Com. v. Boyd

• Decision Date: 23 January 1997
• Citation: 547 Pa. 111,688 A.2d 1172
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. J.B. BOYD, Appellant.
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Page 1172

688 A.2d 1172

547 Pa. 111

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. J.B. BOYD, Appellant.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued March 6, 1996.

Decided Jan. 23, 1997.

[547 Pa. 113] Edward J. Hatheway, Meadville, for J.B. Boyd.

John Dawson, J. Wesley Rowden, Francis J. Schultz, Meadville, for the Com.

Before FLAHERTY, ZAPPALA, CAPPY, CASTILLE, NIGRO and NEWMAN, JJ.

OPINION

NIGRO, Justice.

J.B. Boyd appeals the denial of his claims under the Post Conviction Relief Act, 42 Pa. Cons.Stat. §§ 9541-9546 ("PCRA"). Boyd asserts that his trial counsel was ineffective for advising him to reject the prosecution's plea offer and for advising him not to testify at trial. We find that the Superior Court erred in holding that Boyd's claim that his counsel improperly advised him to reject the plea offer is not cognizable under the PCRA. However, we affirm the lower court's decision that Boyd is not entitled to a new trial.

J.B. Boyd was socializing with his former girlfriend, D.J. Thrush, at a nightclub. Herbert Jolly, another man who had a relationship with Thrush, saw Boyd and Thrush together and followed them back to Thrush's apartment. Jolly entered the apartment that he had shared with Thrush and found Boyd and Thrush in bed together. Boyd ordered Jolly out of the apartment. The two men began to fight and Boyd stabbed Jolly many times. Jolly ran to another apartment and the man who lived there took Jolly to the hospital.

The police questioned Jolly at the hospital about the incident. The police went to Thrush's apartment and observed Boyd's and Thrush's wounds and recovered a bloody knife as evidence. Upon learning that the blood on the knife matched Jolly's blood, the police arrested Boyd and charged him with aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person.

Boyd's counsel argued at trial that Boyd stabbed Jolly in self-defense and emphasized Boyd's own wounds in support. Jolly testified that he did not bring a knife to the apartment and that Boyd attacked him when his back was turned. Boyd did not testify. Boyd's counsel argued that Jolly's testimony was incredible and inconsistent with his testimony at the preliminary hearing. He also asserted that the laboratory results on blood from the knife were unreliable.

During the trial, the prosecution offered Boyd a plea to the misdemeanor, simple assault mutual combat. Boyd rejected the plea offer. The jury convicted Boyd of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment and the court sentenced him to four to eight years imprisonment. Boyd appealed and the Superior Court affirmed. We denied Boyd's petition for allowance of appeal. Boyd then filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief. His appointed PCRA counsel filed an amended petition claiming that trial counsel was ineffective for advising him to reject the prosecution's plea offer and for advising him not to testify at trial.

Following an evidentiary hearing, the court found that Boyd's counsel reasonably believed that Boyd could prevail at trial and that he was motivated only by his client's interests when he advised Boyd to reject the plea offer. The court also held that Boyd's counsel acted reasonably in advising him not to testify at trial.

On appeal, the Superior Court held that Boyd's claim that his counsel was ineffective for advising him to reject the plea offer was not cognizable under the PCRA because it did not implicate the truth-determining process. The Superior Court also found that Boyd's counsel acted reasonably in advising him not to testify at trial.

The Superior Court erred in holding that Boyd's claim that his counsel was ineffective for advising him to reject the plea offer is not cognizable under the PCRA. While the Superior Court correctly recognized that ineffective assistance of counsel claims under PCRA section 9543(a)(2)(ii) require that counsel's conduct undermine the truth-determining process, ¹see Commonwealth v. Buehl, 540 Pa. 493, 505, 658 A.2d 771, 777 (1995), it failed to consider that ineffective assistance claims that do not implicate the truth-determining process but involve certain constitutional or statutory violations are also cognizable under the PCRA. Under PCRA section 9543(a)(2)(v), relief is available to persons who are convicted or sentenced as a result of a violation of the provisions of the Constitution, law or treaties of the United States which would require the granting of federal habeas corpus to a state prisoner. 42 Pa. Cons.Stat. § 9543(a)(2)(v). ² An ineffective assistance claim, for example, that counsel ignored a request to file a direct appeal is thus cognizable even though the claim does not implicate the truth-determining process. Commonwealth v. White, 449 Pa.Super. 386, 391, 674 A.2d 253, 256 (1996).

The Superior Court has held that a claim that counsel was ineffective for failing to communicate a plea offer to his client is cognizable under the PCRA. Commonwealth v. Korb, 421 Pa.Super. 44, 49, 617 A.2d 715, 717 (1992). While counsel's failure to tell his client about the offer would not have affected the truth-determining process, the Superior Court found that such a failure would deny the defendant his constitutional rights. Id. Because the defendant would be entitled to relief in a federal habeas corpus action for such a violation, he stated a claim under PCRA section 9543(a)(2)(v). Id. at 50, 617 A.2d at 718. The reasoning in Korb applies here.

Boyd argues that his counsel was ineffective for advising him to reject the prosecution's plea offer. In addition to telling a client about a plea offer, counsel has a duty to explain the advantages and disadvantages of accepting or rejecting it. Commonwealth v. Copeland, 381 Pa.Super. 382, 394-96, 554 A.2d 54, 60-1 (1988)(quoting Commonwealth v. Napper, 254 Pa.Super. 54, 60-1, 385 A.2d 521, 524 (1978)), appeal denied, 523 Pa. 640, 565 A.2d 1165 (1989). A defendant cannot make an informed choice without such assistance from counsel. Id. Just as a defendant's constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel may be violated when counsel fails to communicate a tendered plea, that right may be violated by a failure to properly explain the advantages and disadvantages of accepting or rejecting a plea offer. See United States ex rel. Caruso v. Zelinsky, 689 F.2d 435 (3rd Cir.1982)(stating that the decision to reject a plea offer is a critical stage at which the right to effective assistance of counsel attaches).

Counsel's ineffective assistance with respect to a plea bargain would require the grant of federal habeas corpus relief to a state prisoner. See, e.g., Turner v. State of Tennessee, 858 F.2d 1201 (6th Cir.1988)(habeas corpus granted where petitioner was denied effective assistance when counsel advised him to reject a plea offer); Zelinsky, 689 F.2d 435 (ineffective assistance claim for failure to communicate a plea offer is cognizable under habeas corpus statute); Beckham v. Wainwright, 639 F.2d 262 (5th Cir.1981)(habeas corpus granted where petitioner was denied effective assistance when counsel advised him to withdraw plea). Boyd's claim is thus cognizable under PCRA section 9543(a)(2)(v).

While Boyd's claim is cognizable under the PCRA, we agree with the trial court that Boyd failed to prove that he is entitled to a new trial. To establish that counsel was ineffective for advising him to reject the plea, a defendant has the burden of proving that counsel had no reasonable basis for his advice. See Copeland, 381 Pa.Super. 382, 554 A.2d 54 (setting forth defendant's burden of proof to establish counsel's ineffectiveness for failing to communicate a plea).

At the post-conviction hearing, Boyd's counsel testified that he conveyed the plea offer to Boyd and told him that the misdemeanor to which he could plead guilty carried a maximum sentence of six months to one year. While Boyd was interested in the bargain, his counsel discouraged him from taking it. Boyd's counsel felt that no jury would convict Boyd because Jolly was a poor witness. His testimony was inconsistent and he admitted to perjury on the witness stand. Boyd's counsel felt there was reasonable doubt as to who owned the knife that caused Jolly's wounds. He explained to Boyd, however, that the final decision as to whether to accept the plea was his.

Based upon this testimony, the trial court found that counsel reasonably believed that he had a good chance of prevailing at trial, that there was no indication that counsel was motivated by interests other than his client's and that counsel discussed the offer with Boyd and rendered honest advice. Compare Napper, 254 Pa.Super. 54, 385 A.2d 521 (counsel did not advise his client to accept a favorable plea so that he could try his first case). We agree that counsel provided a reasonable basis for his advice to Boyd and hold that counsel was not ineffective for advising Boyd to reject the plea offer.

Boyd also argues that counsel was ineffective for advising him not to testify. He contends that if he testified, he could have disputed Jolly's testimony and supported the theory that he acted in self-defense. In order to establish that counsel was ineffective for advising against testifying, a defendant must show that counsel interfered with his freedom to testify or gave him advice that was so unreasonable that it vitiated his knowing and intelligent decision not to testify on his own behalf. Commonwealth v. Fowler, 362 Pa.Super. 81, 87, 523 A.2d 784, 787, appeal denied, 517 Pa. 598, 535 A.2d 1056 (1987).

At the post-conviction hearing, Boyd's counsel testified about the conversation he had with Boyd concerning whether he would testify at trial. Boyd told his counsel that the knife involved in the fight belonged to him and that he struck Jolly with the knife. Given this information, Boyd's counsel believed that his testimony would undermine the argument that Jolly resorted to deadly force first and Boyd acted in self-defense. Boyd's counsel was...