Commonwealth v. Isaac
Decision Date | 26 February 2019 |
Docket Number | No. 389 EDA 2018,389 EDA 2018 |
Citation | 205 A.3d 358 |
Parties | COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee v. Prince ISAAC, Appellant |
Court | Pennsylvania Superior Court |
Alexandre N. Turner, Philadelphia, for appellant.
Nicholas J. Casenta, Jr., Assistant District Attorney, and Gerald P. Morano, Assistant District Attorney, West Chester, for Commonwealth, appellee.
Appellant, Prince Isaac, appeals from the December 21, 2017 order denying relief pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act ("PCRA"), 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9541 -46. We affirm.
Appellant represented himself at trial after a defective waiver-of-counsel colloquy—the trial court never apprised Appellant of the elements of the charged offenses.1 Appointed direct appeal counsel did not raise this issue. On collateral review, Appellant claimed direct appeal counsel rendered ineffective assistance. The PCRA court originally denied relief, but a three-judge panel of this Court reversed, concluding that the defective waiver colloquy was an issue of arguable merit.2 We remanded to the PCRA court for an assessment of counsel's strategy and the prejudice, if any, to Appellant. The PCRA court once again denied relief, and this timely appeal followed.
The prior panel quoted the underlying facts:
Commonwealth v. Isaac , 2016 WL 5210891, at *1–2 (Pa. Super. July 19, 2016). At the conclusion of a six-day trial, the jury found Appellant guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy. On July 8, 2009, the trial court sentenced Appellant to life in prison. This Court affirmed the judgment of sentence on direct appeal, and our Supreme Court denied allowance of appeal on August 12, 2012. Appellant filed this timely first PCRA petition on November 12, 2013.3
Presently, Appellant argues the PCRA court erred because counsel had no reasonable strategic basis for failing to raise the inadequate waiver colloquy on direct appeal, and because Appellant would have received a new trial had counsel challenged the defective waiver colloquy. Appellant's Brief at 4.
In PCRA appeals, our scope of review is limited to the findings of the PCRA court and the evidence on the record of the PCRA court's hearing, viewed in the light most favorable to the prevailing party. Because most PCRA appeals involve questions of fact and law, we employ a mixed standard of review. We defer to the PCRA court's factual findings and credibility determinations supported by the record. In contrast, we review the PCRA court's legal conclusions de novo.
Commonwealth v. Reyes-Rodriguez , 111 A.3d 775, 779 (Pa. Super. 2015) (en banc ). Counsel is presumed effective, and a PCRA petitioner asserting otherwise bears the burden of proof. Id. at 779-80. Specifically, the petitioner must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that (1) the underlying claim is of arguable merit; (2) counsel had no reasonable strategic basis in support of the action or inaction; and (3) the petitioner suffered prejudice, i.e. , the outcome of the proceeding in question would have been different but for counsel's error. Id. at 780. A petitioner's failure to prove any one of these three prongs is fatal to the claim. Id.
The right to counsel is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article V, Section 9 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. Commonwealth v. Clyburn , 42 A.3d 296, 298 (Pa. Super. 2012).4 When a defendant wishes to waive the right to counsel, the trial court is "ultimately responsible for ensuring that the defendant is questioned about the six areas [specified in Rule 121 ] and for determining whether the defendant is indeed making an informed and independent decision to waive counsel." Commonwealth v. Davido , 582 Pa. 52, 868 A.2d 431, 437 (2005) (quoting Commonwealth v. McDonough , 571 Pa. 232, 812 A.2d 504, 508 (2002) ), cert. denied , 546 U.S. 1020, 126 S.Ct. 660, 163 L.Ed.2d 534 (2005). Specifically, "it is incumbent on the court to fully advise the accused [of the nature and elements of the crime] before accepting waiver of counsel." Clyburn , 42 A.3d at 299 (quoting Commonwealth ex rel. Clinger v. Russell , 206 Pa.Super. 436, 213 A.2d 100, 102 (1965) ) (brackets added in Clyburn ). A "penetrating and comprehensive colloquy" is mandatory, regardless of the defendant's experience with the system. Id. at 300 (quoting Commonwealth v. Owens , 750 A.2d 872, 876 (Pa. Super. 2000) ). "Failure to conduct a thorough, on-the-record colloquy before allowing a defendant to proceed to trial pro se constitutes reversible error" on direct appeal. Id.
A defendant also has a constitutional right to self-representation. Clyburn , 42 A.3d at 298 ; United States v. Isaac , 655 F.3d 148, 153 (3d Cir. 2011), cert. denied , 566 U.S. 1029, 132 S.Ct. 2700, 183 L.Ed.2d 59 (2012). This right prevents the Commonwealth from bringing a defendant into court and forcing a lawyer on him. Commonwealth v. Starr , 541 Pa. 564, 664 A.2d 1326, 1334-35 (1995). In other words, the right to counsel is intended as "an aid to a wiling defendant—not an organ of the State interposed between an unwilling defendant and his right to defend himself personally." Commonwealth v. Tejada , 188 A.3d 1288, 1295 (Pa. Super. 2018) (quoting Faretta v. California , 422 U.S. 806, 820, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975) ).
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