J-S04040-16
2016 PA Super 95
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
Appellee :
:
v. :
:
CHARLES VOLK, :
:
Appellant : No. 572 WDA 2015
Appeal from the PCRA Order March 25, 2015,
in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County,
Criminal Division, at No(s): CP-02-CR-0017708-2008
BEFORE: BOWES, OLSON, and STRASSBURGER*, JJ.
OPINION BY STRASSBURGER, J.: FILED APRIL 29, 2016
Charles Volk (Appellant) appeals from the order entered March 25,
2015, dismissing his petition filed pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act
(PCRA).1 After careful review, we affirm.
The certified record reveals the following facts relevant to this appeal.
On March 19, 2009, following a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of
terroristic threats and recklessly endangering another person (REAP). On
that date, the Honorable Joseph K. Williams, III, sitting as factfinder, also
convicted him of the summary offenses of criminal mischief and public
drunkenness. On August 19, 2009, Appellant was sentenced to an
aggregate term of not less than two nor more than four years’ incarceration,
* Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.
1
42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541-9546.
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to be followed by a consecutive period of three years’ probation. Appellant’s
post-sentence motions were denied, and Appellant timely filed a direct
appeal. On September 21, 2010, a panel of this Court affirmed Appellant’s
judgment of sentence in part, and reversed and vacated in part. 2 The matter
was remanded to allow the trial court to address an issue concerning
restitution.3 Commonwealth v. Volk, 13 A.3d 989 (Pa. Super. 2010)
(unpublished memorandum). Appellant did not seek review by our Supreme
Court.
On September 23, 2011, Appellant timely filed a pro se PCRA petition.
Counsel was appointed and on March 9, 2012, counsel filed an amended
PCRA petition. On April 10, 2012, Appellant filed a supplement to the
amended PCRA petition. After the filing of additional motions and
supplements by Appellant, and responses from the Commonwealth, a
hearing with respect to Appellant’s PCRA claims was held on November 28,
2012 and March 13, 2013. At the close of the PCRA hearing on March 13,
2013, Judge Williams granted Appellant 30 days in which to file a brief in
support of the claims he raised during the hearing. The Commonwealth was
2
Specifically, this Court vacated both of Appellant’s summary convictions,
but upheld his conviction for the offenses of terroristic threats and REAP.
3
On December 13, 2010, upon direction of this Court, the trial court
conducted a restitution hearing. Following that hearing, the court vacated
its previous order of restitution. Trial Court Order, 12/15/2010.
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given an additional 15 days to respond. Both Appellant and the
Commonwealth complied with this directive.4
A year later, on March 12, 2014, Appellant appeared before the trial
court for a probation violation hearing.5 Following the hearing, the trial
court revoked Appellant’s probation and sentenced him to a term of not less
than six nor more than 18 months’ incarceration with 455 days credit for
time served. Application of the appropriate credit time meant that
Appellant’s sentence would expire on or about August 1, 2014.
On April 11, 2014, Appellant’s counsel filed a motion to secure
compensation for fees and costs, which Judge Williams granted on April 12,
2014.
Nothing further happened with the case until February 23, 2015, when
Judge Williams filed a notice of intent to dismiss Appellant’s PCRA petition
due to lack of jurisdiction as Appellant was no longer serving a sentence
and, thus, was not eligible for relief under 42 Pa.C.S. § 9543(a)(1)(i).
Appellant filed a response. On March 26, 2015, the trial court issued an
order dismissing Appellant’s petition. This appeal followed.
4
The Commonwealth’s reply brief does not appear on the official court
docket; however, the original is included in the certified record and is date
stamped as having been filed on May 20, 2013.
5
The record reveals that Appellant completed the full four years of his prison
sentence, but within 24 hours of release to probation tested positive for
cocaine. Appellant’s Petition to Lift Detainer, 7/24/2013.
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Our standard of review of the denial of a PCRA petition is limited to
examining whether the court’s rulings are supported by the evidence of
record and free of legal error. Commonwealth v. Anderson, 995 A.2d
1184, 1189 (Pa. Super. 2010).
The language of the PCRA limits eligibility for relief to petitioners who
plead and prove by a preponderance of the evidence that they have been
convicted of a crime under the laws of the Commonwealth and are “at the
time relief is granted: (i) currently serving a sentence of imprisonment,
probation or parole for the crime; (ii) awaiting execution of a sentence of
death for the crime; or (iii) serving a sentence which must expire before the
person may commence serving the disputed sentence.” 42 Pa.C.S.
§ 9543(a)(1) (emphasis added). Our Supreme Court has consistently
interpreted this language to bar PCRA relief from those who are not serving
a sentence. Commonwealth v. Ahlborn, 699 A.2d 718, 720 (Pa. 1997).6
6
At the time Ahlborn timely filed his PCRA petition, he was still serving a
sentence following his conviction for driving under the influence. Three days
before Ahlborn’s scheduled PCRA hearing, his sentence expired and he was
unconditionally released from prison. His PCRA petition was subsequently
dismissed under section 9543(a)(1)(i). Both the Superior Court, sitting en
banc, and our Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal, despite the petition’s
being filed while he was incarcerated and despite the ongoing collateral
consequences of his DUI conviction. The Supreme Court explained “the
denial of relief for a petitioner who has finished serving his sentence is
required by the plain language of the statute. To be eligible for relief a
petitioner must be currently serving a sentence of imprisonment, probation
or parole. To grant relief at a time when appellant is not currently serving
such a sentence would be to ignore the language of the statute.” Ahlborn,
699 A.2d at 720 (emphasis in original).
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Applying subsection 9543(a)(1)(i), Judge Williams dismissed Appellant’s
petition for lack of jurisdiction.7 Trial Court Opinion, 2/23/2015, at 2-3.
Appellant recognizes the Court’s position, but argues that the eligibility
limitation set forth in section 9543(a) is unconstitutional on its face as it
violates procedural and substantive due process, the right to counsel, and
the right to appeal. Appellant’s Brief at 19-25.
Our Supreme Court has held that “constitutional rights are not
absolute and the legislature may place reasonable restrictions on
constitutional rights.” Commonwealth v. Morris, 771 A.2d 721, 732 (Pa.
2001) (citation omitted). In Commonwealth v. Peterkin, 722 A.2d 638,
642 (Pa. 1998), the Court concluded that the PCRA time limitations provided
a “reasonable opportunity for those who have been wrongly convicted to
demonstrate the injustice of their conviction,” and thus, struck “a reasonable
balance between society’s need for finality in criminal cases and the
7
Judge Williams’ opinion and order erroneously dismiss Appellant’s petition
under Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 909, which deals with
“Procedures for Petitions in Death Penalty Cases: Stays of Execution of
Sentence; Hearing; Disposition.” Because Appellant was convicted of
terroristic threats, recklessly endangering another person, and two summary
offenses, and was granted a hearing on his post-conviction claims, the
subsection applicable to the dismissal of his PCRA petition was Pa.R.Crim.P.
908(D)(1). (“Upon the conclusion of the hearing the judge shall determine
all material issues raised by the defendant’s petition and the
Commonwealth’s answer, or by the Commonwealth’s motion to dismiss, if
any. (1) If the judge dismisses the petition, the judge promptly shall issue
an order denying relief. The order shall be filed and served as provided in
Rule [of Criminal Procedure] 114.”).
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convicted person’s interest.” Id. at 643. The Court went on to note that
“[t]he purpose of [the PCRA] is not to provide convicted criminals with the
means to escape well-deserved sanctions, but to provide a reasonable
opportunity for those who have been wrongly convicted to demonstrate the
injustice of their conviction[s].” Id.
Applying the principles of Ahlborn and Peterkin, the Supreme Court
in Commonwealth v. Turner, 80 A.3d 754, 769 (Pa. 2013), rejected a
facial due process challenge to section 9543(a), holding that where a
“[p]etitioner’s liberty is no longer burdened by a state sentence, [he or] she
has no due process right to collateral review of that sentence.” The Court
explained as follows.
In the collateral review context, the United States
Supreme Court has held that although states have no
constitutional obligation to provide a means for collaterally
attacking convictions, if they do, then such procedures must
comport with the fundamental fairness mandated by the Due
Process Clause. In this regard, states have substantial discretion
to develop and implement programs to aid prisoners seeking to
secure post[-]conviction review. When a state [chooses] to offer
help to those seeking relief from convictions and custody, due
process does not dictat[e] the exact form such assistance must
assume. Moreover, states need not provide post-conviction
petitioners with the full panoply of procedural protections that
the Constitution requires be given to defendants who are in a
fundamentally different position-at trial and on first appeal as of
right. Indeed, the United States Supreme Court has stated that
post-conviction petitioners have only a limited interest in post-
conviction relief. To deny due process, the complained-of aspect
of the state post-conviction procedures must be fundamentally
inadequate to vindicate the defendant’s liberty interest, and
must offend some principle of justice so rooted in the traditions
and conscience of our people as to be ranked as fundamental or
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transgress any recognized principle of fundamental fairness in
operation.
***
Because individuals who are not serving a state sentence
have no liberty interest in and therefore no due process right to
collateral review of that sentence, the statutory limitation of
collateral review to individuals serving a sentence of
imprisonment, probation, or parole is consistent with the due
process prerequisite of a protected liberty interest. 42 Pa.C.S.[]
§ 9543(a)(1)(i). Of course, the legislature was free to extend a
statutory right of collateral review to individuals like [Turner]
who had completed their sentence[s] and, had they done so,
they would be constitutionally obligated to ensure that those
rights were impacted only in accord with due process....
However, the legislature did not do so. Rather, the General
Assembly, through the PCRA, excluded from collateral review
those individuals who were no longer subject to a state
sentence, thereby limiting the statutory right of collateral review
to those whose liberty was constrained.
The legislature was aware that the result of the custody or
control requirement of Section 9543(a)(1)(i) would be that
defendants with short sentences would not be eligible for
collateral relief. Indeed, that was the apparent intent: to restrict
collateral review to those who seek relief from a state sentence.
The legislature’s exclusion from collateral relief of individuals
whose liberty is no longer restrained is consistent with the
eligibility requirements of habeas corpus review under the
general state habeas corpus statute, 42 Pa.C.S.[] § 6501, et
seq.
Turner, 80 A.3d at 763-67 (citations, quotations, and footnotes omitted).
Because we are bound by the Supreme Court’s determination in Turner,
Appellant’s due process claims fail.8 See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Friday,
8
Appellant concedes that his substantive due process, right-to-counsel, and
right-to-appeal claims fail if we reject his facial challenge to the statute’s
constitutionality. Appellant’s Brief at 34. Accordingly, in light of our
disposition, we need not address these claims. See Turner, 80 A.3d at 764
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90 A.2d 856, 859 (Pa. Supper. 1952) (“[Superior] Court is bound by the
decisions of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.”).
Appellant also contends that section 9543(a)(1)(i) is unconstitutional
as applied to him. Appellant’s Brief at 26-28. Here, Appellant filed his pro se
PCRA petition well within the one-year time frame allotted by the statute.
Following a two-day hearing, the PCRA court permitted both sides to brief
the issues. Those briefs were filed by May 20, 2013; however, nothing
happened with respect to Appellant’s PCRA claims for 21 months, until
February 23, 2015, when Judge Williams filed a notice of intent to dismiss
Appellant’s petition because his sentence had expired in August of 2014.
Although Appellant pointedly states that he is not making a claim that his
case was ignored by the PCRA court, Appellant’s Brief at 26, he really is
making that claim. The clear issue here is whether the delay violated his
due process rights.
In Commonwealth v. Burkett, 5 A.3d 1260, 1276 (Pa. Super. 2010),
we analyzed a claim that conduct of the PCRA court, Commonwealth, and
appellant’s appointed attorneys unreasonably delayed occurrence of his
PCRA hearing and disposition of his PCRA petition, thus violating his right to
due process. In so doing, we applied the test set forth in Barker v. Wingo,
407 U.S. 514 (1972).
(holding that because “process is not an end in itself,” once a court has
found that the petitioner does not have a valid liberty interest, a challenge to
both procedural and substantive due process must fail).
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Pursuant to Barker, the court first considers whether the delay
itself is sufficient to trigger further inquiry. Second, the court
must evaluate the reason for the delay. Thirdly, the court must
ascertain the timeliness of the defendant’s assertion of his right;
and lastly, the court must decide if there exists any resulting
prejudice to the defendant.
Burkett, 5 A.3d at 1276.
The 21-month delay herein is clearly sufficient to trigger further
inquiry; thus, the first prong of the test is satisfied. Id. 5 A.3d at 1279
(holding that “although there is no procedural rule requiring a court to
determine a petition within a certain time frame after conducting a hearing
in a non-death penalty case, presumptively it should not require more than
[the] 120 days [allotted to death penalty cases under Pa.R.Crim.P. 909] to
render a decision.”).
With respect to the second prong of Barker, Appellant concedes that
the delay herein was not intentional. Appellant’s Brief at 26. The PCRA
court takes responsibility for the problem, claiming the case “slipped through
the cracks,” but indicates that the issue has led to better in-chambers case
management. PCRA Court Opinion, 2/23/2015, at 1.9 Accordingly, we
determine the overwhelming reason behind the delay to be negligence on
9
The PCRA court also attributes some blame for this situation to the
Allegheny County Clerk of Courts for not adhering to “Pa.R.Crim.P.
909(B)(3), (4), (5), and (6)” which “provide a mechanism for tracking and
[notifying] the trial court about pending PCRA matters.” PCRA Court Opinion,
2/23/2015, at n.1. We remind the court that Rule 909 is applicable only to
post-conviction relief in death penalty cases; thus, the court’s
admonishment of the clerk’s office for failing to track this case is misplaced.
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the part of the PCRA court. However, as outlined below, the PCRA court’s
culpability does not negate Appellant’s duty to assert his rights.
With respect to the third prong, we conclude that Appellant was not
diligent in attempting to achieve PCRA relief before the expiration of his
sentence. In the months following Appellant’s PCRA hearing, he never
petitioned the court for a decision on his claims; although his counsel did file
a petition seeking payment for his PCRA work. Nearly a year after the
hearing, he was brought before the PCRA court for a probation violation,
after which he was resentenced and given 455 days of credit time. At that
point, in March of 2014, Appellant was aware that his sentence would expire
in August of 2014; however, he still did not inform the court or request
expedited review. See Turner, 80 A.3d at 769 (holding that Turner was not
entitled to relief where she failed to move for expedited consideration of her
claim, or raise it earlier in her sentence, to ensure it was reviewed within the
time limitations of the PCRA). Although the delay is not attributable to him,
we decline to find Appellant diligent where he failed to address the delay for
16 months.10 Simply put, by not addressing the delay with the court,
10
We recognize that it is difficult to tell the emperor he is wearing no
clothes. However, attorneys must sometimes act courageously to do just
that. See, e.g., Keffer v. Bob Nolan's Auto Serv., Inc., 59 A.3d 621,
657-58 (Pa. Super. 2012) (holding that “[w]hen the trial court overlooks or
fails to rule on an issue, the party seeking the court’s ruling must remind the
court that it has not ruled and obtain a definitive ruling on the issue.”).
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Appellant sat on his rights. Accordingly, we cannot find this prong in favor
of Appellant.
Finally, we address the prejudice element of the Barker test.
“Prejudice in the context of the present case requires a showing of actual
prejudice.” Burkett, 5 A.3d at 1280. We have held:
No Pennsylvania court has declared that delay in addressing a
PCRA petition is prima facie sufficient to establish actual
prejudice. … Although the excessive delay in this case should not
be countenanced, it does not establish that Appellant is
automatically entitled to a new trial or discharge. Appellant still
must be able to prove that the delay would have likely led to the
outcome of his PCRA proceeding having been different.
Id.
Appellant cannot meet this burden. In his PCRA petition, Appellant
assails the testimony of the victim in this matter, his mother, claiming that
he has after-discovered evidence of her mental state at the time of the
incident which was influenced by prescription medication and delusions that
Appellant was part of a conspiracy to harm her.
However, the record reveals that trial counsel delved into the victim’s
competency on cross-examination, questioning the victim about her ability
to remember the incident and her prescription medication. N.T., 7/1/2009,
at 46-49. Counsel also addressed the victim’s credibility in her closing. Id.
at 117-120. Further, on direct appeal, a panel of this Court found
Appellant’s weight-of-the-evidence claim, which was premised on what
Appellant believed were inconsistencies and contradictions in his mother’s
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testimony, to be without merit and affirmed Appellant’s convictions with
respect to terroristic threats and REAP. Volk, 13 A.3d 989 (unpublished
memorandum at *12-13).
Moreover, the testimony presented at trial supported the jury’s
determination that, at the time he committed the offenses for which he was
charged, Appellant was “manifestly under the influence of alcohol to the
degree that he may endanger himself or other persons or property or annoy
persons in the vicinity.” Id. at *6-7. Finally, Appellant admitted at trial to
the following: being intoxicated at work; “throwing a fit” while in his
mother’s vehicle once she picked him up from his job; breaking a rearview
mirror and tearing off the vehicle’s sun visor; telling his mother she’d “better
get ready to die;” breaking the basement door of his mother’s home;
destroying a table; getting in a “heated exchange” with his mother; and
throwing in the trash a wreath with sentimental value to his mother. N.T.,
7/1/2009, at 96-98. Due to these admissions, and our prior weight-of-the-
evidence holding, we cannot conclude that Appellant “was wrongly
convicted.” Peterkin, 722 A.2d at 642. Thus, we decline to find that he
suffered actual prejudice due to the delay.
We note the unacceptable delay in this case and the manner in which
this case was managed internally by the PCRA court. Nonetheless, due to
our binding precedent, Appellant’s failure to exercise due diligence, and the
lack of actual prejudice, we find that Appellant is not entitled to relief.
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Order affirmed.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 4/29/2016
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