Commonwealth v. Rigg

84 A.3d 1080, 2014 Pa. Super. 11, 2014 WL 280501, 2014 Pa. Super. LEXIS 18
Superior Court of Pennsylvania·Decided January 27, 2014·Published·Cited by 377 cases

Opinions

OPINION BY BOWES, J.:

Raquan Rigg appeals pro se from the order entered by the PCRA court that denied his first-counseled PCRA petition and permitted counsel to withdraw pursuant to Commonwealth v. Turner, 518 Pa. 491, 544 A.2d 927 (1988), and Commonwealth v. Finley, 550 A.2d 213 (Pa.Super.1988) (en banc). After careful review, we affirm.

A jury found Appellant guilty of aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, and simple assault after he stabbed another man in the neck. On December 15, 2009, the trial court sentenced Appellant to seven to fourteen years incarceration on the aggravated assault charge. This sentence was within the standard range of the sentencing guidelines for Appellant’s aggravated assault offense, when considering the deadly-weapon enhancement. Specifically, the governing range was sixty-six months to eighty-four months, ie., seven years. The court noted that it considered a pre-sen-tence report and placed its reasons for its sentence on the record. Appellant filed a post-sentence motion, which the trial court denied.1

Thereafter, Appellant filed a timely pro se appeal. The trial court appointed new counsel. Appellant’s sole issue on appeal pertained to the discretionary aspects of his sentence. On June 14, 2011, a panel of this Court determined that Appellant presented a substantial question for review, but that his sentencing claim did not entitle him to relief. Commonwealth v. Rigg, 31 A.3d 743 (Pa.Super.2011) (unpublished memorandum). Appellant requested his appellate counsel to seek discretionary review with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in three separate letters between June 16, 2011 and August 2, 2011. Appellate counsel sent a letter to Appellant on August 16, 2011, after the period for filing for permission of allowance of appeal, indicating that, since Appellant’s case involved a challenge to the discretionary aspects of his sentence, no appeal could be filed with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Subsequently, Appellant filed the underlying timely pro se PCRA petition on October 28, 2011.2 Therein, he alleged that [1083] appellate counsel was ineffective in failing to file a requested petition for allowance of appeal. The PCRA court appointed counsel, who filed a Tumer/Finley no-merit letter on February 10, 2012. The PCRA court initially declined to allow counsel to withdraw. Instead, the court directed PCRA counsel to address the applicability of Commonwealth v. Liebel, 573 Pa. 375, 825 A.2d 630 (2003).

PCRA counsel apparently complied on February 29, 2012, arguing that Appellant’s claim remained meritless because the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is generally without authority to grant allowance of appeal in a case solely involving a defendant’s discretionary aspects of sentencing claim.3 The PCRA court issued a Pa. R.Crim.P. 907 notice of its intent to dismiss. Appellant filed a timely pro se response challenging the court’s conclusion as to his Liebel claim only. The court issued a final order on April 18, 2012, dismissing Appellant’s petition and allowing counsel to withdraw. This timely appeal ensued on May 15, 2012.

The PCRA court directed Appellant to file and serve a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) concise statement of errors complained of on appeal. Appellant complied, filing an original statement on June 19, 2012 and an amended statement on June 25, 2012. The original 1925(b) statement included Appellant’s Liebel ineffectiveness claim and an additional issue not raised in his pro se petition. The amended 1925(b) statement also set forth various issues that Appellant had not included in his pro se petition. Appellant now argues both his Liebel claim and each of the non -Liebel issues on appeal.

The PCRA court issued a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a) decision, concluding that Appellant waived all of the issues not related to his ineffectiveness claim regarding appellate counsel’s failure to file a petition for allowance of appeal. As it pertained to that issue, the PCRA court determined that, because the Pennsylvania Supreme Court does not have jurisdiction to consider a defendant’s discretionary sentencing challenge, appellate counsel could not be ineffective in declining to appeal to the Supreme Court. Appellant’s lone issue in his statement of questions presented is “Whether the PCRA court committed erred [sic] and/or abuse[d] it’s [sic] discretion and violated Appellant’s right to due process and equal protection of law in failing to allow Appellant the opportunity to amend his PCRA petition and adding issues of arguable merit, prior to dismissing [the] petition without a hearing?” Appellant’s brief at 4.4

[1084] This Court analyzes PCRA appeals “in the light most favorable to the prevailing party at the PCRA level.” Commonwealth v. Rylcard, 55 A.3d 1177, 1183 (Pa.Super.2012). Our “review is limited to the findings of the PCRA court and the evidence of record” and we do not “disturb a PCRA court’s ruling if it is supported by evidence of record and is free of legal error.” Id. Similarly, “[w]e 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.” Id. (citations omitted). “[W]here the petitioner raises questions of law, our standard of review is de novo and our scope of review is plenary.” Finally, we “may affirm a PCRA court’s decision on any grounds if the record supports it.” Id.

Although Appellant presents only one issue in his statement of questions, he breaks down his argument respecting that claim into four subparts. Appellant’s overarching position is that the PCRA court erred in declining to allow him to amend his petition to include the four issues he sets forth herein. While we are aware of the minor briefing deficiencies insofar as Appellant’s brief does not strictly comply with our appellate rules, these irregularities do not prevent us from discussing Appellant’s arguments.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Commonwealth v. Rigg, 84 A.3d 1080, 2014 Pa. Super. 11, 2014 WL 280501, 2014 Pa. Super. LEXIS 18 (Pa. Ct. App. 2014).

84 A.3d 1080 (Commonwealth v. Rigg) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Com. v. LaPoint, M.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2025
Com. v. Porka, J.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2025
Com. v. Lawrence, B.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2023
Com. v. Anderson, M.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2023
Com. v. Sprull, S.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2023
Com. v. Burno, K.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2023
Com. v. Pritchett, Z.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2023
Com. v. Johnson, J.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2021
Com. v. Stanford, C.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2021
Com. v. Andress, M.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2021
Com.v. Brown, W.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2020
Com. v. Wiley, E.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2020
Com. v. Aikens, M.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2020
Com. v. Hill, M.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2020
Com. v. Roberts, B.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2020
Com. v. Diaz, D.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019
Com. v. Redman, L.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019
Com. v. Flewellen, D.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019
Com. v. Mendoza, C.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019
Com. v. Grantham, M.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019