Com. v. Gay, W. ( 2016 )


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  • J-S32035-16
    NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
    COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA,                    IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
    PENNSYLVANIA
    Appellee
    v.
    WILBERT GAY, JR.,
    Appellant                 No. 2654 EDA 2015
    Appeal from the PCRA Order August 17, 2015
    in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County
    Criminal Division at No.: CP-51-CR-0804412-1976
    BEFORE: BOWES, J., MUNDY, J., and PLATT, J.*
    MEMORANDUM BY PLATT, J.:                                   FILED MAY 10, 2016
    Appellant, Wilbert Gay, Jr., appeals pro se from the dismissal of his
    eighth petition filed pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA), 42
    Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9541-9546, as untimely. We affirm.
    We take the following facts and procedural background from the PCRA
    court’s September 2, 2015 opinion and our independent review of the
    certified record.    In 1978, at the conclusion of Appellant’s bench trial, the
    trial court convicted him of murder of the first degree, and related charges.
    The charges arose from his July 26, 1976 murder of a male victim
    underneath the Walt Whitman Bridge in Philadelphia. The court sentenced
    Appellant to life in prison. On January 27, 1981, the Pennsylvania Supreme
    ____________________________________________
    *
    Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.
    J-S32035-16
    Court affirmed Appellant’s judgment of sentence. (See Commonwealth v.
    Gay, 
    424 A.2d 495
    (Pa. 1981)).
    On December 15, 1982, Appellant filed his first petition for post-
    conviction relief pro se.         The court appointed counsel who, after “an
    exhaustive review” of the record in Appellant’s case, informed the court that
    his issues did not merit relief.        (Commonwealth v. Gay, No. 1675 PHL
    1984, unpublished memorandum, at *2 (Pa. Super. filed Mar. 15, 1985)).
    The court dismissed the petition on May 9, 1984. Appellant appealed to this
    Court, which affirmed the court’s order, and granted counsel’s petition to
    withdraw pursuant to Anders.1 (See 
    id. at *3).
    Thereafter, Appellant filed a series of pro se PCRA petitions between
    December 30, 1986, and February 13, 2012, the last of which was denied as
    untimely on June 25, 2012. A panel of this Court affirmed the PCRA court’s
    decision on December 19, 2012. (See Commonwealth v. Gay, 
    64 A.3d 27
    (Pa. Super. 2012) (unpublished memorandum)).
    Appellant filed the current pro se petition, his eighth, on June 21,
    2013. On April 13, 2015, Appellant filed a pro se amended petition without
    leave of court. The court provided Appellant notice of its intention to dismiss
    ____________________________________________
    1
    Anders v. California, 
    386 U.S. 738
    (1967).
    -2-
    J-S32035-16
    the petition without a hearing on July 20, 2015. See Pa.R.Crim.P. 907(1).
    It formally did so on August 17, 2015. Appellant timely appealed.2
    Appellant raises one issue that he presents as two questions.       (See
    Appellant’s Brief, at 2).      In effect, he claims that the PCRA court erred in
    dismissing his current PCRA petition as untimely because it had committed
    governmental interference when it “dismiss[ed] his initial [post-conviction]
    petition as frivolous [without] independently reviewing the issues raised in
    that petition[,] . . . causing Appellant to now be time[-]barred.”         (Id.)
    (unnecessary capitalization omitted). Appellant’s issue does not merit relief.
    This Court examines PCRA appeals in the light most
    favorable to the prevailing party at the PCRA level. Our review
    is limited to the findings of the PCRA court and the evidence of
    record[.] Additionally, [w]e grant great deference to the factual
    findings of the PCRA court and will not disturb those findings
    unless they have no support in the record. In this respect, we
    will not disturb a PCRA court’s ruling if it is supported by
    evidence of record and is free of legal error. However, we afford
    no deference to its legal conclusions. [W]here the petitioner
    raises questions of law, our standard of review is de novo and
    our scope of review is plenary.
    Commonwealth v. Henkel, 
    90 A.3d 16
    , 20 (Pa. Super. 2014), appeal
    denied, 
    101 A.3d 785
    (Pa. 2014) (citations and quotation marks omitted).
    ____________________________________________
    2
    The PCRA court did not order Appellant to file a Rule 1925(b) statement; it
    filed an opinion on September 2, 2015. See Pa.R.A.P. 1925.
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    J-S32035-16
    Here, the PCRA court found that Appellant’s petition was untimely and
    that he failed to plead and prove any exception to the PCRA time-bar. (See
    PCRA Court Opinion, 9/02/15, at 3). We agree.
    A PCRA petition, including a second or subsequent one, must be
    filed within one year of the date the petitioner’s judgment of
    sentence became final, unless he pleads and proves one of the
    three exceptions outlined in 42 Pa.C.S.[A.] § 9545(b)(1). A
    judgment becomes final at the conclusion of direct review by this
    Court or the United States Supreme Court, or at the expiration
    of the time for seeking such review.             42 Pa.C.S.[A.] §
    9545(b)(3).        The PCRA’s timeliness requirements are
    jurisdictional; therefore, a court may not address the merits of
    the issues raised if the petition was not timely filed.       The
    timeliness requirements apply to all PCRA petitions, regardless of
    the nature of the individual claims raised therein. The PCRA
    squarely places upon the petitioner the burden of proving an
    untimely petition fits within one of the three exceptions.
    Commonwealth v. Jones, 
    54 A.3d 14
    , 16-17 (Pa. 2012) (case citations
    and footnote omitted).
    Section 9545 of the PCRA provides only three exceptions that allow for
    review of an untimely PCRA petition: (1) the petitioner’s inability to raise a
    claim because of governmental interference; (2) the discovery of previously
    unknown facts that would have supported a claim; and (3) a newly-
    recognized constitutional right. See 
    id. at 16
    n.2. When a petition is filed
    outside the one-year time limit, “[p]etitioners must plead and prove the
    applicability   of   one   of   the   three   exceptions   to   the   PCRA   timing
    requirements.”       Commonwealth v. Johnston, 
    42 A.3d 1120
    , 1126 (Pa.
    Super. 2012).        “If the petition is determined to be untimely, and no
    exception has been pled and proven, the petition must be dismissed without
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    a hearing because Pennsylvania courts are without jurisdiction to consider
    the merits of the petition.” 
    Id. (citation omitted).
    In the case sub judice, Appellant’s judgment of sentence became final
    on March 30, 1981, when his time to file a petition for writ of certiorari with
    the United States Supreme Court expired. See 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9545(b)(3);
    former U.S. Sup. Ct. R. 20.1 (petition for writ of certiorari must be filed
    within sixty days of order from which appealing).         Therefore, Appellant’s
    current petition, filed on June 21, 2013, is patently untimely and we are
    precluded from reviewing its merits unless he pleads and proves a timeliness
    exception to the PCRA time-bar.
    Appellant is attempting to claim the applicability of the governmental
    interference exception.3       (See Appellant’s Brief, at 4-5, 8); see also 42
    Pa.C.S.A. § 9545(b)(1)(i).         Specifically, he maintains that he brought a
    timely Brady4 claim in his first post-conviction petition,5 but that the court
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    3
    Appellant also refers to the newly recognized constitutional right exception,
    (see Appellant’s Brief, at 4-5); see also 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9545(b)(1)(iii).
    However, not only has Appellant failed to develop any argument in support
    of this timeliness exception, he failed to raise it in the PCRA court, and
    therefore it is waived for our review. (See PCRA Petition, 6/21/13, at 3-4);
    see also Pa.R.A.P. 2119(a)-(b).
    4
    Brady v. Maryland, 
    373 U.S. 83
    (1963).
    5
    Appellant claims that the Commonwealth committed a Brady violation
    when it failed to disclose that one of its witnesses, Philadelphia Police
    Detective William Jones, was a convicted felon; and it allowed him to perjure
    himself by testifying in his official capacity. (See Appellant’s Brief, at 6-8).
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    J-S32035-16
    committed governmental interference when it dismissed that petition as
    frivolous, and every petition thereafter as untimely, without ever fully
    reviewing the merits of his claim.6            (See Appellant’s Brief, at 4-5, 8; see
    also PCRA Petition, 6/21/13, at 4).7               However, this issue is unavailing
    because Appellant has failed to plead and prove the applicability of Section
    9545(b)(1)(i).
    In order to meet the statutory requirements of the
    “governmental interference” exception to the PCRA’s one year
    jurisdictional time-bar, Appellant was required to plead and
    prove that his “failure to raise the claim . . . previously was the
    result of interference by government officials with the
    presentation of the claim . . . in violation of the Constitution or
    laws of this Commonwealth or the Constitution or laws of the
    United States. . . .” 42 Pa.C.S.[A.] § 9545(b)(1)(i) (emphasis
    added).
    Commonwealth v. Chester, 
    895 A.2d 520
    , 523 (Pa. 2006) (emphasis
    omitted).
    We first observe that, after “[h]aving reviewed the record of all
    relevant proceedings to make an independent judgment,”                    this Court
    ____________________________________________
    6
    Appellant has failed to provide any evidence to support his claim that the
    court did not conduct a full review of the merits of his first post-conviction
    petition. (See Appellant’s Brief, at 9-11).
    7
    We note that two previous panels of this Court rejected Appellant’s
    attempts to avail himself of the PCRA’s timeliness exceptions in an effort to
    raise his Brady claim. (See Commonwealth v. Gay, No. 1857 EDA 2012,
    unpublished memorandum, at *5-*6 (Pa. Super. filed Dec. 19, 2012)
    (rejecting Appellant’s attempt to claim newly discovered facts exception));
    (Commonwealth v. Gay, No. 2132 EDA 2008, unpublished memorandum,
    at *8-*9 (Pa. Super. filed Apr. 15, 2009) (rejecting Appellant’s attempt to
    claim governmental interference and newly discovered facts exceptions)).
    -6-
    J-S32035-16
    affirmed the court’s decision to deny Appellant’s first post-conviction petition
    as frivolous. (Commonwealth v. Gay, No. 1675 PHL 1984, at *3). “[A]
    proper court order can[not], in any fashion, be perceived as governmental
    interference.” Commonwealth v. Howard, 
    788 A.2d 351
    , 354 (Pa. 2002).
    Therefore, Appellant’s attempt to claim the benefit of the governmental
    interference timeliness exception on the basis of the court’s dismissal of his
    first PCRA fails. See 
    id. We also
    note that, even if the court’s order could form the proper basis
    of the governmental interference exception, Appellant’s claim still would not
    merit relief. Appellant himself concedes that he raised the underlying Brady
    claim as far back as his first post-conviction petition in 1982.           (See
    Appellant’s Brief, at 6, 8). Therefore, he cannot, at the same time, maintain
    his burden of proving that governmental interference rendered him unable to
    raise the Brady allegation in the first place. See Chester, supra at 523.
    Also, it is well-settled that:
    [T]here is the requirement that [a petitioner] file[] his claims
    within 60 days of the date the claim could have been presented.
    [See] 42 Pa.C.S.[A.] § 9545(b)(2). We have established that
    this 60–day rule requires a petitioner to plead and prove that the
    information on which his claims are based could not have been
    obtained earlier despite the exercise of due diligence.
    Commonwealth v. Edmiston, 
    65 A.3d 339
    , 345-46 (Pa. 2013), cert.
    denied, 
    134 S. Ct. 639
    (2013) (case citations omitted).
    Here, the court denied Appellant’s first petition on May 9, 1984.
    Appellant has utterly failed to establish why he could not have obtained this
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    J-S32035-16
    information about the alleged “governmental interference” until over thirty
    years’ later.    See 
    id. Hence, Appellant
    violated his duty to exercise due
    diligence, and he has failed to prove the governmental interference
    exception to the PCRA’s one-year time-bar on this basis as well.8      See 42
    Pa.C.S.A. § 9545(b)(2). Accordingly, the PCRA court properly dismissed his
    petition as untimely. See Jones, supra at 17. Appellant’s claim does not
    merit relief.
    Order affirmed.
    Judgment Entered.
    Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
    Prothonotary
    Date: 5/10/2016
    ____________________________________________
    8
    Even if we were to exercise extreme lenity by considering Appellant’s claim
    as somehow based on the PCRA court’s dismissal of his seventh petition on
    June 25, 2012, Appellant still would have failed to plead and prove that he
    exercised due diligence where he did not file his eighth PCRA petition within
    sixty days of this Court affirming that decision.       See 42 Pa.C.S.A. §
    9545(b)(2); Edmiston, supra at 345-46.
    -8-
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 2654 EDA 2015

Filed Date: 5/10/2016

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 5/11/2016