Com. v. Washington

• Decision Date: 18 July 2007
• Docket Number: No. 347 CAP.,347 CAP.
• Citation: 927 A.2d 586
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Anthony WASHINGTON, Appellant.
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

927 A.2d 586

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. Anthony WASHINGTON, Appellant.

No. 347 CAP.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Submitted January 23, 2003.

Decided July 18, 2007.

Stuart Brian Lev, Esq., James H. Moreno, Esq., Philadelphia, for Anthony Washington.

Amy Zapp, Esq., Hugh J. Burns, Jr., Esq., Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, Philadelphia, for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

BEFORE: CAPPY, C.J., and CASTILLE, SAYLOR, EAKIN, BAER, BALDWIN and FITZGERALD, JJ.

OPINION

Justice BAER.¹

Anthony Washington (Appellant) appeals from an Order of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County (PCRA Court) dismissing his Petition for Post-Conviction Relief pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA), 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541-46. For the reasons set forth herein, we find that the PCRA court properly denied Appellant relief and affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

The background underlying Appellant's conviction for first-degree murder and death sentence is set forth in Commonwealth v. Washington, 549 Pa. 12, 700 A.2d 400 (1997). Briefly, the killing occurred on January 23, 1993, when Appellant and his co-defendant Derrick Teagle drove to a Sav-A-Lot supermarket in Philadelphia with the intention of robbing it. Both men were armed with handguns, but Teagle's was not functioning due to a broken firing mechanism. After pretending to be customers, Appellant and Teagle left the store, only to return a few minutes later. Teagle pointed his gun at the store manager, Anne Marie Buchanan, and Appellant ordered her to open the store's safe. Meanwhile, Teagle went to empty the cash register. When Juana Robles, a customer, attempted to leave the store, Appellant pointed his gun at her and ordered her not to leave.

Tracey Lawson, the store's unarmed security guard, was in the parking lot while the robbery was taking place. When he noticed what was going on inside, he pulled down the metal grate that secures the front entrance to the store. Appellant and Teagle were able to escape under the grate as it was coming down, and entered the parking lot. Lawson went into a nearby store and alerted the store's manager and the security guard, Gerard Smith, who was an off-duty Philadelphia police officer. All three men ran into the parking lot after Appellant and Teagle, where Officer Smith ordered the fleeing men to halt. As Appellant and Teagle fled, Appellant fired his weapon at Officer Smith, who fired back. Lawson began to chase after Appellant. When he saw Lawson pursuing him, Appellant turned and fired, hitting Lawson in the head. Appellant and Teagle then fled the scene in a get-away car. Lawson died in the hospital three days later.

Teagle eventually surrendered to police and gave a statement regarding the incident. Appellant was not apprehended until April 19, 1993. Teagle and Appellant were tried jointly.² The Commonwealth presented the eyewitness testimony of Ms. Robles and Officer Smith, who had identified Appellant from a photo array and at a line-up. Further, the Commonwealth presented the testimony of two sisters, Martha and Melissa Harrington, who were dating Appellant and his friend Levon Robinson. The sisters' testimony revealed that Appellant confessed to the shooting of Lawson to each of them on separate occasions. Melissa Harrington also testified that during a prison visit, Appellant instructed her to lie at his trial. Appellant's brother, Elijah Washington, also testified that on the night of the murder, Appellant asked him to take Teagle home because police might be looking for Appellant and Teagle. Appellant's defense theory was mistaken identity.

On October 11, 1994, a jury found Appellant guilty of first-degree murder, robbery, simple assault, possessing an instrument of crime, and criminal conspiracy.³ After a penalty hearing, the jury determined that one aggravating circumstance⁴ outweighed one mitigating circumstance,⁵ and returned a sentence of death, which the trial court formally imposed on December 9, 1994. We affirmed the conviction and sentence on August 20, 1997. Washington, 549 Pa. 12, 700 A.2d 400. The United States Supreme Court denied certiorari on June 26, 1998. Washington v. Pennsylvania, 524 U.S. 955, 118 S.Ct. 2375, 141 L.Ed.2d 742 (1998).

On July 7, 1998, Appellant filed a timely, pro se petition for relief under the PCRA.⁶ Subsequently, two attorneys from the Defender Association of Philadelphia entered appearances on Appellant's behalf. Defense counsel filed an amended petition in March of 2000 containing twenty-seven primary claims for relief and numerous sub-claims. After reviewing the petition and the record, the PCRA court dismissed the petition without hearing on June 26, 2001, finding Appellant's claims vague, not cognizable under the PCRA, previously litigated, waived, frivolous, and without merit. This appeal followed.⁷

On appeal from the denial of PCRA relief, our standard of review calls for us to determine whether the ruling of the PCRA court is supported by the record and free of legal error. Commonwealth v. Breakiron, 566 Pa. 323, 781 A.2d 94 (2001); Commonwealth v. Strong, 563 Pa. 455, 761 A.2d 1167, 1170 n. 3 (2000). In order to be eligible for PCRA relief under the statute, Appellant must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that his conviction or sentence resulted from one or more of the following enumerated circumstances:

(i) A violation of the Constitution of this Commonwealth or the Constitution or laws of the United States which, in the circumstances of the particular case, so undermined the truth-determining process that no reliable adjudication of guilt or innocence could have taken place.

(ii) Ineffective assistance of counsel which, in the circumstances of the particular case, so undermined the truth-determining process that no reliable adjudication of guilt or innocence could have taken place.

(iii) A plea of guilty unlawfully induced where the circumstances make it likely that the inducement caused the petitioner to plead guilty and the petitioner is innocent.

(iv) The improper obstruction by government officials of the petitioner's right of appeal where a meritorious appealable issue existed and was properly preserved in the trial court.

(v) Deleted.

(vi) The unavailability at the time of trial of exculpatory evidence that has subsequently become available and would have changed the outcome of the trial if it had been introduced.

(vii) The imposition of a sentence greater than the lawful maximum.

(viii) A proceeding in a tribunal without jurisdiction.

42 Pa.C.S. § 9543(a)(2).

In addition, Appellant must prove the issues raised have not been previously litigated or waived, and that "the failure to litigate the issue prior to or during trial or on direct appeal could not have been the result of any rational strategic or tactical decision by counsel." Id. §§ 9543(a)(3), (4). An issue has been previously litigated if the highest appellate court in which the petitioner was entitled to review as a matter of right has ruled on the merits of the issue. Id. § 9544(a)(2); Commonwealth v. Crawley, 541 Pa. 408, 663 A.2d 676, 678 (1995). A PCRA claim is waived "if the petitioner could have raised it but failed to do so before trial, at trial, during unitary review, on appeal or in a prior state post-conviction proceeding." 42 Pa.C.S. § 9544(b).

Appellant raises sixteen claims of error for review, several of which have numerous subparts. Appellant advances several allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel relating to both the guilt and penalty phases of trial. In evaluating claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, we presume that counsel is effective. Commonwealth v. Rollins, 558 Pa. 532, 738 A.2d 435, 441 (1999). To overcome this presumption, Appellant must establish three factors. First, that the underlying claim has arguable merit. See Commonwealth v. Travaglia, 541 Pa. 108, 661 A.2d 352, 356 (1995). Second, that counsel had no reasonable basis for his action or inaction. Id. In determining whether counsel's action was reasonable, we do not question whether there were other more logical courses of action which counsel could have pursued; rather, we must examine whether counsel's decisions had any reasonable basis. See Rollins, 738 A.2d at 441; Commonwealth v. (Charles) Pierce, 515 Pa. 153, 527 A.2d 973, 975 (1987). Finally, "Appellant must establish that he has been prejudiced by counsel's ineffectiveness; in order to meet this burden, he must show that `but for the act or omission in question, the outcome of the proceedings would have been different.'" See Rollins, 738 A.2d at 441 (quoting Travaglia, 661 A.2d at 357). A claim of ineffectiveness may be denied by a showing that the petitioner's evidence fails to meet any of these prongs. Commonwealth v. (Michael) Pierce, 567 Pa. 186, 786 A.2d 203, 221-22 (2001); Commonwealth v. Basemore, 560 Pa. 258, 744 A.2d 717, 738 n. 23 (2000); Commonwealth v. Albrecht, 554 Pa. 31, 720 A.2d 693, 701 (1998) ("If it is clear that Appellant has not demonstrated that counsel's act or omission adversely affected the outcome of the proceedings, the claim may be dismissed on that basis alone and the court need not first determine whether the first and second prongs have been met."). In the context of a PCRA proceeding, Appellant must establish that the ineffective assistance of counsel was of the type "which, in the circumstances of the particular case, so undermined the truth-determining process that no reliable adjudication of guilt of innocence could have taken place." 42 Pa. C.S. § 9543(a)(2)(ii). See also (Michael) Pierce, 786 A.2d at 221-22; Commonwealth v. Kimball, 555 Pa. 299, 724 A.2d 326, 333 (1999).⁸

All allegations relating to trial counsel's stewardship are waived, as they were not raised during post-trial or direct appellate proceedings. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 9544(b); Commonwealth v. D'Amato, 579 Pa. 490, 856 A.2d 806, 812 (2004). Although we have held that claims of trial cou...