Com. v. Gamboa-Taylor
Citation | 562 Pa. 70,753 A.2d 780 |
Parties | COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Paul GAMBOA-TAYLOR, Appellant. |
Decision Date | 19 June 2000 |
Court | Pennsylvania Supreme Court |
Robert Brett Dunham, Christina Swarns, Philadelphia, for Paul Gamboa-Taylor.
Christy Fawcett, Robert A. Graci, Harrisburg, for Office of Atty. Gen.
Before FLAHERTY, C.J., and ZAPPALA, CAPPY, CASTILLE, NIGRO, NEWMAN and SAYLOR, JJ.
This is an appeal from the denial of the second petition of Paul Gamboa-Taylor (Appellant) for post-conviction relief pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act, 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9541-9546. Because Appellant's petition is untimely, we affirm the trial court.
This Court previously summarized the facts of this case as follows:
On December 19, 1991, following full oral and written plea colloquies, Appellant entered a general plea to criminal homicide for the brutal murders of his wife, his two minor children, his mother-in-law and her infant child. The trial court conducted a degree of guilt hearing on January 10, 1992. At the commencement of the degree of guilt hearing, the trial court engaged in a second colloquy, which addressed Appellant's decision not to present any defense to the Commonwealth's charges. After entry of the Commonwealth's evidence, the trial court found Appellant guilty of five counts of first-degree murder. During the penalty phase proceedings on Appellant's capital murder convictions that followed, the trial court conducted a third colloquy, this time addressing Appellant's decision not to present any evidence of mitigating circumstances or to in any way defend the Commonwealth's request for a sentence of death. After hearing the Commonwealth's evidence regarding aggravating circumstances, the trial court determined that a penalty of death was appropriate for four of the murder convictions and that a penalty of life imprisonment was appropriate for the remaining murder conviction. In his automatic direct appeal to this Court, Appellant presented no claim of error and, on December 9, 1993, this Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court. Commonwealth v. Gamboa-Taylor, 535 Pa. 266, 634 A.2d 1106 (1993).
On January 13, 1997, Appellant, proceeding pro se, filed his first petition for collateral review under the PCRA.2 The PCRA court appointed counsel, who filed an amended PCRA petition. In the amended PCRA petition, Appellant alleged that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to override Appellant's decisions as to trial strategy at the penalty stage, specifically, Appellant's demand that trial counsel not present mitigating evidence or defend the Commonwealth's request for the imposition of a death sentence. The PCRA court conducted hearings on the matter, at which Appellant and trial counsel testified. The PCRA court denied Appellant's PCRA petition concluding that trial counsel had advised Appellant properly concerning all aspects of the criminal proceedings, and in particular, that trial counsel informed Appellant that the trial court would likely impose a death sentence if Appellant chose not to present mitigating evidence during the penalty phase of his trial. Furthermore, the PCRA court noted that the trial court had required psychological and psychiatric evaluations of Appellant prior to the entry of his guilty plea, which evaluations established that Appellant was competent to stand trial and was able to fully comprehend the consequences of not presenting evidence as to mitigating circumstances. The PCRA court concluded that Appellant did not present evidence to establish that he was incapable of making knowing and intelligent decisions and that trial counsel could not be deemed ineffective for not overriding Appellant's directives. This Court affirmed the decision of the PCRA court on August 20, 1998. Commonwealth v. Gamboa Taylor, 553 Pa. 144, 718 A.2d 743 (1998).
On February 5, 1999, Appellant, through current counsel, filed a document with the PCRA court captioned: "Amended Petition for Habeas Corpus Relief Pursuant to Article I, Section 14 of the Pennsylvania Constitution and 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 6503 and Statutory Post Conviction Relief under 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9542 et seq. and Consolidated Memorandum of Law."3 On March 22, 1999, the Commonwealth filed a motion to dismiss the petition without a hearing asserting that the document filed by Appellant was a second PCRA petition, which was filed untimely pursuant to 42 Pa. C.S.A. § 9545(b). The PCRA court dismissed the petition without a hearing. The PCRA court, however, vacated its initial order and conducted a hearing solely for purposes of addressing the issue of timeliness. After the hearing, the PCRA court concluded that Appellant's petition was a second PCRA petition and that the petition must be dismissed as untimely. Appellant now appeals the dismissal of his second PCRA petition to this Court. Because Appellant filed his second PCRA petition after the January 16, 1996 effective date of the 1995 amendments, those amendments, which establish a time limitation for the bringing of PCRA petitions, apply in the instant case. See Commonwealth v. Laird, 555 Pa. 629, 726 A.2d 346 (1999)
. In accordance with the 1995 amendments, a petition for PCRA relief must be brought within one year of final judgment on the petitioner's case.4 A judgment becomes final at the conclusion of direct review by this Court or the United States Supreme Court, or at the expiration of the time for seeking such review. 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9545(b)(3).
Moreover, the 1995 amendments afford three narrow exceptions to the one-year time limitation for seeking PCRA relief. One of the exceptions provides that a party is excused from the general one-year filing requirement of the PCRA if "the facts upon which the claim is predicated were unknown to the petitioner and could not have been ascertained by the exercise of due diligence." 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9545(b)(1)(ii). This exception has come to be known as the after-discovered evidence exception. See Commonwealth v. Yarris, 557 Pa. 12, 731 A.2d 581, 592 (1999)
( ); Commonwealth v. Peterkin, 554 Pa. 547, 722 A.2d 638, 643 (1998) ( ). Furthermore, as a secondary proviso, the amendments mandate that when a petitioner alleges entitlement to an exception to the one-year time limitation, the petition will only be addressed on substantive grounds if it is "filed within 60 days of the date the claim could have been presented." 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9545(b)(2). Thus, a petitioner relying on the after-discovered evidence exception is further required to file his or her PCRA petition within 60 days of the discovery of the new evidence proffered in support of relief.
It is also important to note that the time limitations of the 1995 amendments are...
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