Commonwealth v. Willis

68 A.3d 997, 2013 Pa. Super. 143, 2013 WL 2605824, 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 1141
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJune 12, 2013
StatusPublished
Cited by155 cases

This text of 68 A.3d 997 (Commonwealth v. Willis) 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
Commonwealth v. Willis, 68 A.3d 997, 2013 Pa. Super. 143, 2013 WL 2605824, 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 1141 (Pa. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION BY

STEVENS, P.J.

This is an appeal from the August 9, 2012 order entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County denying Appellant’s first petition filed under the PCRA1 after a panel of this Court vacated the PCRA court’s original denial of collateral relief on the basis Appellant was denied the effective assistance of PCRA counsel. Upon remand, the PCRA court appointed new PCRA counsel, held a new PCRA evidentiary hearing, and, ultimately, denied Appellant’s PCRA petition by order entered on August 9, 2012. Appellant now contends (1) his guilty plea was involuntarily and unlawfully induced by the ineffective assistance of guilty plea counsel and (2) his sentence is illegal. We affirm.

The relevant facts and procedural history are as follows: On May 27, 2009, Appellant entered a guilty plea to the offenses of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence (DUI), homicide by vehicle, accident involving death or injury while not properly licensed, and DUI.2 That same day, he was sentenced to &h to 13 years in prison, to be followed by a term of 7 years’ probation. Appellant did not file a direct appeal; however, on February 16, 2010, he filed a timely pro se PCRA petition in which he presented claims of ineffective assistance of_ guilty plea counsel. The PCRA court appointed counsel, Ronald H. Elgart, Esquire, who filed a petition to withdraw and Tumer/Finley3 “no-merit” letter. Prior to ruling on Attorney Elgart’s petition to withdraw, the PCRA court conducted a PCRA hearing, at which Attorney Elgart represented Appellant.

Subsequently, the PCRA court held a second PCRA hearing to address issues, which were raised by Appellant in a pro se amended PCRA petition and, once again, prior to the hearing, Attorney Elgart submitted a petition to withdraw and Turner/Finley “no-merit” letter. The PCRA court did not rule on Attorney Elgart’s petition to withdraw prior to conducting the second hearing, and at the hearing, Attorney Elgart represented Appellant.

On November 23, 2010, the PCRA court denied Appellant’s PCRA petition and granted Attorney Elgart permission to withdraw from representing Appellant. Appellant filed a direct appeal, and without reaching the merits of any issues presented on appeal, a panel of this Court concluded that Appellant was “effectively de[1001]*1001nied his right to counsel in his first petition for post-conviction relief.” Commonwealth v. Willis, 29 A.3d 393, 396 (Pa.Super.2011) (citations and footnote omitted). Specifically, the panel concluded that, by advocating against Appellant at the PCRA hearings, Attorney Elgart violated his duty to continue to represent Appellant until the PCRA court ruled on his petitions to withdraw. See id. Additionally, the panel noted the PCRA court compounded this error by failing to rule on Attorney El-gart’s petitions to withdraw prior to the PCRA hearings, as well as permitting Attorney Elgart to advocate against Appellant at the hearings. See id. Thus, relinquishing jurisdiction, the panel vacated the PCRA court’s November 23, 2010 order and remanded the matter for the appointment of new PCRA counsel and a new PCRA hearing. See id.

Upon remand, the PCRA court appointed Keith J. Williams, Esquire, to represent Appellant, Attorney Williams procured Appellant’s medical records, and, on July 26, 2012, Attorney Williams represented Appellant at a PCRA hearing. Following the hearing, by order entered on August 9, 2012, the PCRA court denied Appellant’s PCRA petition, and this timely, counseled appeal followed. The PCRA court directed Appellant to file a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) statement, counsel timely complied on behalf of Appellant, and the PCRA court filed a responsive Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a) opinion.

Appellant’s first contention is his guilty plea was involuntarily and unlawfully induced by the ineffective assistance of guilty plea counsel. Specifically, he alleges guilty plea counsel was ineffective in failing to obtain Appellant’s Correctional Mental Health Records, thus leading to guilty plea counsel being unaware of Appellant’s mental health issues (which included depression and alcohol abuse disorder) and the fact Appellant was under the influence of prescribed psychotropic medication (including Sinequan and Celexa) when he pled guilty. Appellant suggests that guilty plea counsel should have investigated whether Appellant had any mental health issues, including procuring his Correctional Mental Health Records, and notified the trial court of any information contained therein, including Appellant’s mental health diagnosis and use of prescribed medication. Such information, Appellant suggests, would have led to a further inquiry as to whether Appellant was impaired or otherwise incompetent to plead guilty.

Our standard of review of the denial of a PCRA petition is limited to examining whether the court’s determination is supported by the evidence of record and free of legal error. This Court grants great deference to the findings of the PCRA court if the record contains any support for those findings. Further, the PCRA court’s credibility determinations are binding on this Court, where there is record support for those determinations.

Commonwealth v. Anderson, 995 A.2d 1184, 1189 (Pa.Super.2010) (citations omitted).

To prevail on a claim alleging counsel’s ineffectiveness under the PCRA, Appellant must demonstrate (1) that the underlying claim is of arguable merit; (2) that counsel’s course of conduct was without a reasonable basis designed to effectuate his client’s interest; and (3) that he was prejudiced by counsel’s ineffectiveness, i.e. there is a reasonable probability that but for the act or omission in question the outcome of the proceedings would have been different.
It is clear that a criminal defendant’s right to effective counsel extends to the plea process, as well as during trial. However, [alllegations of ineffectiveness [1002]*1002in connection with the entry of a guilty plea will serve as a basis for relief only if the ineffectiveness caused the defendant to enter an involuntary or unknowing plea. Where the defendant enters his plea on the advice of counsel, the volun-tariness of the plea depends on whether counsel’s advice was within the range of competence demanded of attorneys in criminal cases.

Commonwealth v. Wah, 42 A.3d 335, 338 (Pa.Super.2012) (citations, quotation, and quotation marks omitted). “[T]he law does not require that [the defendant] be pleased with the outcome of his decision to enter a plea of guilty: All that is required is that [his] decision to plead guilty be knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently made.” Anderson, 995 A.2d at 1192 (citations, quotation, and quotation marks omitted).

With regard to an attorney’s duty to investigate, the Supreme Court has noted that the reasonableness of a particular investigation depends upon evidence known to counsel, as well as evidence that would cause a reasonable attorney to conduct a further investigation. Commonwealth v. Hughes, 581 Pa. 274, 865 A.2d 761 (2004).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
68 A.3d 997, 2013 Pa. Super. 143, 2013 WL 2605824, 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 1141, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-willis-pasuperct-2013.