Commonwealth of Pa. v. Paddy

15 A.3d 431

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee

v.Donyell A. PADDY, Appellant.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Submitted Jan. 14, 2008.Decided March 30, 2011.

Shawn Nolan, for Donyell Paddy.Hugh J. Burns Jr., Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, Amy Zapp, Harrisburg, for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.CASTILLE, C.J., SAYLOR, EAKIN, BAER, TODD, McCAFFERY, ORIE MELVIN, JJ.

OPINION

Justice McCAFFERY.

In this capital matter, Donyell A. Paddy (Appellant) appeals from the dismissal without a hearing of his petition for collateral relief filed pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”).¹ As explained in detail infra, we affirm the PCRA court's order dismissing Appellant's claims, with the sole exception of one penalty phase claim that is rooted in trial counsel's investigation and presentation of mitigating evidence of Appellant's background and life history. With respect only to this one claim, we vacate the PCRA court's order and remand for an evidentiary hearing.

Appellant was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the fatal shooting of Lashawn Whaley on April 28, 1993. Approximately two years before her murder, Ms. Whaley had identified Appellant as the perpetrator in a dual murder committed in 1991 (hereinafter the “Panati Playground murders”). The Commonwealth's theory of the instant case against Appellant was that he had murdered Ms. Whaley to prevent her from testifying against him during his trial for the Panati Playground murders.

Appellant's first trial for the murder of Ms. Whaley ended in a mistrial after the court concluded that the jury was hopelessly deadlocked. However, on December 18, 1995, following a second jury trial, Appellant was convicted of first-degree murder, criminal conspiracy, retaliation against a victim or witness, and possessing instruments of crime. A penalty phase hearing was held the next day, following which the jury found three aggravating and no mitigating circumstances and accordingly returned a sentence of death. The aggravating circumstances found by the jury were murder of a witness, knowing creation of a grave risk of death to another person in addition to the victim, and prior conviction for another murder.² Formal sentencing took place on May 29, 1997. Appellant filed timely post-sentence motions, which were denied on December 17, 1998. The court appointed new counsel to represent Appellant on direct appeal, wherein he raised numerous claims of error, including ineffective assistance of trial counsel.³ On July 8, 2002, this Court affirmed Appellant's judgment of sentence. See Commonwealth v. Paddy, 569 Pa. 47, 800 A.2d 294 (2002).

Appellant filed a pro se petition pursuant to the PCRA on September 20, 2002, and the court appointed counsel to represent him and ordered a stay of execution pending resolution of the petition. Appellant's first PCRA counsel was allowed to withdraw due to a conflict of interest, and the court appointed new counsel. However, because Appellant sought to represent himself, the PCRA court conducted a colloquy, and, on November 14, 2003, the court permitted Appellant to proceed pro se and appointed backup counsel. Appellant filed a second pro se PCRA petition and an amended pro se PCRA petition on, respectively, May 20, 2004, and November 17, 2004. The Commonwealth filed a motion to dismiss Appellant's petition, and on February 25, 2005, the PCRA court issued a notice of intent to dismiss the petition without a hearing, pursuant to Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 907.⁴ Around this same time, new counsel for Appellant appeared,⁵ and requested a continuance to conduct investigation and make amendments to Appellant's PCRA petition. The PCRA court granted counsel 60 days in which to respond to its notice of intent to dismiss. On April 26, 2005, counsel filed lengthy objections,⁶ and on May 23, 2005, the PCRA court dismissed Appellant's petition without a hearing.

Appellant then filed a timely appeal to this Court.⁷ The PCRA court ordered Appellant to file a statement of matters complained of on appeal, pursuant to Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure 1925(b). Appellant complied, and the PCRA court filed its opinion on March 10, 2006. ⁸ In his appeal, Appellant has raised multiple claims of error at the pre-trial, trial, penalty, and PCRA phases, most but not all of which are presented as allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel.⁹

Under our standard of review for an appeal from the denial of PCRA relief, we must determine whether the ruling of the PCRA court is supported by the record and is free of legal error. Commonwealth v. Washington, 592 Pa. 698, 927 A.2d 586, 593 (2007). The PCRA court's credibility determinations are binding on this Court when they are supported by the record. Commonwealth v. Johnson, 600 Pa. 329, 966 A.2d 523, 532, 539 (2009). However, this Court applies a de novo standard of review to the PCRA court's legal conclusions. Commonwealth v. Rios, 591 Pa. 583, 920 A.2d 790, 810 (2007).

To be eligible for PCRA relief, a petitioner must plead and prove by a preponderance of the evidence that his or her conviction or sentence resulted from one or more of the circumstances enumerated in 42 Pa.C.S. § 9543(a)(2). These circumstances include a violation of the Pennsylvania or United States Constitution and ineffective assistance of counsel which “so undermined the truth-determining process that no reliable adjudication of guilt or innocence could have taken place.” 42 Pa.C.S. § 9543(a)(2)(i), (ii). Furthermore, a petitioner must establish that the claims of error raised in the PCRA petition have not been previously litigated or waived and that “the failure to litigate the issue prior to or during trial, during unitary review or on direct appeal could not have been the result of any rational, strategic or tactical decision by counsel.” 42 Pa.C.S. § 9543(a)(3) and (4); Washington, supra at 593. An issue has been waived “if the petitioner could have raised it but failed to do so before trial, at trial, during unitary review, on appeal or in a prior state post[-]conviction proceeding.” 42 Pa.C.S. § 9544(b). An issue has been previously litigated if “the highest appellate court in which the petitioner could have had review as a matter of right has ruled on the merits of the issue.” 42 Pa.C.S. § 9544(a)(2).

Under Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 909, which governs PCRA petitions in capital cases, the PCRA court has the discretion to dismiss a petition without a hearing when the court is satisfied “that there are no genuine issues concerning any material fact, the defendant is not entitled to post-conviction collateral relief, and no legitimate purpose would be served by any further proceedings.” Pa.R.Crim.P. 909(B)(2). “[T]o obtain reversal of a PCRA court's decision to dismiss a petition without a hearing, an appellant must show that he raised a genuine issue of fact which, if resolved in his favor, would have entitled him to relief, or that the court otherwise abused its discretion in denying a hearing.” Commonwealth v. D'Amato, 579 Pa. 490, 856 A.2d 806, 820 (2004).

To prevail in a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, a petitioner must overcome the presumption that counsel is effective by establishing all of the following three elements, as set forth in Commonwealth v. Pierce, 515 Pa. 153, 527 A.2d 973, 975–76 (1987): (1) the underlying legal claim has arguable merit; (2) counsel had no reasonable basis for his or her action or inaction; and (3) the petitioner suffered prejudice because of counsel's ineffectiveness. Commonwealth v. Dennis, 597 Pa. 159, 950 A.2d 945, 954 (2008). With regard to the second, reasonable basis prong, “we do not question whether there were other more logical courses of action which counsel could have pursued; rather, we must examine whether counsel's decisions had any reasonable basis.” Washington, supra at 594. We will conclude that counsel's chosen strategy lacked a reasonable basis only if Appellant proves that “an alternative not chosen offered a potential for success substantially greater than the course actually pursued.” Commonwealth v. Williams, 587 Pa. 304, 899 A.2d 1060, 1064 (2006) (citation omitted). To establish the third, prejudice prong, the petitioner must show that there is a reasonable probability that the outcome of the proceedings would have been different but for counsel's ineffectiveness. Dennis, supra at 954. We stress that boilerplate allegations and bald assertions of no reasonable basis and/or ensuing prejudice cannot satisfy a petitioner's burden to prove that counsel was ineffective.

Because Appellant's direct appeal was decided prior to this Court's holding in Commonwealth v. Grant, 572 Pa. 48, 813 A.2d 726, 738 (2002), and new counsel was appointed to represent Appellant on direct appeal, he was required to raise claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel at that stage. See supra n. 3; Paddy, 800 A.2d at 306 n. 5; Dennis, supra at 954. Any claims of trial counsel ineffectiveness that Appellant failed to raise on direct appeal have been waived. See Commonwealth v. Tedford, 598 Pa. 639, 960 A.2d 1, 13 (2008); Washington, supra at 594 (citing 42 Pa.C.S. § 9544(b)). Appellant did, in fact, raise numerous claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel in his direct appeal. See Paddy, supra at 306–26. Several of the ineffectiveness claims raised in Appellant's PCRA petition are identical to the claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel already addressed on direct appeal. These claims are not cognizable under the PCRA because they have been previously litigated. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9543(a)(3).

Of course, even under pre- Grant procedural dictates, claims of appellate counsel ineffectiveness were cognizable by the PCRA court, including claims of appellate counsel ineffectiveness for failure to raise claims of trial counsel ineffectiveness on direct appeal. See Dennis, supra at 954; Washingto...