Com. v. Spencer
| Court | Superior Court of Pennsylvania |
| Writing for the Court | Lally-Green |
| Citation | 892 A.2d 840 |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Maurice SPENCER, Appellant. |
| Decision Date | 25 January 2006 |
v.
Maurice SPENCER, Appellant.
Page 841
John J. McMahon, Jr., Philadelphia, for appellant.
Hugh J. Burns, Jr., Assistant District Attorney, Philadelphia, for Commonwealth, appellee.
Before: FORD ELLIOTT, LALLY-GREEN, and JOHNSON, JJ.
OPINION BY LALLY-GREEN, J.:
¶ 1 Appellant, Maurice Spencer, appeals from the November 16, 2004 order dismissing his first petition for relief pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA), 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9541-9546, without a hearing. We affirm.
¶ 2 The relevant factual background and procedural history of this matter is as follows. On November 15, 2002, a jury convicted Appellant of robbery and possessing instruments of crime in connection with the September 14, 2001 robbery of an office building in Philadelphia. Appellant appeared only briefly for his trial; he left following jury selection, and he was tried in absentia. On March 7, 2003, the trial court sentenced Appellant in absentia, imposing an aggregate term of imprisonment of 12½ to 25 years.
¶ 3 No appeal followed. Instead, on February 18, 2004, Appellant filed the instant counseled PCRA petition. Pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 907, on October 15, 2004, the PCRA court filed notice of its intent to dismiss the petition without a hearing. Thereafter, on November 16, 2004, the PCRA court dismissed Appellant's petition. This timely, counseled appeal followed.
¶ 4 Appellant raises one issue on appeal:
Whether the PCRA Court erred in denying the [p]etitioner's PCRA [p]etition where counsel failed to file an appeal on behalf of the [p]etitioner without explanation?
Appellant's Brief at 5. Appellant asserts that even though he was willfully absent from trial and subsequent proceedings, he wanted counsel to file a direct appeal on his behalf and failure to do so constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel.
¶ 5 In reviewing the propriety of the PCRA court's order dismissing a petition for post-conviction relief, we are limited to determining whether the court's findings are supported by the record and whether the order in question is free of legal error. Commonwealth v. Halley, 582 Pa. 164, 870 A.2d 795, 799, n. 2 (2005). The PCRA court's findings will not be disturbed unless there is no support for the findings in the certified record. Commonwealth v. Carr, 768 A.2d 1164, 1166 (Pa.Super.2001).
¶ 6 We note the following relevant legal principles....
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Com. v. Springer, No. 341 WDA 2008.
...PCRA court's findings will not be disturbed unless there is no support for the findings in the certified record. Commonwealth v. Spencer, 892 A.2d 840, 841 (Pa.Super.2006) (citation omitted). Moreover, "[t]here is no absolute right to an evidentiary hearing on a PCRA petition, and if the PC......
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Commonwealth v. Jackson, 1340 EDA 2020
...A PCRA courts findings will not be disturbed unless there is not any support for the findings in the record. Commonwealth v. Spencer, 892 A.2d 840, 841 (Pa. Super. 2006).In reviewing the propriety of the PCRA court's dismissal of a petition without a hearing, the reviewing court is limited ......
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Rivera-Morel v. Smith, CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:17-CV-122
...1999). A mere allegation will not suffice to prove that counsel ignored a petitioner's request to file an appeal.Commonwealth v. Spencer, 892 A.2d 840, 842 (Pa. Super. 2006).In the present case, the PCRA court heard the testimony from Appellant and his mother in support of his claim that he......
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Com. v. Williams
...act or omission in question, the outcome of the proceeding would have been different." Commonwealth v. Spencer, 2006 PA Super 13, ¶ 6, 892 A.2d 840. Counsel will not be found ineffective for failing to raise a meritless claim. Commonwealth v. Pursell, 555 Pa. 233, 724 A.2d 293, 304 (1999), ......
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Com. v. Springer, No. 341 WDA 2008.
...PCRA court's findings will not be disturbed unless there is no support for the findings in the certified record. Commonwealth v. Spencer, 892 A.2d 840, 841 (Pa.Super.2006) (citation omitted). Moreover, "[t]here is no absolute right to an evidentiary hearing on a PCRA petition, and if the PC......
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Commonwealth v. Jackson, 1340 EDA 2020
...A PCRA courts findings will not be disturbed unless there is not any support for the findings in the record. Commonwealth v. Spencer, 892 A.2d 840, 841 (Pa. Super. 2006).In reviewing the propriety of the PCRA court's dismissal of a petition without a hearing, the reviewing court is limited ......
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Rivera-Morel v. Smith, CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:17-CV-122
...1999). A mere allegation will not suffice to prove that counsel ignored a petitioner's request to file an appeal.Commonwealth v. Spencer, 892 A.2d 840, 842 (Pa. Super. 2006).In the present case, the PCRA court heard the testimony from Appellant and his mother in support of his claim that he......
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Com. v. Williams
...act or omission in question, the outcome of the proceeding would have been different." Commonwealth v. Spencer, 2006 PA Super 13, ¶ 6, 892 A.2d 840. Counsel will not be found ineffective for failing to raise a meritless claim. Commonwealth v. Pursell, 555 Pa. 233, 724 A.2d 293, 304 (1999), ......