Com. v. Silva, D.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedOctober 27, 2017
Docket3701 EDA 2016
StatusUnpublished

This text of Com. v. Silva, D. (Com. v. Silva, D.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Com. v. Silva, D., (Pa. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

J-S57041-17

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA v. : : DANNY SILVA, : : Appellant : No. 3701 EDA 2016

Appeal from the PCRA Order November 18, 2016 in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Criminal Division, No(s): CP-51-CR-0008101-2009

BEFORE: PANELLA, SOLANO and MUSMANNO, JJ.

MEMORANDUM BY MUSMANNO, J.: FILED OCTOBER 27, 2017

Danny Silva (“Silva”), pro se, appeals from the Order dismissing his

first Petition filed pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”).1 We

affirm.

In its Opinion, the PCRA court set forth the relevant factual and

procedural background, which we adopt herein for the purpose of this

appeal. See PCRA Court Opinion, 3/28/17, at 1-2.

On appeal, Silva raises the following issues for our review:

1. Whether the PCRA court err[e]d in dismissing [Silva’s] PCRA [Petition] without a[n] evidentiary hearing in light of his [n]ewly[-d]iscovered evidence?

2. Whether [Silva] suffered ineffective assistance of counsel where prior plea counsel failed to conduct any form of pretrial investigation prior to STRONGLY ADVISING [Silva] to enter such a plea of guilty where the evidence clearly demonstrates [Silva’s] innocence?

1 See 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9541-9546. J-S57041-17

3. Whether [Silva] suffered layered ineffective assistance of counsel where court-appointed PCRA counsel failed to conduct any form of interview of [Silva’s] witnesses[,] as proffered in [Silva’s] PCRA [Petition,] to ascertain[] the circumstances of their initial statements?

Brief for Appellant at 4 (unnumbered, emphasis in original).2

We review an order dismissing a petition under the PCRA in the light most favorable to the prevailing party at the PCRA level. This review is limited to the findings of the PCRA court and the evidence of record. We will not disturb a PCRA court’s ruling if it is supported by evidence of record and is free of legal error. This Court may affirm a PCRA court’s decision on any grounds if the record supports it. We grant great deference to the factual findings of the PCRA court and will not disturb those findings unless they have no support in the record. However, we afford no such deference to its legal conclusions. Further, where the petitioner raises questions of law, our standard of review is de novo and our scope of review is plenary.

Commonwealth v. Ford, 44 A.3d 1190, 1194 (Pa. Super. 2012) (citations

omitted).

In his first issue, Silva contends that the affidavit of Fabian Pabon

(“Pabon”) constitutes newly-discovered evidence, which satisfies the PCRA’s

timeliness exception set forth at 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9545(b)(1)(ii). Brief for

Appellant at 7-8 (unnumbered). Silva claims that the PCRA court erred by

dismissing his Petition without conducting an evidentiary hearing to assess

2 The Argument section of Silva’s brief fails to comply with the requirements of Pa.R.A.P. 2119(a), which provides that “the argument shall be divided into as many parts as there are questions to be argued; and shall have at the head of each part--in distinctive type or in type distinctively displayed-- the particular point treated therein ….”

-2- J-S57041-17

the credibility and significance of Pabon’s recantation of his statement to

police. Id. at 8.

In its Opinion, the PCRA court addressed Silva’s first issue, set forth

the relevant law, and determined that the court lacked jurisdiction because

Silva had failed to establish the newly-discovered evidence exception to the

PCRA’s timeliness requirements. See PCRA Court Opinion, 3/28/17, at 3-6.

We agree with the reasoning of the PCRA court, which is supported by

evidence of record and is free of legal error, and affirm on this basis as to

Silva’s first issue. See id.

In his second issue, Silva contends that his plea counsel, Fortunado

Perri, Esquire (“Attorney Perri”), induced Silva to enter a guilty plea without

conducting any form of pretrial investigation, despite Attorney Perri’s access

to (1) investigative reports that challenged Pabon’s account of events; and

(2) “[Silva’s] alibi that entailed surveillance footage during the time of the

decedent being shot and killed.” Brief for Appellant at 10 (unnumbered).

Silva further asserts that Attorney Perri’s failure to investigate “implicates

trial strategy prior to inducing [Silva] to enter an unknowing guilty plea.”

Id. at 11. Silva also claims that Attorney Perri was ineffective for failing to

perfect a direct appeal, as evidenced by the affidavit of his mother, Dolores

Rios (“Rios”). Id. Silva contends that Rios’s affidavit states that, when she

inquired as to the status of Silva’s appeal for sentence reduction, Attorney

Perri told her that it was too late to file an appeal, as the 30-day period in

-3- J-S57041-17

which to file an appeal had expired. Id. at 12. Silva asserts that, even if

the record is insufficient to determine whether he requested that an appeal

be filed, Attorney Perri may still be deemed ineffective for failing to

adequately appraise Silva of his appellate rights. Id.

In its Opinion, the PCRA court addressed Silva’s second issue, set forth

the relevant law, and determined that the court lacked jurisdiction because

Silva had failed to specify how his ineffectiveness claim satisfied any of the

PCRA’s timeliness exceptions set forth at 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9545(b)(1)(i)-(iii).

See PCRA Court Opinion, 3/28/17, at 6-7. We agree with the reasoning of

the PCRA court, which is free of legal error, and affirm on this basis as to

Silva’s second issue. See id.

In his final claim, Silva contends that, upon receiving the affidavits of

Pabon and Rios, he forwarded them to his court-appointed PCRA counsel,

Lee Mandell, Esquire (“Attorney Mandell”), but received no response or

acknowledgment from Attorney Mandell. Brief for Appellant at 7-8

(unnumbered). Silva asserts that the PCRA court erred by “adopting

[Attorney] Mandell’s assertion of a no-merit letter without [Attorney]

Mandell[] conducting the barest of investigation[,] i.e. investigating []

Pabon.” Id. at 9. Silva also claims that Rios’s affidavit establishes Attorney

Perri’s ineffectiveness in failing to file a direct appeal. Id. at 11-12.

In its Opinion, the PCRA court addressed Silva’s third issue, set forth

the relevant law, and determined that the court lacked jurisdiction because

-4- J-S57041-17

Silva had failed to specify how his layered ineffectiveness claim satisfied any

of the PCRA’s timeliness exceptions set forth at 42 Pa.C.S.A.

§ 9545(b)(1)(i)-(iii). See PCRA Court Opinion, 3/28/17, at 7. The PCRA

court further determined that Silva had failed to raise his layered

ineffectiveness claim in response to the court’s Pa.R.Crim.P. 907 Notice of its

intent to dismiss Silva’s Petition. Id. We agree with the reasoning of the

PCRA court, which is free of legal error, and affirm on this basis as to Silva’s

third issue. See id.

Order affirmed.

Judgment Entered.

Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq. Prothonotary

Date: 10/27/2017

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Bluebook (online)
Com. v. Silva, D., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/com-v-silva-d-pasuperct-2017.