Com. v. Blair
| Decision Date | 22 September 1980 |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH v. Joseph BLAIR, Appellant. |
| Court | Pennsylvania Supreme Court |
Robert B. Lawler, Chief, Appeals Division, Steven Cooperstein, Philadelphia, for appellee.
Before EAGEN, C. J., and O'BRIEN, ROBERTS, NIX, LARSEN, FLAHERTY and KAUFFMAN, JJ.
Appellant, Joseph Blair, was found guilty of murder of the first degree, aggravated assault, and possession of an instrument of crime. The charges arose out of an incident that occurred in the house of Gorman Keehn in Philadelphia. Appellant, one of five men present in the house, fired two shots. One bullet grazed the head of Joseph Kulda; the other struck and killed Robert Cooper. Following appellant's conviction, trial counsel filed post-verdict motions. Thereafter, new counsel for appellant filed supplemental post-verdict motions, alleging that appellant had been denied his constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel at trial. An evidentiary hearing was held on appellant's allegations. Post-verdict motions were denied and appellant was sentenced to a term of life imprisonment on the conviction of murder of the first degree, a concurrent term of imprisonment of two and one-half to five years on the conviction of possession of an instrument of crime, and a consecutive term of imprisonment of five to ten years for aggravated assault. This appeal followed. 1 We conclude that the record does not support appellant's allegations. We affirm.
Appellant first contends that trial counsel provided ineffective assistance because he failed to raise the issue of appellant's competence to stand trial. We disagree. It is uncontradicted that appellant had a recent history of mental illness prior to the shooting death of Robert Cooper. This fact is not dispositive of this issue, however, as one with a history of mental illness may, at a given time, be competent to stand trial. Commonwealth v. Tyson, 485 Pa. 344, 402 A.2d 995 (1979). Prior to trial, appellant underwent psychiatric evaluation to determine his competency to stand trial. He was first evaluated by a staff member of the Probation Department of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. By report dated May 31, 1977, Francis Hoffman, M.D., stated that appellant knew his attorney and could cooperate with him, that he was oriented to time and place, that he understood the nature of the charges against him, but that he was considered an "explosive personality." For this reason, appellant was ordered to undergo evaluation for sixty days at Holmesburg Prison Forensic Diagnostic Center. Richard Schwartzman, D.O., of the Forensic Diagnostic Center, filed a report dated July 27, 1977, finding appellant competent to stand trial.
Appellant asserts that the medication administered daily by prison doctors should have compelled trial counsel to raise the issue of appellant's competency to stand trial. Initially we note that the administration of medication does not compel the conclusion that appellant was incompetent to stand trial. Indeed, we have held that even where an accused required medication to sustain a level of competency, this factor did not preclude a finding of competency to stand trial. Commonwealth v. Tyson, supra.
Appellant testified at the evidentiary hearing that he never told trial counsel that the medication interfered with his ability to concentrate. Trial counsel testified that prior to trial, upon learning that appellant received medication daily, he contacted Dr. Robert Sadoff, a qualified and practicing psychiatrist who had previously examined appellant. Dr. Sadoff assured trial counsel that the medication, in the doses administered would not impair appellant's ability to understand the proceedings and would not prevent his cooperation with counsel. These are the critical factors to be met in determining the legal sufficiency of an accused's mental capacity to stand trial. Commonwealth v. Melton, 465 Pa. 529, 351 A.2d 221 (1976). Trial counsel further testified that throughout the pretrial and trial proceedings he remained convinced that the medication taken by appellant in no way interfered with his ability to stand trial. The trial judge, in his opinion in support of the denial of post-verdict motions, also stated that his personal observations of appellant at the suppression hearing and during trial were consonant with Dr. Sadoff's conclusion.
It is clear that counsel gave this issue careful consideration. He utilized his own discerning observations and additionally relied upon three experts' opinions in arriving at his reasoned judgment that appellant was competent to stand trial. A decision by counsel not to take a particular action does not constitute ineffectiveness if it is based upon a reasonable conclusion that there will be no benefit and is not the result of sloth or ignorance of available alternatives. Commonwealth v. Hubbard, 485 Pa. 353, 402 A.2d 999 (1979).
Appellant next argues that trial counsel's failure to present testimony on the motion to suppress appellant's statement constituted ineffective assistance of counsel. Counsel attacked the statement as involuntarily given, based only on the direct and cross-examination of the detective who had questioned appellant. We find that trial counsel had sound tactical reasons for not offering the testimony of appellant and his sister; therefore, this allegation is without merit. 2
Appellant's sister, who was called to the police station on the day of appellant's arrest, testified at the evidentiary hearing that she believed her brother had been intoxicated at the time he made his statement. She further claimed that although she did not read the statement, she told appellant to sign it and then signed it herself. She did not know if she had told these things to trial counsel.
Trial counsel, however, suffered no lapse in memory. He testified that appellant's sister did not tell him anything about the taking of the statement that could have been used to attack its voluntariness. She never mentioned her belief that appellant had been intoxicated nor did she admit that she had not read the statement.
The other witnesses who might have testified were appellant and defense psychiatrist, Dr. Sadoff. Trial counsel testified that he balanced the potential gains that this testimony might have achieved against the risks attendant to such action. First, any psychiatric testimony would have simply bolstered the Commonwealth's assertion that appellant was well-oriented and able to competently waive his rights. This was based upon discussions with Dr. Sadoff. Second, trial counsel anticipated cross-examination based upon appellant's prior homicide conviction insofar as he would have been familiar with the procedure followed during and after arrest. Based upon discussions with appellant's prior attorney and with appellant, trial counsel concluded that this was a fertile area of attack. Finally, since it was still uncertain at this point whether or not appellant would testify at trial, trial counsel considered the fact that statements appellant made at the suppression hearing could have been used as a basis to impeach at trial.
Based upon the above factors, the inconsistencies trial counsel believed he had exposed through his cross-examination of the detective who had taken appellant's statement, and the fact that appellant was reluctant to testify, we conclude that trial counsel had a reasonable basis for resolving the strategic decision in the manner in which he did. Thus, this allegation will not support a finding of ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Commonwealth v. Hosack, 485 Pa. 128, 401 A.2d 327 (1979).
Appellant's third assertion of ineffective assistance is based upon trial counsel's failure to request a ruling by the trial court that the Commonwealth could not introduce appellant's prior voluntary manslaughter conviction, pursuant to Commonwealth v. Bighum, ...
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