Commonwealth v. Rivera

OPINION BY

JENKINS, J.:

Hector Rivera was charged with receiving stolen property1 and retail theft2 for stealing several items from a general store. The Wayne County Public Defender entered his appearance for Rivera. Several weeks after waiving his preliminary hearing and arraignment, Rivera pled guilty to both charges. The trial court sentenced Rivera to twelve months probation and restitution of $55.00. The court also ordered him to pay $500.00 for the “cost of the Public Defender’s representation,” an amorphous term of sentence that we refer to as the “Public Defender Assessment”, or “PDA”.

Th…