Com. v. Saranchak

• Decision Date: 19 January 2005
• Citation: 581 Pa. 490,866 A.2d 292
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, Appellee, v. Daniel SARANCHAK, Appellant.
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

866 A.2d 292

581 Pa. 490

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, Appellee, v. Daniel SARANCHAK, Appellant.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Submitted April 16, 2004.

Decided January 19, 2005.

Stuart Brian Lev, Esq., Shawn Nolan, Esq., Matthew C. Lawry, Esq., Philadelphia, for Daniel Saranchak.

Claude A. Lord Shields, Esq., Jonelle Harter Eshbach, Esq., Pottsville, for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

OPINION

BAER, Justice.

This is an appeal from an order of the Common Pleas Court of Schuylkill County dismissing a capital, post conviction relief petition pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA), 42 Pa.C.S § 9541-9546. For the following reasons, we affirm.

On October 15, 1993, Daniel Saranchak (Appellant) was drinking with a friend, Roy Miles (Miles), at Mickey Courtney's Sportsmen Bar (Courtney's Bar) in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Appellant told Miles that he knew where they could acquire some money, but that they might have to kill someone to obtain it. Thereafter, the two men left the bar and went to Appellant's brother's house. Appellant obtained a .22 caliber rifle from his brother, feigning that he and Miles were going hunting. After leaving his brother's house, Appellant and Miles went to a second bar and purchased two quarts of beer before driving to a residence in Cumbola, Pennsylvania (the Residence) shared by Appellant's 87-year-old grandmother (Grandmother) and his uncle, Edmund Saranchak (Uncle).

Before entering the Residence, Appellant stated that he was going to get some money from Grandmother. Appellant and Miles entered the Residence through an unlocked basement door. Once inside, Appellant walked directly to the sofa in the basement and shot Uncle in the head killing him almost instantly. Appellant rolled Uncle over, while Miles rifled through the victim's pockets stealing his money. Appellant and Miles then went to Grandmother's second floor bedroom. Appellant asked Miles to shoot Grandmother, but he refused. Upon awakening, Grandmother asked, "Danny is that you?" Appellant then fatally shot Grandmother once in the head. Appellant and Miles proceeded to lower the bedroom's blinds and search Grandmother's room for money. They eventually stole some money from Grandmother's purse.¹

Uncle had a breakfast meeting scheduled with his employer for the next morning. When Uncle failed to appear, his employer went to his home and spoke with a neighbor, who indicated he had not seen either victim since the previous day. Employer and the neighbor decided to enter the home, and upon doing so discovered Uncle's body. They called the police, who responded and found Grandmother's body. After securing the crime scene, police canvassed the neighborhood and questioned neighbors. Based upon the information obtained, police interviewed Appellant's mother who, among other things, told the police that Appellant had "gone shooting" the night before. She also informed police where Appellant was residing. Based upon mother's information, the police obtained a search warrant for Appellant's apartment and seized a .22 caliber rifle.²

On October 16, 1993, Appellant was taken into custody, transported to a local police station and twice advised of his constitutional rights pursuant to Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). He confessed to killing Uncle, but denied killing Grandmother.³ Appellant was eventually charged with two counts of first degree murder, burglary, robbery, and conspiracy.⁴

Prior to trial, the trial court appointed a psychiatrist with expertise in the areas of drug and alcohol addiction to evaluate Appellant's competency to stand trial and to opine as to whether Appellant's confession was voluntary. Trial counsel, however, failed to provide the psychiatrist with all of Appellant's school, mental health, and hospital records. After evaluating Appellant, the psychiatrist opined that Appellant understood the consequences of his actions and did not suffer from any major psychiatric deficit or mental disability which would have prevented him from comprehending the proceedings or assisting in his own defense.

On September 6, 1994, Appellant pled guilty to two counts of general homicide. After a degree of guilt hearing, the trial court determined Appellant had committed two counts of first degree murder, burglary, robbery, and conspiracy. The Commonwealth sought the death penalty, and requested that a jury determine the appropriate sentence. During both the degree of guilt hearing and the penalty phase hearing, co-defendant Miles testified regarding the events in question. On cross-examination, however, Miles invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in regard to large amounts of cash found on his person soon after the murders. After the penalty phase hearing, the jury found two aggravating circumstances: that the murders were committed during the course of the commission of a felony and that Appellant was convicted of another murder, committed either before or at the time of the offense.⁵ The jury found no mitigating factors, and set the penalty at death.⁶ On September 15, 1994, the trial court formally imposed the jury's sentence of death for both first degree murder convictions, and further sentenced Appellant to consecutive maximum sentences for the remaining three felonies. The imposition of the death penalty mandated that this Court consider Appellant's direct appeal. See 42 Pa.C.S. 9711(h). We did so, and affirmed the trial court decision on April 24, 1996. Commonwealth v. Saranchak, 544 Pa. 158, 675 A.2d 268, 271 (1996) (Saranchak I).

Appellant subsequently filed a pro se petition for relief pursuant to the PCRA. On May 28, 1997, the PCRA court dismissed the petition without a hearing for lack of merit. Appellant timely filed an appeal with this Court on June 26, 1997. On November 8, 1999, this Court issued a per curiam order vacating the PCRA court's order and remanding the case. Commonwealth v. Saranchak, 559 Pa. 111, 739 A.2d 162 (1999) (Saranchak II). The Defender Association of Philadelphia was appointed as new counsel, and, on December 7, 1999, filed an amended PCRA petition. Subsequently, Appellant wrote the PCRA court expressing his desire to discharge the Defender Association and forego further legal proceedings. The court conducted a thorough colloquy with Appellant and determined that his desire to dismiss counsel and waive all further proceedings was knowing, voluntary and intelligent. The court granted Appellant's prayer and dismissed the amended PCRA petition.

The Defender Association appealed to this Court, asserting that the waiver was invalid because no competency hearing had been conducted. While the appeal was pending, then-Governor Ridge signed a death warrant setting November 8, 2000 as the date for Appellant's execution. The Defender Association requested that we stay the scheduled imposition of the death penalty. On October 25, 2000, this Court held the matter in abeyance pending supplementation of the record by the PCRA court. See Commonwealth v. Saranchak, 570 Pa. 521, 810 A.2d 1197, 1198 (2002) (Saranchak V). At the direction of the PCRA court, Larry A. Rotenberg, M.D., Director of Psychiatry at the Reading Hospital and Medical Center, conducted a psychiatric evaluation and submitted a report. On November 3, 2000, the PCRA court held a hearing, and Dr. Rotenberg testified that Appellant was competent and had the requisite ability to waive knowingly all further legal proceedings. On November 6, 2000, after reviewing the record from the PCRA court's competency hearing, this Court permitted Appellant's dismissal of the Defender Association and cessation of legal proceedings to stand. Commonwealth v. Saranchak, 564 Pa. 136, 764 A.2d 1052 (2000) (Saranchak III). Accordingly, we found the Defender Association lacked standing to represent Appellant, denied the Association's request for stay of execution, and dismissed its appeal taken on Appellant's behalf.

Finding this Court unavailing, on November 7, 2000, the Defender Association filed a next-friend petition⁷ seeking a stay of execution in federal court. The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania held an emergency hearing. During the course of this proceeding, Appellant testified that he did not wish to pursue further appeals, and wanted to be executed. At the hearing's conclusion, the federal trial court found that the Association did not meet the requisite criteria to be designated next-friend, and that it had not demonstrated Appellant's incompetence.

The Association immediately took an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which entered a stay of Appellant's execution. Saranchak v. Horn, No. 00-9009, Order (3d Cir., November 8, 2000). The Commonwealth immediately sought vacatur of the stay from the United States Supreme Court. During the pendency of the Commonwealth's application to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Association filed a second request for stay of execution with this Court citing the Third Circuit's grant of the stay, and submitting to us a signed declaration from Appellant indicating his desire to retract his previous waiver of appellate rights. Before this Court could act upon the second request for stay of execution, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to vacate the Third Circuit Court's order granting stay. Horn v. Saranchak ex rel. Troup, 531 U.S. 986, 121 S.Ct. 444, 148 L.Ed.2d 449 (2000). Upon receipt of such notice, the Association withdrew its application for stay pending before this Court.

His execution averted by virtue of the Third Circuit's stay, on November 20, 2000, Appellant filed a "motion for reargument" in this Court seeking reinstatement of the Association as his counsel, the grant of a new panoply of post-conviction rights and a remand of the proceedings to the trial court for full consideration of his amended PCRA petition. On February 7, 2001, this Court retained...