J. A30042/17
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION – SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
v. :
:
KEVIN LAWRENCE AUSTIN, II, : No. 1625 WDA 2016
:
Appellant :
Appeal from the PCRA Order, September 26, 2016,
in the Court of Common Pleas of Clarion County
Criminal Division at No. CP-16-CR-0000125-2013
BEFORE: BOWES, J., STABILE, J., AND FORD ELLIOTT, P.J.E.
MEMORANDUM BY FORD ELLIOTT, P.J.E.: FILED JANUARY 18, 2018
Kevin Lawrence Austin, II, appeals pro se from the September 26,
2016 order dismissing his petition filed pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief
Act (“PCRA”), 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9541-9546, without a hearing. After careful
review, we affirm.
The relevant facts of this case were set forth by a prior panel of this
court on direct appeal and need not be reiterated here. See
Commonwealth v. Austin, 122 A.3d 1122 (Pa.Super. 2015) (unpublished
memorandum at *1, citing trial court opinion, 9/8/14 at 1-2), appeal
denied, 130 A.3d 1285 (Pa. 2015). In sum, appellant was charged with
attempted criminal homicide and related offenses in connection with his
involvement in a drive-by shooting that resulted in serious injury to one of
the victims. On December 11, 2013, a jury found appellant guilty of two
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counts of aggravated assault, four counts of recklessly endangering another
person, and one count each of simple assault, carrying a firearm without a
license, and persons not to possess a firearm.1 On February 26, 2014, the
trial court sentenced appellant to an aggregate term of 14 to 28 years’
imprisonment.2 On June 3, 2015, a panel of this court affirmed appellant’s
judgment of sentence, and our supreme court denied his petition for
allowance of appeal on December 8, 2015. See id.3 Appellant did not file a
petition for writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court.
On May 18, 2016, appellant filed a timely pro se PCRA petition and
Sara J. Seidle-Patton, Esq. (hereinafter, “PCRA counsel”), was appointed to
represent him on May 24, 2016. On August 24, 2016, PCRA counsel filed a
no-merit letter and request to withdraw in accordance with Commonwealth
v. Turner, 544 A.2d 927 (Pa. 1988), and Commonwealth v. Finley, 550
A.2d 213 (Pa.Super. 1988) (en banc). On August 29, 2016, the PCRA court
provided appellant with notice of its intention to dismiss his petition without
a hearing, pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 907(1). Appellant did not respond to
the PCRA court’s Rule 907 notice. That same day, the PCRA court granted
PCRA counsel permission to withdraw.
1
18 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 2702(a)(1) and (a)(4), 2705, 2701(a)(2), 6106, and
6105.1, respectively.
2
Appellant was represented at his jury trial and sentencing by Michael E.
Waltman, Esq. (hereinafter, “trial counsel”).
3
Appellant was represented on direct appeal by Stanley T. Booker, Esq.
(hereinafter, “direct appeal counsel”).
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On September 26, 2016, the PCRA court formally dismissed appellant’s
petition without a hearing. This timely pro se appeal followed on October
21, 2016. On October 24, 2016, the PCRA court ordered appellant to file a
concise statement of errors complained of on appeal, in accordance with
Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b), within 21 days. Appellant filed his pro se Rule 1925(b)
statement on November 18, 2016, four days past the deadline. Thereafter,
on January 13, 2017, the PCRA court filed a two-page Rule 1925(a) opinion
indicating that appellant’s appeal should be dismissed. (See PCRA court
opinion, 1/13/17 at 1-2.)
Preliminarily, we must address whether appellant’s untimely
Rule 1925(b) statement can be excused by the prisoner mailbox rule. Under
the prisoner mailbox rule, “a pro se prisoner’s document is deemed filed on
the date he delivers it to prison authorities for mailing.” Commonwealth v.
Chambers, 35 A.3d 34, 38 (Pa.Super. 2011) (citation omitted), appeal
denied, 46 A.3d 715 (Pa. 2012). Generally, “any reasonably verifiable
evidence of the date that the prisoner deposits” the document with prison
authorities is acceptable to satisfy this rule, including a certificate of mailing,
cash slip from prison authorities, or evidence of internal operating
procedures of the prison mail system. See Commonwealth v. Jones, 700
A.2d 423, 426 (Pa. 1997).
Here, appellant’s Rule 1925(b) statement was due on November 14,
2016, 21 days after entry of the PCRA court’s October 24, 2016 order. The
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clerk of courts received appellant’s Rule 1925(b) statement, on November
18, 2016, but the record does not contain a certificate of mailing indicating
when it was deposited with prison authorities. Nonetheless, we conclude
that appellant’s Rule 1925(b) statement, which was dated November 13,
2016, presumably would have been deposited with prison authorities or
placed in the prison mailbox by the following day, making it timely filed.
Accordingly, we deem appellant’s Rule 1925(b) to be timely.
Appellant raises the following seven issues for our review:
I. WHETHER [THE PCRA] COURT ERRED AS A
MATTER OF LAW IN DETERMINING THAT
APPELLANT WAIVED HIS CLAIM [THAT] THE
PROSECUTOR ENGAGED IN MISCONDUCT IN
FAILING TO PROVIDE EXCULPATORY
EVIDENCE IN THE FORM OF MALCOLM
HAILSTOCK, WHO ADMITTED HIS BRINGING
THE WEAPON IN QUESTION TO THE CRIME
SCENE OF THE SHOOTING?
II. WHETHER [THE PCRA] COURT ERRED AS A
MATTER OF LAW IN REFUSING TO GRANT
APPELLANT RELIEF AND/OR OTHERWISE
HOLDING EVIDENTIARY HEARING ON
APPELLANT’S CLAIM OF BEING DENIED
EFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL WHERE
[TRIAL COUNSEL] ERRONEOUSLY ADVISED
HIM TO REJECT TWO PLEA OFFERS BY THE
COMMONWEALTH?
III. WHETHER [THE PCRA] COURT ERRED IN
ALLOWING [PCRA COUNSEL] TO FILE
NO-MERIT LETTER AND IN GRANTING THE
SAME AS TO THE ISSUE OF TRIAL COUNSEL’S
[] FAILING TO INTERVIEW, INVESTIGATE OR
PRESENT TESTIMONY OF KIARONNA LITES TO
IMPEACH THE [COMMONWEALTH’S]
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ASSERTION OF FACTS INCULPATING
APPELLANT AT TRIAL?
IV. WHETHER [THE PCRA] COURT ERRED IN
ALLOWING [PCRA COUNSEL] TO FILE A
NO-MERIT LEITER AND IN GRANTING THE
SAME AS TO THE ISSUE OF [TRIAL
COUNSEL’S] FAILURE TO CHALLENGE JUROR
#37 FOR CAUSE?
V. WHETHER [THE PCRA] COURT ERRED AS A
MATTER OF LAW IN GRANTING [PCRA
COUNSEL’S] NO[-]MERIT LETTER DISMISSING
THE ISSUE OF [TRIAL COUNSEL’S] FAILURE TO
CHALLENGE THE ARRAY OF POTENTIAL
JURORS AFTER JUROR #73 MADE A CLEARLY
AUDIBLE STATEMENT, “HE’S GUILTY, HE’S
GUILTY,” IN FRONT OF ALL PROSPECTIVE
JURORS DURING SELECTION, TAINTING ALL
PROSPECTIVE JURORS APPELLANT WAS TO
SELECT FROM FOR HIS JURY TRIAL?
VI. WHETHER [THE PCRA] COURT ERRED IN
ALLOWING [PCRA COUNSEL] TO FILE A
NO-MERIT LETTER AND ADOPTING THE SAME
IN FAILING TO CONDUCT HEARING ON THE
CLAIM OF TRIAL COURT’S DENIAL OF [TRIAL
COUNSEL’S] CHALLENGE TO THE LACK OF
AFRICAN-AMERICANS COMPRISING THE JURY
PANEL, AND, IN [DIRECT APPEAL COUNSEL’S]
FAILURE TO RAISE THIS CLAIM ON DIRECT
APPEAL?
VII. WHETHER. [THE PCRA] COURT ERRED AS A
MATTER OF LAW IN ADOPTING [PCRA
COUNSEL’S] NO-MERIT LETTER AND HOLDING
THAT [DIRECT APPEAL COUNSEL] WAS NOT
INEFFECTIVE AT [THE] DIRECT APPELLATE
STAGE IN FAILING TO RAISE ISSUES ONE,
FOUR, FIVE AND SIX IN THE HEREIN BRIEF,
ASSERTING THESE CLAIMS LACKED MERIT?
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Appellant’s brief at iv-iii.4
Proper appellate review of a PCRA court’s dismissal of a PCRA petition
is limited to the examination of “whether the PCRA court’s determination is
supported by the record and free of legal error.” Commonwealth v. Miller,
102 A.3d 988, 992 (Pa.Super. 2014) (citation omitted). “The PCRA court’s
findings will not be disturbed unless there is no support for the findings in
the certified record.” Commonwealth v. Lawson, 90 A.3d 1, 4 (Pa.Super.
2014) (citations omitted). “This Court grants great deference to the findings
of the PCRA court, and we will not disturb those findings merely because the
record could support a contrary holding.” Commonwealth v. Hickman,
799 A.2d 136, 140 (Pa.Super. 2002) (citation omitted). In order to be
eligible for PCRA relief, a defendant must plead and prove by a
preponderance of the evidence that his conviction or sentence arose from
one or more of the errors listed at 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9543(a)(2). Further,
these issues must be neither previously litigated nor waived. 42 Pa.C.S.A.
§ 9543(a)(3).
Where the PCRA court has dismissed a petitioner’s petition without an
evidentiary hearing, as was the case here, we review the PCRA court’s
decision for an abuse of discretion. See Commonwealth v. Roney, 79
4
We note that the page numbers corresponding to appellant’s “Statement of
Questions Involved” in his pro se appellate brief appear in descending
order. Additionally, to the extent some of appellant’s issues are interrelated,
we will address them simultaneously.
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A.3d 595, 604 (Pa. 2013), cert. denied, 135 S.Ct. 56 (2014) (citation
omitted). Moreover,
the right to an evidentiary hearing on a
post-conviction petition is not absolute. It is within
the PCRA court’s discretion to decline to hold a
hearing if the petitioner’s claim is patently frivolous
and has no support either in the record or other
evidence. It is the responsibility of the reviewing
court on appeal to examine each issue raised in the
PCRA petition in light of the record certified before it
in order to determine if the PCRA court erred in its
determination that there were no genuine issues of
material fact in controversy and in denying relief
without conducting an evidentiary hearing.
Commonwealth v. Wah, 42 A.3d 335, 338 (Pa.Super. 2012) (internal
citations omitted).
Appellant first avers that he is entitled to relief on his underlying claim
of prosecutorial misconduct and that the PCRA court erred in concluding that
this claim was waived. (Appellant’s brief at iv, 3-5; Issue I.) We disagree.
Under the PCRA, “an issue is 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 postconviction proceeding.” 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9544(b).
Accordingly, appellant is not entitled to relief on this claim. See, e.g.,
Commonwealth v. Ford, 809 A.2d 325, 329 (Pa. 2002) (holding that
petitioner’s claims of trial court error, constitutional error, and prosecutorial
misconduct, which could have been raised on direct appeal but were not,
were waived under the PCRA), cert. denied, 540 U.S. 1150 (2004).
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Appellant next argues that trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance
by purportedly advising him to reject the Commonwealth’s two plea offers.
(Appellant’s brief at 5-8; Issue II.) To prevail on a claim of ineffective
assistance of counsel under the PCRA, a petitioner must plead and prove by
a preponderance of the evidence that counsel’s ineffectiveness “so
undermined the truth-determining process that no reliable adjudication of
guilt or innocence could have taken place.” 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9543(a)(2)(ii).
Specifically, a petitioner must establish that “the underlying claim has
arguable merit; second, that counsel had no reasonable basis for his action
or inaction; and third, that Appellant was prejudiced.” Commonwealth v.
Charleston, 94 A.3d 1012, 1020 (Pa.Super. 2014), appeal denied, 104
A.3d 523 (Pa. 2014) (citation omitted). “[C]ounsel is presumed to be
effective and the burden of demonstrating ineffectiveness rests on
appellant.” Commonwealth v. Ousley, 21 A.3d 1238, 1242 (Pa.Super.
2011), appeal denied, 30 A.3d 487 (Pa. 2011) (citation omitted).
Additionally, counsel cannot be found ineffective for failing to raise a claim
that is devoid of merit. Commonwealth v. Ligons, 971 A.2d 1125, 1146
(Pa. 2009).
Instantly, appellant has failed to establish any arguable merit to his
claim that trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance in advising him with
regard to the Commonwealth’s plea offers, because the record indicates that
there were no formal plea offers to accept or reject in this matter. As PCRA
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counsel noted in her August 24, 2016 no-merit letter, the record does not
contain a criminal conference form indicating that the Commonwealth ever
made a formal plea offer to appellant, and the Commonwealth withdrew its
two informal plea offers to appellant prior to his acceptance or rejection.
(See no-merit letter, 8/24/16 at 7.) Accordingly, appellant’s ineffectiveness
claim merits no relief.
Appellant’s remaining five claims concern PCRA counsel’s purported
ineffectiveness in failing to raise various allegations of ineffective assistance
of counsel on the part of both trial counsel and direct appeal counsel.
Specifically, appellant alleges that, in lieu of filing a Turner/Finley no-merit
letter, PCRA counsel should have argued that trial counsel was ineffective for
(a) failing to interview or present the potentially exculpatory testimony of
Kiaronna Lites at trial (see appellant’s brief at 8-10 (Issue III)); and (b) for
failing to argue that the prospective jury pool was tainted or challenge it on
Batson5 grounds. (See id. at 11-15 (Issues IV-VI).) In a one-paragraph
issue, appellant further argues that direct appeal counsel was ineffective in
failing to raise or preserve any of the aforementioned issues. (Id. at 15-16,
Issue VII.) Appellant also contends, albeit parenthetically, that the PCRA
court erred in failing to conduct a hearing on these claims of ineffectiveness.
(Id. at 11.)
5
Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986).
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Our supreme court has set forth the proper framework for alleging a
layered ineffective assistance of counsel claim in the context of the PCRA:
Succinctly stated, a petitioner must plead in his
PCRA petition that his prior counsel, whose alleged
ineffectiveness is at issue, was ineffective for failing
to raise the claim that the counsel who preceded him
was ineffective in taking or omitting some action. In
addition, a petitioner must present argument, in
briefs or other court memoranda, on the three
prongs of the [ineffectiveness] test as to each
relevant layer of representation. . . . [T]his means
that the arguable merit prong of the [ineffectiveness]
test as to the claim that appellate counsel was
ineffective in not raising trial counsel’s
ineffectiveness consists of the application of the
three-prong [ineffectiveness] test to the underlying
claim of trial counsel’s ineffectiveness. If any one of
the prongs as to trial counsel’s ineffectiveness is not
established, then necessarily the claim of appellate
counsel’s ineffectiveness fails. Only if all three
prongs as to the claim of trial counsel’s
ineffectiveness are established, do prongs 2 and 3 of
the [ineffectiveness] test as to the claim of appellate
counsel’s ineffectiveness have relevance, requiring a
determination as to whether appellate counsel had a
reasonable basis for his course of conduct in failing
to raise a meritorious claim of trial counsel’s
ineffectiveness (prong 2) and whether petitioner was
prejudiced by appellate counsel’s course of conduct
in not raising the meritorious claim of trial counsel’s
ineffectiveness (prong 3).
Commonwealth v. Reid, 99 A.3d 470, 482 (Pa. 2014), quoting
Commonwealth v. McGill, 832 A.2d 1014, 1023 (Pa. 2003).
Our review of appellant’s pro se brief indicates that he has failed to
properly raise his layered ineffectiveness claims by applying the three-prong
ineffectiveness test to each level of representation. A determination that
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trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance is a prerequisite to finding that
any subsequent counsel was himself ineffective, and as discussed, no such
findings were demonstrated in this case. See Commonwealth v. Burkett,
5 A.3d 1260, 1270 (Pa.Super. 2010). Moreover, as noted, “[i]t is within the
PCRA court’s discretion to decline to hold a hearing if the petitioner’s claim is
patently frivolous and has no support either in the record or other
evidence[,]” as is the case here. See Wah, 42 A.3d at 338 (internal
citations omitted). Additionally, we note that appellant did not file a
response to PCRA counsel’s no-merit letter and request to withdraw and
raise claims of PCRA counsel’s purported ineffectiveness. Accordingly, for all
the foregoing reasons, appellant’s remaining five ineffective assistance of
counsel claims must fail.
Based on the foregoing, we discern no error on the part of the PCRA
court in dismissing appellant’s petition without a hearing. Accordingly, we
affirm the September 26, 2016 order of the PCRA court.
Order affirmed.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 1/18/2018
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