Commonwealth v. Hanson

OPINION

Justice SAYLOR.1

This appeal centrally presents questions of statutory construction pertaining to the five-year mandatory minimum sentence attaching to the offense of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver (“PWID”), see 35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(30), while in possession or control of a firearm. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 9712.1(a).

I. Preliminary Overview

Section 9712.1(a) of the Sentencing Code provides:(a) Mandatory sentence. — Any person who is convicted of [PWID], when at the time of the offense the person or the person’s accomplice is in physical pos*1027session or control of a…