Com. v. Giknis
Decision Date | 22 September 1980 |
Parties | COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania v. Christopher Lynn GIKNIS, Appellant. |
Court | Pennsylvania Supreme Court |
Sheryl Ann Dorney, Asst. Dist. Atty., for appellee.
Before EAGEN, C. J., and O'BRIEN, ROBERTS, NIX, LARSEN, FLAHERTY and KAUFFMAN, JJ.
This appeal is from an order of the Court of Common Pleas, York County, denying relief requested by appellant, Christopher Lynn Giknis, in a petition filed pursuant to the Post Conviction Hearing Act. 1
On March 31, 1973, appellant was arrested and charged with the murder of his brother-in-law, Donald Garrety. Pursuant to the Mental Health and Mental Retardation Act of 1966, 2 the court ordered a sanity commission convened as called for in Section 408, 50 P.S. § 4408, to determine if appellant was competent to stand trial. An Assistant Public Defender was appointed to represent appellant at the hearing before the Sanity Commission on July 19, 1973. By a report dated July 25, 1973, the commission determined that appellant was competent to stand trial.
Appellant's counsel subsequently petitioned for the appointment of a psychiatrist to examine appellant to help in the preparation of a defense. A psychiatrist was appointed who examined and evaluated appellant.
On August 21, 1973, appellant entered a plea of guilty to murder generally, following a full colloquy. A degree-of-guilt hearing was held on February 28, 1974, and appellant was adjudged guilty of murder of the first degree. Appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment.
In 1976, appellant sought permission from this court to appeal nunc pro tunc, and permission to do so was granted. On September 14, 1977, we remanded to the Court of Common Pleas for a determination of whether appellant had waived the right to file post-verdict motions. 3 When the York County Court determined that appellant had not waived the right, appellant was permitted to file post-verdict motions nunc pro tunc. Post-verdict motions were denied and we affirmed on direct appeal. Commonwealth v. Giknis, 480 Pa. 535, 391 A.2d 1015 (1978).
On November 29, 1978, appellant filed a P.C.H.A. petition. For the first time, counsel other than trial counsel was appointed and new counsel filed an amended petition. On May 29, 1979, a hearing was held and by an order dated May 31, 1979, appellant's petition was denied. This appeal followed.
Appellant raises the following three issues in the instant appeal:
Under normal circumstances, the first two claims would be waived. As the Post Conviction Hearing Act provides:
"(2) The petitioner is unable to prove the existence of extraordinary circumstances to justify his failure to raise the issue." Act of January 25, 1966, P.L. 1580, § 4, 19 P.S. § 1180-4 (Supp. 1979-80). (Emphasis added.)
As appellant could have raised his first two issues prior to trial, at trial and on direct appeal, those issues would usually be waived.
Since the two issues in question involve appellant's competency, we must reach the merits of appellant's claims.
The ultimate issue in both of appellant's first two claims is whether the instant record supports a finding that appellant was indeed competent to stand trial. For if he was competent, it is of no moment that the sanity commission's report contained no findings of fact on which the trial court could independently determine appellant's competence. Further, if appellant was competent at the time of the entry of the plea, there was no denial of due process by the court's entertaining the plea of guilty.
In Commonwealth ex rel. Hilberry v. Maroney, 424 Pa. 493, 495, 227 A.2d 159, 160 (1967), we stated:
Our review of the transcript of the proceedings before the Sanity Commission convinces us that the Sanity Commission was correct in its conclusion that appellant was competent to stand trial. Further, at each of the proceedings, the trial court was able to observe appellant. We thus find no merit to either of appellant's first two issues.
Appellant finally argues that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel when trial counsel failed to...
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...for having elected not to raise a meritless claim. Commonwealth v. Pettus, 492 Pa. 558, 424 A.2d 1332 (1981); Commonwealth v. Giknis, 491 Pa. 215, 420 A.2d 419 (1980). Moreover, we begin with the presumption that trial counsel was not ineffective. Commonwealth v. Miller, 494 Pa. 229, 431 A.......
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Com. v. Brown
...hearing had been conducted, the Court remanded for an evidentiary hearing.12 Our Court reaffirmed the Nelson rule in Commonwealth v. Giknis, 491 Pa. 215, 420 A.2d 419 (1980). On appeal to our Court from the denial of PCHA relief, the appellant in Giknis raised the issue of whether the trial......
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...Williams, P. J., at 6 (Opinion filed April 22, 1980). See Commonwealth v. Pettus, 492 Pa. at 563, 424 A.2d at 1335; Commonwealth v. Giknis, 491 Pa. 215, 420 A.2d 419 (1980). Appellant is thus not entitled to relief on his unsupported claim that he was deprived of a material and favorable de......
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