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NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
:
v. :
:
:
AARON WALTER ROBINSON :
:
Appellant : No. 852 MDA 2017
Appeal from the PCRA Order May 3, 2017
In the Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County Criminal Division at
No(s): CP-36-CR-0001681-2012
BEFORE: GANTMAN, P.J., SHOGAN, J., and OTT, J.
MEMORANDUM BY SHOGAN, J.: FILED JANUARY 24, 2018
Aaron Walter Robinson (“Appellant”) appeals pro se from the order
denying his petition for relief filed under the Post Conviction Relief Act
(“PCRA”), 42 Pa.C.S. § 9541–9546. We affirm in part the order denying
collateral relief, vacate the judgment of sentence and remand for
resentencing.
This case arose out of multiple armed robberies and kidnappings of
Leroy Freeman in December of 2011 by Appellant and a co-defendant.1 The
Commonwealth charged Appellant with three counts of robbery, two counts
of kidnapping to facilitate a felony, criminal conspiracy, theft by extortion,
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1 We adopt the PCRA court’s factual summary of this case, which is
supported by the certified record. PCRA Court Opinion, 5/3/17, at 1–2.
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and unlawful restraint/risking serious injury.2 Appellant absconded, but the
United States Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force eventually apprehended him on
February 2, 2012, in Richmond, Virginia. Following a three-day trial, a jury
convicted Appellant of the foregoing offenses on January 18, 2013. Prior to
sentencing, the Commonwealth filed two notices of its intent to seek
mandatory minimum sentences: a minimum of ten years of incarceration
because Appellant had a prior conviction for a crime of violence in 1993, and
a minimum of five years of incarceration pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 9712(a)
because Appellant committed the instant offenses with a firearm.
The trial court sentenced Appellant on April 2, 2013, to incarceration
for an aggregate term of thirty-six to seventy-two years. Appellant filed
post-sentence motions, which the trial court denied on July 9, 2013. We
affirmed Appellant’s judgment of sentence, and the Pennsylvania Supreme
Court denied allowance of appeal. Commonwealth v. Robinson, 104 A.3d
60, 1281 MDA 2013 (Pa. Super. filed May 27, 2014) (unpublished
memorandum), appeal denied, 104 A.3d 525, 446 MAL 2014 (Pa. filed
December 10, 2014).
Appellant filed a timely pro se PCRA petition, challenging the
effectiveness of trial and appellate counsel and the imposition of mandatory
minimum sentences. Petition, 7/24/15, at ¶ 6. The PCRA court appointed
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2 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 3701(a)(1)(ii), 2901(A)(2), 903(A)(1), 3923(A)(1), and
2902(A)(1), respectively.
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counsel and granted leave to file an amended petition. Following two
extensions for review of Appellant’s collateral claims, PCRA counsel
concluded that Appellant’s petition did not present any issues of arguable
merit. Consequently, counsel filed a no-merit letter pursuant to
Turner/Finley3 and a petition to withdraw on March 2, 2016.
The PCRA court determined that “there were no disputed issues of
fact, [Appellant] was not entitled to relief, and no purpose would be served
by any further proceedings.” PCRA Court Opinion, 5/3/17, at 5.
Accordingly, the PCRA court filed a notice of its intention to dismiss
Appellant’s petition without a hearing. Order, 3/7/16. Appellant did not file
a response to counsel’s petition to withdraw or the PCRA court’s notice. The
PCRA court then dismissed Appellant’s petition and granted counsel leave to
withdraw. Order, 5/3/17. The PCRA court did not direct Appellant to file a
concise statement of errors complained of on appeal pursuant to Pa.R.A.P.
1925(b), but it filed a Rule 1925(a) opinion, relying on its May 3, 2017
opinion and order dismissing Appellant’s petition.
On appeal, Appellant presents three questions for our consideration:
1. Whether court[-]appointed PCRA counsel complied with the
Turner/Finley withdrawal requirements as set forth in
Commonwealth v. Turner, 518 Pa. 491, 544 A.2d 927 (Pa.
1988), and Commonwealth v. Finley, 379 Pa. Super. 390, 550
A.2d 213 (Pa. Super. 1988)?
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3 Commonwealth v. Turner, 544 A.2d 927 (Pa. 1988), and
Commonwealth v. Finley, 550 A.2d 213 (Pa. Super. 1988).
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2. Whether the Appellant was illegally sentenced under 42
Pa.C.S.A. §9712(A), which has been deemed
unconstitutional?
3. Whether court-appointed counsel, Janice L. Martino Longer,
Esquire was ineffective during trial, sentencing, and on
appeal?
Appellant’s Brief at 6 (full capitalization and bold omitted).
When reviewing the propriety of an order denying PCRA relief, we
consider the record “in the light most favorable to the prevailing party at the
PCRA level.” Commonwealth v. Stultz, 114 A.3d 865, 872 (Pa. Super.
2015) (quoting Commonwealth v. Henkel, 90 A.3d 16, 20 (Pa. Super.
2014) (en banc)). This Court is limited to determining whether the evidence
of record supports the conclusions of the PCRA court and whether the ruling
is free of legal error. Commonwealth v. Rykard, 55 A.3d 1177, 1183 (Pa.
Super. 2012). We grant great deference to the PCRA court’s findings that
are supported in the record and will not disturb them unless they have no
support in the certified record. Commonwealth v. Rigg, 84 A.3d 1080,
1084 (Pa. Super. 2014).
In his first issue, Appellant argues that PCRA counsel “did not comply
with the Turner/Finley withdrawal requirements because she failed to
identify each and every issue the Appellant raised in his initial pro se PCRA
filing[.]” Appellant’s Brief at 16. Specifically, Appellant claims, for the first
time, that PCRA counsel was ineffective for failing to raise trial counsel’s
ineffectiveness in not challenging the legality of Appellant’s sentence. Id. at
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14–24. Because the PCRA court did not order a Rule 1925(b) statement of
errors, it did not address this issue.
Upon review, we are compelled to conclude that Appellant has waived
this issue. In doing so, we rely on our analysis of the same situation in
another case:
[T]he PCRA court’s Rule 907 notice was adequate where the
court advised the parties of its reasons for dismissal and
informing them of the twenty-day time limit to file a response to
the notice. Here, the PCRA court’s Rule 907 notice indicated the
reason for dismissal was Appellant’s issues lacked merit and
alerted Appellant to the twenty-day response period. The court
sent the Rule 907 notice to Appellant, Appellant’s counsel, and
the District Attorney’s Office. The rule does not impose on the
court any duty to explain to Appellant how to proceed or respond
to the notice.
Appellant had an affirmative duty to preserve his claims. If
Appellant wanted to assert claims of ineffective assistance of
PCRA counsel, he should have consulted counsel and/or the
court to learn the correct procedure. Instead, Appellant did
nothing in the [period] between the court’s Rule 907 notice and
dismissal of the petition. Thus, Appellant’s substantive issues
concerning PCRA counsel’s assistance are waived, because
Appellant failed to respond to the PCRA court’s Rule 907 notice
at any time before the court dismissed his petition. Once
Appellant filed a notice of appeal, he waived his right to complain
about PCRA counsel’s stewardship, because Appellant was
unable to raise those claims for the first time [on appeal].
Moreover, throughout the PCRA proceedings Appellant, as
petitioner, bore the burden to plead and prove his claims. See
42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9543(a), 9545(b). See, e.g., Commonwealth
v. Bardo, ___ Pa. ___, 105 A.3d 678 (2014) (explaining counsel
is presumed effective and petitioner bears burden to prove
ineffective assistance of counsel); Commonwealth v. Pitts,
603 Pa. 1, 981 A.2d 875 (2009) (noting petitioner must satisfy
rigorous burden to warrant evidentiary hearing for claims);
Commonwealth v. Clark, 599 Pa. 204, 961 A.2d 80 (2008),
cert. denied, 558 U.S. 1082, 130 S.Ct. 810, 175 L.Ed.2d 569
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(2009) (stating petitioner bears burden to demonstrate his
issues have not been previously litigated or waived). Compare
Commonwealth v. Ligons, 601 Pa. 103, 971 A.2d 1125 (2009)
(plurality) (stating where PCRA petitioner in capital case had
evidentiary hearing on his PCRA claims, and Rule 907 notice was
not implicated, petitioner could raise ineffective assistance of
PCRA counsel claims for first time on appeal from denial of PCRA
relief). Given Appellant’s affirmative duties to preserve his claims
of PCRA counsel’s service, in the context of Rule 907 notice,
Appellant cannot shift the burden to the court to instruct
Appellant how to do so.
Commonwealth v. Smith, 121 A.3d 1049, 1055 (Pa. Super. 2015) (some
internal citations omitted). Accordingly, because Appellant has waived his
first issue, we decline to address it on the merits.
Next, Appellant argues that his sentence is illegal pursuant to Alleyne
v. United States, 570 U.S. 99 (2013), because it included a mandatory
minimum sentence based on 42 Pa.C.S. § 9712,4 which has been deemed
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4 42 Pa.C.S. § 9712 provides:
(a) Mandatory sentence.—Except as provided under section
9716 (relating to two or more mandatory minimum sentences
applicable), any person who is convicted in any court of this
Commonwealth of a crime of violence as defined in section
9714(g) (relating to sentences for second and subsequent
offenses), shall, if the person visibly possessed a firearm or a
replica of a firearm, whether or not the firearm or replica was
loaded or functional, that placed the victim in reasonable fear of
death or serious bodily injury, during the commission of the
offense, be sentenced to a minimum sentence of at least five
years of total confinement notwithstanding any other provision
of this title or other statute to the contrary. Such persons shall
not be eligible for parole, probation, work release or furlough.
(Footnote Continued Next Page)
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unconstitutional. Appellant’s Brief at 25. According to Appellant, his
Alleyne-based claim is “a non-waivable challenge to the legality of a
sentence that could be raised on direct appeal, or in a timely filed PCRA
petition.” Id. at 31.
Again, the PCRA court did not address Appellant’s sentencing claim.
As for the Commonwealth, it argues that:
[t]his issue, whether [Appellant’s] mandatory minimum
sentences are unconstitutional, and what ground or grounds
might exist for such a claim, was not addressed by PCRA
counsel’s “no merit” letter, nor by the PCRA [c]ourt. Even
assuming that the original claim in the pro se petition can be
said to be based on Alleyne, [Appellant] is not entitled to relief.
In Alleyne, the United States Supreme Court held that any
fact which allows for the imposition of a mandatory minimum
sentence is an element of the offense which must be submitted
to the jury and found beyond a reasonable doubt. Alleyne, 135
S. Ct. at 2153. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the United
States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit have held that
Alleyne is not given retroactive effect. Commonwealth v.
Washington, 142 A.3d 810 (Pa. 2016); United States v. Reyes,
755 F.3d 210 (3rd. Cir. 2014).
* * *
(Footnote Continued) _______________________
(b) Proof at sentencing.—Provisions of this section shall not
be an element of the crime and notice thereof to the defendant
shall not be required prior to conviction, but reasonable notice of
the Commonwealth's intention to proceed under this section
shall be provided after conviction and before sentencing. The
applicability of this section shall be determined at sentencing.
The court shall consider any evidence presented at trial and shall
afford the Commonwealth and the defendant an opportunity to
present any necessary additional evidence and shall determine,
by a preponderance of the evidence, if this section is applicable.
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[Appellant’s] Judgment of sentence became final on March
10, 2015, when the time for seeking review in the United States
Supreme Court expired. The earliest that [Appellant] could be
said to have challenged the constitutionality of his mandatory
minimum sentence based on Alleyne, supra, is on July 24, 2015,
when his pro se petition was filed. As Alleyne does not apply
retroactively to cases on collateral review, [Appellant] is not
entitled to relief.
Commonwealth’s Brief at 12–14.
Upon review, we disagree with the Commonwealth that Appellant’s
sentencing challenge must fail. Generally, an Alleyne claim does not apply
retroactively to cases on collateral review. See Commonwealth v.
Washington, 142 A.3d 810, 820 (Pa. 2016). However, in Commonwealth
v. Ruiz, 131 A.3d 54 (Pa. Super 2015), this Court recognized that an
Alleyne claim constitutes a non-waivable challenge to the legality of a
sentence and may be raised for the first time in a timely-filed PCRA petition
if the petitioner’s judgment of sentence was not final when Alleyne was
decided. Ruiz, 131 A.3d at 60–61.
Here, the trial court sentenced Appellant on April 2, 2013, and his
judgment of sentence became final on March 10, 2015. 42 Pa.C.S. §
9545(b)(3). Alleyne was decided in the interim, on June 17, 2013.
Because Appellant’s judgment of sentence was not final when Alleyne was
decided and he timely filed a PCRA petition that included a legality-of-
sentence claim, Alleyne is applicable to Appellant’s case. Ruiz, 131 A.3d at
60–61. Thus, applying Alleyne, we agree with Appellant that the
mandatory minimum sentence imposed under 42 Pa.C.S. § 9712 is illegal.
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See Commonwealth v. Valentine, 101 A.3d 801 (Pa. Super. 2014)
(“Because Alleyne and [Commonwealth v.] Newman, [99 A.3d 86
(Pa.Super.2014) (en banc)] render [Section] 9712 . . . unconstitutional, we
vacate the judgment of sentence and remand for the re-imposition of
sentence without consideration of any mandatory minimum sentence as
provided by [Section] 9712. . . .”).5
Finally, Appellant challenges the representation of his trial counsel.
Appellant’s Brief at 31. Our Supreme Court has long stated that in order to
succeed on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel (“IAC”), an appellant
must demonstrate (1) that the underlying claim is of arguable merit; (2)
that counsel’s performance lacked a reasonable basis; and (3) that the
ineffectiveness of counsel caused the appellant prejudice. Commonwealth
v. Pierce, 786 A.2d 203, 213 (Pa. 2001).
Specifically, Appellant claims that trial counsel:
was ineffective for failing to properly advise [Appellant] of his
sentencing guidelines for the charges he was facing when
discussing the plea offer from the District Attorney’s office. . . .
Had [Appellant] been given the proper information as to how he
might be sentenced, it is very plausible that [he] would have
eagerly accepted the plea that was being offered of nine (9)
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5 However, we note that the mandatory minimum sentence imposed under
42 Pa.C.S. § 9714, is not illegal. See Commonwealth v. Riggle, 119 A.3d
1058, 1064 (Pa. Super. 2015) (“In Alleyne, the Supreme Court held that
the constitutional jury trial right requires any fact, other than a prior
conviction, that triggers a mandatory minimum sentence to be proven
beyond a reasonable doubt before the finder of fact.” (emphasis supplied)).
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years had it not been for his counsel’s unconstitutional
deficiency.
Appellant’s Brief at 31, 33. The Commonwealth counters that, because
Appellant raises trial counsel’s ineffectiveness with regard to his sentencing
for the first time in his appellate brief, his claim is untimely.
Commonwealth’s Brief at 7.
The PCRA court recognized that Appellant raised—and PCRA counsel
addressed in her no-merit letter—a claim that trial counsel was ineffective
for failing “to advise [Appellant] that a ten-year mandatory [sentence]
applied to his case.” PCRA Court Opinion, 5/3/17, at 9. The PCRA court
concluded that this claim lacked merit. Id.
Upon review, we discern no abuse of the PCRA court’s discretion in
rejecting Appellant’s final argument. Although Appellant raised an IAC claim
about trial counsel in his PCRA petition, PCRA Petition, 7/24/15, at ¶ 6, he
failed to demonstrate that the underlying claim is of arguable merit. In fact,
the PCRA court explained that the record belies Appellant’s argument:
Next, [Appellant] complains that trial counsel was
ineffective for failing to inform him that if convicted he would be
subject to a mandatory sentence of ten years’ incarceration
pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9714(a). The record establishes that
[Appellant] was advised as early as June 25, 2012, during a
bond hearing, that he was looking at a minimum ten-year
sentence in this case. The prosecutor specifically stated: “This
would be a second strike. So at a minimum, the defendant is
looking at a sentence of 10 years in this case.” (N.T., Bond
Hearing at [78–79]). Accordingly, this claim lacks merit and
must be dismissed.
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PCRA Court Opinion, 5/3/17, at 17. The record supports the PRCA court’s
findings, and its legal conclusion is without error. Thus, Appellant’s final
issue does not warrant relief.
Based on the foregoing, we vacate Appellant’s judgment of sentence
and remand for resentencing consistent with this Memorandum. We affirm
the PCRA court’s denial of collateral relief on Appellant’s IAC claims about
PCRA counsel and trial counsel.
Order denying collateral relief affirmed in part. Judgment of sentence
vacated. Case remanded for resentencing. Jurisdiction relinquished.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 1/24/2018
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