiatric evaluation.

3 We have this information to add with respect to

4 the psychiatric evaluation.

5 THE COURT: Now, wait a minute. What happened

6 with this situation with the drug use? Is it your

7 client's position Mr. Stiner just made this all up?

8 THE DEFENDANT: No. I can't see the report in

9 front of me. What I was trying to say was that -- see,

10 I made these notes up after I left her office. I have

11 to read the report.

12 May I read the report, Your Honor?

Page 26

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 200713 MS. LONGER: This is what he's talking about.

14 THE DEFENDANT: I thought it said that he has

15 used illegal -- okay. It's the General Hospital report

16 that was not right, Your Honor. The General Hospital

17 report said that I used marijuana on a regular basis,

18 which was incorrect.

19 THE COURT: Mr. Caterbone, that's not what

20 we're talking about. What we're talking about is on

21 Page 7 where it indicates, quote, Mr. Caterbone stated

22 that he smoked marijuana a few times while he was in

23 college. He stated that he would not smoke it on a

24 regular basis. He reported that he tried cocaine once.

25 Mr. Caterbone indicated that he has not used any illegal

33

1 drugs since college.

2 THE DEFENDANT: I'm not disputing that. After

3 seeing it --

4 THE COURT: Well, that's what Ms. Longer was

5 just correcting saying that you didn't tell that to

6 Mr. Stiner.

7 Now, you told him that or you didn't.

8 THE DEFENDANT: I'm not -- I don't remember the

9 discussion. I'm not disputing that.

10 Your Honor, I was told yesterday in her office

11 that this sentencing was going to be continued and I was

12 going to get more time for this.

13 MS. LONGER: I told him I would request a

14 continuance.

15 THE COURT: Well, Mr. Caterbone, this is

16 exactly the type of problem that you keep presenting. I

17 have just spent time discussing with your attorney the

18 corrections to the presentence report because you Page 27


19 maintain this information about the marijuana use in

20 college and trying cocaine once was false.

21 THE DEFENDANT: No, that's not what I said. My

22 note says here, Your Honor --

23 THE COURT: I'm not reading your note. I'm

24 reading what's in the presentence report. I am

25 referencing the discussion I was having with your

34

1 attorney. Since there are only two people, to my

2 knowledge, when you're interviewed by Mr. Stiner, if you

3 say you didn't say it, that means Mr. Stiner made it up.

4 THE DEFENDANT: That's not what I said. That's

5 not what I said.

6 Line 7. May I read it? Line 7, was not asked

7 in person regarding drug use by Joel Stiner in that

8 manner.

9 THE COURT: Well, that is not in the

10 presentence report. That is something you chose to

11 write at some other time.

12 Now, if you are admitting that what is in this

13 report is true, we don't have a problem and we'll move

14 on.

15 THE DEFENDANT: That's what I said. That's

16 what I just said, Your Honor. That's what I said, Your

17 Honor.

18 MS. LONGER: Okay. I think I -- I think I know

19 why this has been brought up. The last sentence on Page

20 8 indicates that a psychiatric evaluation was performed

21 by Dr. Gottlieb on September 19th, 2007. That report

22 will be forwarded to the Court upon receipt.

23 We all expected that psychiatric evaluation to

Page 28

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 200724 take place.

25 THE COURT: And it did not.

35

1 MS. LONGER: And it did not. So I'm

2 interpreting this to mean that Mr. Stiner probably

3 dictated this at a time when he didn't know the report

4 would not be forthcoming.

5 And this is what Mr. Caterbone says in his

6 notes: That there was no psychiatric evaluation

7 performed, nor is there any report forthcoming from

8 Dr. Gottlieb. Dr. Gottlieb recused himself.

9 Do I need to go on?

10 THE DEFENDANT: Yeah.

11 THE COURT: Well, we all know that. That's

12 not -- that's not in dispute.

13 MS. LONGER: Okay.

14 THE DEFENDANT: But it's in the report, which

15 is wrong.

16 MS. LONGER: So we're correcting that. There

17 is no report.

18 THE DEFENDANT: Right.

19 MS. LONGER: On Page 9, Line 9 has to do with

20 his -- his activities with Advanced Media Group. I will

21 read directly from Mr. Caterbone's notes. I did not

22 leave Advanced Media Group because they are in Chapter

23 11. Advanced Media Group is not listed in my Chapter 11

24 Bankruptcy Case Number 23059 of 2005.

25 A Chapter 11 reorganization is filed to

36

1 continue a business and to restore creditors and I am

2 still the President and CEO of Advanced Media Group,

3 which is still an ongoing concern with clients and Page 29


4 revenues.

5 THE COURT: Do you have any other corrections?

6 MS. LONGER: Continuing on that same page,

7 Mr. Caterbone has this to say with respect to his

8 employment with Pflumm Contractors. I did not leave

9 Pflumm Contractors to pursue Advanced Media Group.

10 I had submitted detailed supporting documents

11 that prove I was forced and/or locked out of Pflumm

12 Contractors, Inc. in January of 1998. This is the

13 subject of current litigation in the US District Court,

14 Docket Number 2288 of 2005, for which I have filed

15 complaints concerning the same.

16 I will note for the Court that although this is

17 a rather voluminous report with many attachments, there

18 were numerous other attachments submitted by

19 Mr. Caterbone that were not attached simply because of

20 the volume, but I did review them in Mr. Stiner's office

21 before I got this presentence investigation and I do

22 know that he did submit some -- that Mr. Caterbone did

23 submit some details about the District Court case,

24 which --

25 THE COURT: That has nothing to do with his

37

1 sentencing.

2 MS. LONGER: Okay. Page 10. Mr. Caterbone

3 does not have legal expenses of $46,000.

4 What he says is that he has legal billings

5 which are a receivable with regards to his financials

6 for being a pro se litigant. The $46,000 would be

7 listed as an asset, not a liability.

8 THE COURT: So he claims these are legal fees

Page 30

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 2007 9 owed to him because he's representing himself?

10 THE DEFENDANT: If it gets to that point,

11 correct. I don't have expenses of $46,000 of legal --

12 THE COURT: We'll pass over the fact that pro

13 se litigants can recover attorney's fees, but I'll note

14 that change.

15 MS. LONGER: Page 11. The summary of charges

16 does not reflect the facts of the case.

17 THE COURT: Well, that's a factual dispute.

18 The jury heard the evidence.

19 MS. LONGER: It also -- yes, it also

20 contradicts the affidavit of probable cause that was

21 attached to the complaint.

22 Continuing on Page 11, Line 29, Mr. Caterbone

23 disputes that he was ever examined by Dr. Mastropietro

24 for any psychological illnesses.

25 THE COURT: He was what?

38

1 MS. LONGER: He was never examined by

2 Dr. Mastropietro for psychiatric illnesses.

3 THE COURT: Well, he submitted a report. I

4 believe that is attached.

5 MS. LONGER: Well, Dr. Mastropietro is a family

6 physician -- he's not a psychiatrist -- and has been the

7 family doctor since Mr. Caterbone was in his teens.

8 Mr. Caterbone went to see him on occasion for blood work

9 and medication levels and on occasion to provide

10 prescriptions for medication already prescribed.

11 THE COURT: Well, according to the documents

12 submitted by Mr. Caterbone, it appears to be an office

13 note from Dr. Mastropietro dated July 17th, 1998. After

14 reviewing the high blood pressure -- excuse me -- Page 31


15 weight, blood pressure, it indicates, patient suffers

16 from bipolar disorder; is on Lithium; needs Lithium

17 levels. It says, not seeing a psychiatrist at this

18 point. Only other medical problem is H/O

19 hypohypnopedia.

20 MS. LONGER: Well, his response to that would

21 be that Dr. Mastropietro did not make that diagnosis.

22 THE COURT: Do you have anything else?

23 MS. LONGER: On Page 12, again, Advanced Media

24 Group is not in Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is not listed

25 on the docket number that is referenced there.

39

1 Advanced Media Group was incorporated in 1991

2 and filed as a fictitious name in 2000.

3 THE DEFENDANT: No. There's two companies.

4 MS. LONGER: Let me correct that. Advanced

5 Media Group Limited was incorporated in 1991 and

6 Advanced Media Group was filed as a fictitious name in

7 2000.

8 THE COURT: So that's not a corporation?

9 THE DEFENDANT: One is and one is not.

10 THE COURT: Mr. Caterbone, I'm speaking to your

11 attorney.

12 THE DEFENDANT: I'm sorry, Your Honor.

13 THE COURT: So Advanced Media Group is not a

14 corporation?

15 THE DEFENDANT: Correct.

16 MS. LONGER: Correct. Advanced Media Group

17 Limited is.

18 THE COURT: Do you have anything else?

19 MS. LONGER: No other corrections.

Page 32

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 200720 THE COURT: All right. Have your client come

21 forward, please.

22 Mr. Caterbone, do you want to move over so your

23 attorney can get to the podium.

24 THE DEFENDANT: I'm sorry.

25 THE COURT: All right. I've noted the

40

1 corrections you've made to the presentence report.

2 The sentencing guideline worksheet that has

3 been prepared indicates your client has no prior record

4 for sentencing purposes. This offense has an offense

5 gravity score of two. There are no enhancements. The

6 standard range is restorative sanctions, the aggravated

7 range would add three months to that, and the mitigated

8 range would take three months away, again, making it

9 restorative sanctions.

10 Do you have any dispute with any of that?

11 MS. LONGER: Not with respect to those, the

12 guidelines, no.

13 THE COURT: What do you have to tell me on your

14 client's behalf?

15 MS. LONGER: Well, Your Honor, I think the

16 Court already knows quite a bit about Mr. Caterbone

17 since we had such a lengthy presentence investigation

18 and discussion with respect to that investigation.

19 I'm also aware, having reviewed Mr. Stiner's

20 file, that Mr. Caterbone wrote a letter directly to the

21 Court sometime after the verdict and before today's

22 sentencing, and although I'm looking for a copy of that

23 letter --

24 THE DEFENDANT: My statement.

25 THE COURT: The only letter I recall was Page 33


41

1 something that's embodied in the presentence. I didn't

2 get any separate correspondence from Mr. Caterbone other

3 than that which I provided to you in connection with the

4 civil matter when we were discussing recusal.

5 MS. LONGER: Yeah, I thought it was a letter

6 addressed to the Judge.

7 THE DEFENDANT: No, I issued a statement. I

8 wrote a statement.

9 THE COURT: That's in the presentence report.

10 THE DEFENDANT: Okay. I don't know what you're

11 looking for.

12 MS. LONGER: I thought that was addressed to

13 the Judge.

14 THE DEFENDANT: No. That was --

15 THE COURT: There's a statement in the

16 presentence report.

17 THE DEFENDANT: Right.

18 THE COURT: I am not aware of any

19 correspondence that your client has sent to me. Had he

20 done so, I would have given it to you at the start of

21 this proceeding.

22 MS. LONGER: Right.

23 If I can just take a moment, Your Honor, to see

24 if Mr. Stiner has that statement?

25 THE DEFENDANT: Right here it is.

42

1 MS. LONGER: It's repeated in the presentence

2 investigation, but I -- I thought that I had seen the

3 original that was prepared by Mr. Caterbone and I

4 thought when I saw it --

Page 34

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 2007 5 THE DEFENDANT: It was an addendum to this

6 report. I sent it separately.

7 MS. LONGER: Okay. For whatever reason, I

8 thought that it was in the form of a letter that had

9 already been presented to the Court.

10 Nevertheless, the Court has seen the statement

11 and is familiar with what's in the statement. And I

12 would just like to focus on a couple of things, because

13 this was written by Mr. Caterbone with no input from

14 counsel whatsoever, and I believe it is a clear and

15 articulate statement of what happened in this case.

16 I know that the Court heard the testimony and

17 the jury rendered a verdict, but I believe Mr. Caterbone

18 when he says in his statement that he didn't understand

19 that Sergeant Buser had a legitimate reason for pulling

20 him over or he would have complied.

21 I think Mr. Caterbone has been a long-standing

22 member of this community. He is well-known to the

23 people in this room, to the people in the courthouse.

24 He's well-known to Susquehanna Regional Police.

25 The purpose of the sentencing guidelines are to

43

1 instruct the Court on what's an appropriate sentence for

2 someone like Mr. Caterbone. There's no need to prolong

3 his involvement with the criminal justice system as a

4 result of this incident.

5 He's, obviously, not a threat to the

6 community. He's -- he's able to appreciate the

7 seriousness of the offense and that's reflected in this

8 letter, which I think is very sincere and, as I said, I

9 had no input in this letter at all. This is the

10 clearest expression of Mr. Caterbone's view of these Page 35


11 events and the consequences, and I perceive this to be a

12 very sincere expression.

13 I would ask the Court -- I know that

14 Mr. Caterbone has annoyed a lot of people, including

15 Sergeant Buser and the people in this Susquehanna

16 Regional Police, but I don't think that that should be a

17 basis for imposing a sentence on Mr. Caterbone that

18 wouldn't be imposed on someone similarly situated.

19 For whatever reason, there is -- there are

20 numerous references in the presentence investigation to

21 prior involvement with the -- with the mental health

22 system, but Mr. Caterbone lives by himself, manages his

23 own money, and can act as a pro se litigant in federal

24 court.

25 He was actually served that warrant, that 302

44

1 commitment, and brought to the hospital and the hospital

2 released him without any medication, without any

3 follow-up treatment.

4 And I -- I would just ask the Court that we not

5 use the criminal justice system to try to change

6 Mr. Caterbone's lifestyle here, because he doesn't

7 present as somebody -- despite what's in the record,

8 there are people out there who would say that he has a

9 mental health illness. There are other people who would

10 probably say that he is just different and he marches to

11 the beat of a different drummer. And I do not believe

12 that the criminal justice system can take somebody like

13 Mr. Caterbone and force them into treatment that they

14 don't deem necessary.

15 The concern here would be that -- that --

Page 36

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 200716 Mr. Caterbone, if he's given a period of probation, I'm

17 sure he would be cooperative with his probation

18 officer. He was very cooperative with Mr. Stiner in

19 terms of making his appointments. I know that they had

20 casual conversations when he would run into Mr. Stiner

21 on the street.

22 I would often see Stanley in between our court

23 appearances and I would say with very few exceptions

24 he's always been courteous and respectful. There have

25 been some times when we haven't always agreed, but I

45

1 don't think he's a threat to the community.

2 I don't think he's somebody who needs to be

3 302'd today or tomorrow, and I would just ask that the

4 Court fashion a sentence that fits the crime here.

5 Mr. Caterbone did spend a period of time in

6 jail.

7 THE COURT: Why was that?

8 MS. LONGER: Because his bail was revoked.

9 At that time I wasn't representing him, so I'm

10 not sure what provoked the bail revocation.

11 His understanding is that he missed an

12 appointment. He --

13 THE DEFENDANT: I didn't miss it. They said I

14 missed it.

15 MS. LONGER: He was unaware of an appointment,

16 and as it turns out --

17 THE DEFENDANT: No. I was there. They just

18 said I missed it. I was there.

19 MS. LONGER: He was actually there.

20 THE DEFENDANT: I was there.

21 MS. LONGER: But he didn't get checked in and Page 37


22 nobody realized he was there.

23 THE DEFENDANT: No. I had the meeting. I was

24 there.

25 They issued a bench warrant out for me on

46

1 October 30th. I appealed the matter and I was released

2 on December 28th, when they changed my secured bail to

3 unsecured. But I attended the meeting. I had a

4 meeting.

5 THE COURT: So he was present and somebody

6 issued a bench warrant for his arrest anyway?

7 MS. LONGER: That's what he's saying.

8 THE DEFENDANT: Correct, correct. That's

9 correct.

10 THE COURT: Do you have anything else,

11 Ms. Longer?

12 MS. LONGER: One other thing, Your Honor.

13 I know that the sentencing code provides that

14 the Court may, in appropriate circumstances, find

15 somebody to have been found guilty and not impose a

16 sentence and I think guilty without further penalty is

17 appropriate in this case under the circumstances.

18 THE COURT: I thought you didn't want

19 Mr. Caterbone treated differently than anyone else.

20 MS. LONGER: I did say that.

21 THE COURT: In the course of his travels

22 through the legal system, Mr. Caterbone, of his own

23 volition, submitted the complete discharge summary in a

24 civil case regarding his hospitalization at Lancaster

25 General Hospital in 2006. He only sent the first page

47

Page 38

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 2007 1 to Mr. Stiner.

2 According to that, he wasn't just simply

3 released from the hospital. He had a 302 hearing, he

4 had a 303 hearing, and was continued in treatment.

5 However --

6 THE DEFENDANT: No, I did not have a 303

7 hearing.

8 THE COURT: When he was evaluated by the second

9 physician, it was determined at that point he was not a

10 threat to himself or anybody else. He was not engaging

11 in treatment and they couldn't find any benefit to

12 keeping him in the hospital.

13 It was for that reason that he was released.

14 The final diagnosis was a bipolar disorder, mixed type.

15 MS. LONGER: He doesn't recall a 303 hearing.

16 THE DEFENDANT: I only had one hearing, Your

17 Honor.

18 THE COURT: Well, apparently, he represented

19 himself at the 303 hearing.

20 THE DEFENDANT: Excuse me. There was only one

21 hearing. I'm sorry.

22 THE COURT: Ms. Longer, that's the document

23 Mr. Caterbone filed himself of his own volition in the

24 Prothonotary's office. It is a matter of public

25 record. I'm not going to debate with him what's in it.

48

1 I'm simply taking what he submitted to the Court and

2 informing you of it.

3 Is there anything from the Commonwealth?


5 THE COURT: Is there anything you wish to tell

6 me about this matter, Mr. Caterbone? Page 39


7 THE DEFENDANT: Your Honor, I'm still going --

8 I guess I'd like to reference my statement.

9 Had I known that there was a formal warrant

10 with authority when I stopped to talk to Officer Buser I

11 would have -- I would have sat there and let him do

12 whatever he wanted to do.

13 I sincerely did not know that he had anything

14 formally. He didn't tell me he did, and I apologize to

15 the Court and to the police for the time spent. But,

16 you know, had I known that he had something formally, I

17 would have stepped out of the car and went with him.

18 But he never even asked me to step out of the car. I

19 apologize to the Court for the resources they've spent.

20 And considering my community service and things

21 like that, I don't feel I'm a threat to anyone. And I

22 just wish the Court would provide me with time served,

23 since that was, you know, for nothing.

24 THE COURT: Mr. Caterbone, the law requires I

25 state on the record the reasons for the sentence I

49

1 impose.

2 I will tell you, again, I have absolutely no

3 animosity toward you whatsoever. I have made every

4 conceivable effort to preside fairly over all of your

5 cases.

6 The decisions I've made are a matter of record,

7 either in open court or I have filed opinions

8 memorializing the basis for my decisions. So I've

9 perceived no rational basis to recuse myself. As I

10 said, I have nothing against you at all. I have no

11 doubt whatsoever that I can preside fairly over your

Page 40

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 200712 cases.

13 I note you are 49 years of age. You are

14 single. You have a Bachelor's Degree from Millersville

15 University.

16 You have no juvenile record. The only adult

17 record of conviction is for two summary offenses.

18 You are the third of six children. There

19 appear to be no childhood issues reported in the

20 presentence report.

21 I note your brother -- your older brother had

22 psychiatric problems and, apparently, your mother had

23 mental health issues at some point as well requiring

24 that you provide assistance to both of them. Your

25 brother, Samuel, left the residence in 1976 and died in

50

1 California in 1984.

2 You also reported assisting your brothers to

3 attend college. You have had limited contact with your

4 mother or siblings for several years, as your attorney

5 has indicated. You have maintained stable residences.

6 You have prior alcohol and marijuana and

7 cocaine use; however, there's been no illegal drug use

8 since you were in college. There apparently is no

9 indication that drug use or alcohol was a factor in this

10 case.

11 It is unclear exactly what your mental health

12 status is. There is the reference to your bipolar

13 disorder in the report from the family physician in

14 1998, and the prescription of Lithium.

15 Apparently, also in the records you admit

16 seeking treatment for depression. There is also the

17 most recent medical record from Lancaster General Page 41


18 Hospital, which you submitted to the Court in connection

19 with another case, indicating you were diagnosed with a

20 bipolar disorder.

21 Based on the documents, again, that you,

22 yourself, have submitted for the presentence report it

23 appears that there is a history of mental health

24 problems in your family and it appears that you have

25 been of a concern to members of your own family because

51

1 of mental health issues.

2 In some of the documents you submitted you list

3 the people who have falsely branded you as having mental

4 health problems and they include your mother and your

5 brothers, one of whom, I understand, is a physician.

6 Be that as it may, at this point it is

7 difficult to determine what, if any, role any mental

8 health problem you may have may have played in this

9 offense.

10 We have also reviewed your employment history.

11 The psychological evaluation was scheduled for

12 August the 20th of 2007. There really is no report from

13 that date because you were referred for the psychiatric

14 evaluation. As we all know, Dr. Gottlieb refused to

15 perform that evaluation because of your litigation

16 against the hospital where he is, I believe, chief of

17 the medical staff and also since he is a psychiatrist.

18 Dr. Presley is a colleague of his.

19 I have taken into account in addition to the

20 presentence report and the voluminous attachments that

21 you have submitted, the provisions of the sentencing

22 code and the sentencing guidelines, the authorized

Page 42

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 200723 penalties, the circumstances of the offense, and your

24 rehabilitative needs.

25 I've considered the comments of your attorney,

52

1 I've considered the position of the Commonwealth, and

2 I've considered what you have said.

3 Mr. Caterbone, it's my view that what you have

4 submitted in the presentence report and the positions

5 you have taken in court throughout this proceeding and

6 what we've gone over this morning very well speaks for

7 itself.

8 You apparently function, for whatever reason,

9 under the belief that everyone has formed some vast

10 conspiracy directed solely at your role, even people who

11 have minimal contact with you. That, however, is not a

12 problem the legal system is in a position to address.

13 Accordingly, for the offense of fleeing or

14 attempting to elude a police officer, since you've

15 already spent time in custody, you will receive credit

16 for that.

17 You are sentenced to undergo imprisonment in

18 the Lancaster County Prison for a term of not less than

19 time served, nor more than six months. You're ordered

20 to pay a fine of $50, and to pay the cost of

21 prosecution.

22 If you are willing to accept mental health

23 treatment, and only on that condition, then the

24 probation and parole department is directed to assist

25 you in obtaining such assistance.

53

1 Because I have imposed sentence pursuant to the

2 finding of the jury, you have certain postsentencing Page 43


3 rights. You have 30 days from today to take an appeal

4 to the Superior Court. You're entitled to be

5 represented by counsel and if you cannot afford an

6 attorney one will be appointed for you without cost.

7 Do you understand that?

8 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, Your Honor.

9 THE COURT: You do not have to take an

10 immediate appeal. You may, if you wish, file an

11 optional postsentence motion procedure.

12 If you elect to follow this optional procedure,

13 you must file your postsentence motion in writing in

14 this Court -- that means in the Clerk of Court's

15 office -- within 10 days of today's date.

16 You're entitled to be represented by counsel,

17 and if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be

18 appointed for you without cost.



21 THE COURT: Now, if you elect to follow this

22 optional postsentence motion procedure your appeal

23 period -- that is the 30-day period to take an appeal to

24 the Superior Court -- does not begin to run until your

25 postsentence motion is disposed of. That happens in one

54

1 of two ways. If I rule on it, you have 30 days from

2 that date to take an appeal. If I don't rule on it

3 within 120 days of the date you file it, or if you and

4 only you ask for a 30-day extension, then if I don't

5 rule on it within 150 days of the date you file it, your

6 motion is automatically denied. You will be notified of

7 that by the Clerk's office and you have 30 days from

Page 44

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 2007 8 that date to take an appeal.



11 THE COURT: In your postsentence motion, if you

12 file one, you can seek a modification of sentence or you

13 may challenge the discretionary aspects of this

14 sentence.

15 Now, if you wish to raise either of those

16 issues on appeal, you must file a postsentence motion in

17 this court. They cannot be raised for the first time on

18 appeal.


20 THE DEFENDANT: Can you repeat that, please?

21 THE COURT: If you wish to challenge the

22 discretionary aspects of sentence, or if you wish to

23 seek a modification of sentence, you must file a

24 postsentence motion in this court within 10 days of

25 today's date.

55

1 You are entitled to be represented by counsel,

2 and if you cannot afford an attorney one will be

3 appointed for you without cost.

4 The reason you must do that is those issues

5 will not be entertained by the Superior Court for the

6 first time on appeal. Those two issues must be

7 presented to this court first.


9 THE DEFENDANT: Yes.

10 THE COURT: Other than those two issues, on

11 appeal you can challenge the jurisdiction or power of

12 the court to hear your case and impose sentence, the

13 legality of the sentence I impose, or raise any other Page 45


14 issue that was decided adversely to you in this case

15 either before or during trial.



18 THE COURT: Now, you do not have to file a

19 postsentence motion unless you wish to raise either of

20 the two issues I mentioned. Otherwise, all your issues

21 are preserved for appellate review if filed in a timely

22 notice of appeal.

23 If you wish to challenge the discretionary

24 aspects of sentence or seek a modification of sentence,

25 then you must file a postsentence motion first.

56



3 THE COURT: Do you have any questions about

4 your appellate rights?

5 THE DEFENDANT: Will I get this in writing?

6 This is a lot for me. I can't digest all of this.

7 THE COURT: I'm telling you now. This is what

8 you get. If you wish further information you may speak

9 to your attorney about it.

10 THE DEFENDANT: All right. Thank you, Your

11 Honor.

12 THE COURT: Do you understand what I told you?


14 THE COURT: Do you have any questions about

15 your appellate rights?

16 THE DEFENDANT: No, Your Honor.

17 THE COURT: Do you have any questions about the

18 sentence?

Page 46

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 200719 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, Your Honor. What is it?

20 THE COURT: Pardon?

21 THE DEFENDANT: What is the sentence?

22 THE COURT: Time served to six months, a fine

23 of $50, and court costs.

24 THE DEFENDANT: So what does --

25 THE COURT: Do you have any other questions?

57

1 MS. LONGER: That amounts to four months of

2 probation if you have two months in. You told me you

3 went to jail for two months.

4 THE DEFENDANT: Correct.

5 MS. LONGER: You have time served to six

6 months. The time served up until six months you get

7 credit for that time served.

8 THE COURT: Do you have any other questions?

9 MS. LONGER: It's six months --

10 THE COURT: Is there something, Mr. Caterbone,

11 that's unclear about the sentence?

12 THE DEFENDANT: Yeah. Am I going to jail

13 today?

14 THE COURT: No.

15 THE DEFENDANT: Okay. I didn't understand,

16 Your Honor.

17 THE COURT: Mr. Caterbone, if you would listen

18 carefully to what I say, I'm trying to articulate this

19 as clearly as I possibly can. I said time served to six

20 months.

21 Do you have any other questions?

22 THE DEFENDANT: No, Your Honor.

23 THE COURT: Do you have anything further?

24 MS. LONGER: No, Your Honor. Page 47


25 I will review his postsentence rights. I have

58

1 the --

2 THE COURT: You are court appointed in this

3 matter?

4 MS. LONGER: I am.

5 THE COURT: Is there anything from the

6 Commo

3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 2007 Important

Documents

Transcript of 3179-2006 Sentencing Transcript of October 24, 2007 Important