Com. v. Watley, A. ( 2020 )

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NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
: PENNSYLVANIA
:
v. :
:
:
ANDRE RAYMELLE WATLEY :
:
Appellant : No. 204 EDA 2019
Appeal from the PCRA Order Entered January 2, 2019
In the Court of Common Pleas of Northampton County Criminal Division
at No(s): CP-48-CR-0001039-2014
BEFORE: STABILE, J., NICHOLS, J., and FORD ELLIOTT, P.J.E.
MEMORANDUM BY NICHOLS, J.: Filed: April 30, 2020
Appellant Andre Raymelle Watley appeals pro se from the order
dismissing his serial Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA), 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541-
9546, petition as untimely. Appellant claims that (1) his most recent PCRA
counsel was ineffective for failing to preserve claims based on three affidavits
he obtained prior to and during the pendency of his previous PCRA appeal;
(2) the Commonwealth committed a Brady1 violation; (3) the PCRA court
erred in not conducting an independent review of the record before dismissing
Appellant’s PCRA petition; and (4) the PCRA court erred in not conducting an
evidentiary hearing. We affirm.
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1 Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963).
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We adopt the PCRA court’s summary of the procedural history of this
appeal.2 See PCRA Ct. Op., 3/27/19, at 1-5. We reiterate that on August 8,
2018, after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied allowance of appeal in
Appellant’s first PCRA proceeding,3 Appellant filed the instant pro se PCRA
petition. Therein, Appellant raised claims based on affidavits from George
Groller, Dwight Boase, and Nicholas Davila and a Brady violation based on
the victim’s 2009 statement. The PCRA court appointed counsel, Attorney
Talia Mazza, Esq., who filed a motion to withdraw and a Turner/Finley4 no-
merit letter. The trial court issued a Pa.R.Crim.P. 907 notice and permitted
Attorney Mazza to withdraw. Appellant filed a pro se response to the Rule 907
notice. On January 2, 2019, the PCRA court dismissed the instant petition.
Appellant, acting pro se, timely appealed and filed a court-ordered
Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) statement challenging the PCRA court’s decision allowing
Attorney Mazza to withdraw and asserting that he timely raised meritorious
claims. The PCRA court filed a Rule 1925(a) opinion concluding that all of
Appellant’s claims were previously litigated, that Attorney Mazza’s no-merit
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2As discussed below, we also agree with the PCRA court that Appellant’s
Brady claim was previously litigated. See PCRA Ct. Op., 3/27/19, at 5.
3 See Commonwealth v. Watley, 645 EDA 2017, 2017 WL 5452913 (Pa.
Super. filed Nov. 14, 2017) (unpublished mem.) (affirming the denial of relief
in Appellant’s first PCRA proceeding), appeal denied, 56 MAL 2018 (Pa. filed
July 18, 2018).
4Commonwealth v. Turner, 544 A.2d 927 (Pa. 1988); Commonwealth v.
Finley, 550 A.2d 213 (Pa. Super. 1988) (en banc).
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letter was appropriate and that Appellant failed to demonstrate that Attorney
Mazza was ineffective.
On appeal, Appellant raises the following issues, which we have
rephrased for review:
1. Was Attorney Mazza ineffective for failing to investigate and
interview eyewitnesses and for not litigating Appellant’s
claims that the instant PCRA was timely under 42 Pa.C.S. §
9545(b)(1)(i), (ii)?
2. Did the Commonwealth withhold exculpatory evidence in
violation of Brady and Pa.R.Crim.P. 573?
3. Did the PCRA court err by failing to conduct an independent
review of the record before dismissing the instant PCRA
petition?
4. Did the PCRA court err by failing to hold an evidentiary
hearing?
Appellant’s Brief at 9.
We summarize Appellant’s first three issues together because they are
interrelated. Appellant argues that Attorney Mazza’s no-merit letter was
defective because she failed to recognize that he timely raised his claims. Id.
at 10-11. Relatedly, Appellant asserts that the PCRA court did not conduct a
proper review of Attorney Mazza’s no-merit letter and request to withdraw
from representation. Id. at 44.
In support, Appellant essentially argues that his instant PCRA petition
stated exceptions to the PCRA time-bar based on the Groller, Boase, and
Davila affidavits, as well as the Brady violation. Appellant further contends
that the affidavits and Brady violation establish his actual innocence.
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The Commonwealth responds that the instant petition was untimely and
that none of Appellant’s claims established an exception to the PCRA time-
bar. Commonwealth’s Brief at 5. Alternatively, the Commonwealth argues
that Appellant’s after-discovered claims based on the Groller, Boase, and
Davila affidavits lacked merit. Id. The Commonwealth further asserts that
Appellant’s claims of ineffectiveness against Attorney Mazza were meritless
and that the PCRA court did not err in its independent review. Id.
Our standard of review from the dismissal of a PCRA petition “is limited
to examining whether the PCRA court’s determination is supported by the
evidence of record and whether it is free of legal error.” Commonwealth v.
Ousley, 21 A.3d 1238, 1242 (Pa. Super. 2011) (citation omitted). “We will
not disturb findings that are supported by the record.” Id. (citation omitted).
Further, “we may affirm the PCRA court’s decision on any basis.”
Commonwealth v. Charleston, 94 A.3d 1012, 1028 (Pa. Super. 2014)
(citation and quotation marks omitted).
A PCRA petitioner has no right to counsel for the purposes of a
subsequent PCRA petition. See Commonwealth v. Kubis, 808 A.2d 196,
200 (Pa. Super. 2002). As our Supreme Court noted in Commonwealth v.
Haag, 809 A.2d 271 (Pa. 2002),
the right to counsel in a second or subsequent PCRA petition is not
co-extensive with the right to counsel in a first PCRA petition.
While Pa.R.Crim.P. 904(A) provides for the appointment of
counsel in a first PCRA petition when the petitioner satisfies the
judge that he is unable to afford or otherwise obtain counsel,
Pa.R.Crim.P. 904(B) provides for the appointment of counsel in a
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second or subsequent PCRA petition only in cases where the
petitioner can further establish that an evidentiary hearing is
required.
Haag, 809 A.2d at 293.
Nevertheless, once the PCRA court appoints PCRA counsel, counsel must
diligently represent the petitioner by (1) presenting the petitioner’s claims in
legally acceptable terms or (2) certifying that the petitioner’s claims lack merit
and seeking withdrawal under Turner/Finley. Cf. Commonwealth v.
Cherry, 155 A.3d 1080, 1082-83 (Pa. Super. 2017).
To withdraw from representation under Turner/Finley,
counsel must review the case zealously. Turner/Finley counsel
must then submit a “no-merit” letter to the trial court . . .
detailing the nature and extent of counsel’s diligent review of the
case, listing the issues which the petitioner wants to have
reviewed, explaining why and how those issues lack merit, and
requesting permission to withdraw.
Counsel must also send to the petitioner: (1) a copy of the “no-
merit” letter/brief; (2) a copy of counsel’s petition to withdraw;
and (3) a statement advising petitioner of the right to proceed pro
se or by new counsel.
Commonwealth v. Wrecks, 931 A.2d 717, 721 (Pa. Super. 2007) (citations
omitted).
Additionally, when considering a request to withdraw under
Turner/Finley, the PCRA court must conduct an independent review and
agree with counsel that the petition was meritless before allowing counsel to
withdraw. See Commonwealth v. Widgins, 29 A.3d 816, 818 (Pa. Super.
2011). This Court has disapproved of the PCRA court’s adoption of counsel’s
no-merit letter. Commonwealth v. Glover, 738 A.2d 460, 466 (Pa. Super.
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1999) (noting that when the PCRA court “affirms by adopting counsel’s ‘no
merit’ letter, the certified record fails to demonstrate that the PCRA [c]ourt
has conducted a meaningful independent review of the issues”).
Nevertheless, the PCRA court may establish its independent review in a Rule
1925(a) opinion. Commonwealth v. Rykard, 55 A.3d 1177, 1186 (Pa.
Super. 2012).
Instantly, Appellant preserved his challenges to the adequacy of
Attorney Mazza’s no-merit letter and the PCRA court’s independent review in
his response to the Rule 907 notice of intent to dismiss the instant petition.
Therefore, we will address these challenges. See Rykard, 55 A.3d at 1186.
As noted above, Attorney Mazza filed a petition to withdraw and a no-
merit letter. She demonstrated a review of the record, listed the issues
Appellant wished to raise in the instant petition, and explained why she
believed those issues did not warrant relief. See Attorney Mazza’s No-Merit
Ltr., 11/15/18, at 1-3. The PCRA court, in its Rule 907 notice, stated that it
was dismissing the instant petition for the reasons stated in Attorney Mazza’s
no-merit letter. See Rule 907 Notice, 11/19/18, at 1. Nevertheless, the PCRA
court subsequently issued a Rule 1925(a) opinion in which it independently
reviewed the record and concluded that no relief was due. See Rykard, 55
A.3d at 1186.
Accordingly, we conclude that Attorney Mazza and the PCRA court
substantially complied with the procedures set forth in Turner/Finley.
Because Appellant contends that Attorney Mazza and the PCRA court erred in
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their conclusions that Appellant was not entitled to relief based on the Groller,
Boase, and Davila affidavits and his Brady claim, we will address Appellant’s
arguments in further detail. Specifically, we consider Appellant’s assertion
that each of the affidavits constituted newly-discovered facts under Section
9545(b)(1)(ii) and that his Brady claim was timely filed based on
governmental interference under Section 9545(b)(1)(i).
It is well settled that “[t]he timeliness of a PCRA petition is a
jurisdictional requisite.” Commonwealth v. Brown, 111 A.3d 171, 175 (Pa.
Super. 2015) (citation omitted). A PCRA petition, “including a second or
subsequent petition, shall be filed within one year of the date the judgment
becomes final” unless the petitioner pleads and proves one of three statutory
exceptions. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9545(b)(1).
The three statutory exceptions to the PCRA’s one-year time-bar are:
(i) the 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;
(ii) the facts upon which the claim is predicated were unknown to
the petitioner and could not have been ascertained by the exercise
of due diligence; or
(iii) the right asserted is a constitutional right that was recognized
by the Supreme Court of the United States or the Supreme Court
of Pennsylvania after the time period provided in this section and
has been held by that court to apply retroactively.
42 Pa.C.S. § 9545(b)(1)(i)-(iii).
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The former version of the PCRA required a petitioner to file his petition
within sixty days of the date the claim could have been presented. See 42
Pa.C.S. § 9545(b)(2) (subsequently amended). However, Section 9545(b)(2)
was amended on October 24, 2018, effective December 24, 2018, and
currently provides: “Any petition invoking an exception provided in paragraph
(1) shall be filed within one year of the date the claim could have been
presented.” 42 Pa.C.S. § 9545(b)(2) (as amended eff. Dec. 24, 2018). The
current version of Section 9545(b)(2) applies to claims arising on December
24, 2017, or thereafter. See Act of Oct. 24, 2018, P.L. 894, No. 146, § 3.
In Commonwealth v. Lark, 746 A.2d 585 (Pa. 2000), our Supreme
Court held that
when an appellant’s PCRA appeal is pending before a court, a
subsequent PCRA petition cannot be filed until the resolution of
review of the pending PCRA petition by the highest state court in
which review is sought, or upon the expiration of the time for
seeking such review. If the subsequent petition is not filed within
one year of the date when the judgment became final, then the
petitioner must plead and prove that one of the three exceptions
to the time bar under 42 Pa.C.S. § 9545(b)(1) applies. The
subsequent petition must also be filed within sixty days of the date
of the order which finally resolves the previous PCRA petition,
because this is the first “date the claim could have been
presented.” 42 Pa.C.S. § 9545(b)(2).
Lark, 746 A.2d at 588.
This Court subsequently stated that “Lark precludes consideration of a
subsequent petition from the time a PCRA order is appealed until no further
review of that order is possible.” Commonwealth v. Montgomery, 181 A.3d
359, 364 (Pa. Super. 2018) (en banc), appeal denied, 190 A.3d 1134 (Pa.
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2018). “[H]owever, nothing bars a PCRA court from considering a subsequent
petition, even if a prior petition is pending, so long as the prior petition is not
under appellate review.” Id.To successfully raise the newly discovered fact exception under Section
9545(b)(1)(ii), a petitioner must establish that (1) “the facts upon which the
claim was predicated were unknown” and (2) the facts “could not have been
ascertained by the exercise of due diligence.” 42 Pa.C.S. § 9545(b)(1)(ii).
We have previously explained that, “the ‘new facts’ exception at Section
9545(b)(1)(ii) does not require any merits analysis of an underlying after-
discovered-evidence claim.” Brown, 111 A.3d at 177 (quotation marks and
citations omitted).
Our Supreme Court has held that Section 9545(b)(1)(ii)
requires petitioner to allege and prove that there were facts that
were unknown to him and that he could not have ascertained
those facts by the exercise of due diligence. The focus of the
exception is on the newly discovered facts, not on a newly
discovered or newly willing source for previously known facts.
Commonwealth v. Marshall, 947 A.2d 714, 720 (Pa. 2008) (emphases in
original) (citations and some formatting omitted); see also Commonwealth
v. Lambert, 57 A.3d 645, 649-50 (Pa. 2012) (concluding that a “newly willing
source” supporting a petitioner’s previously litigated claims did not satisfy the
newly discovered facts exception to the PCRA’s time-bar).
Here, the trial court sentenced Appellant on July 22, 2015, and the
conviction became final on August 21, 2015, when Appellant did not take a
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direct appeal. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 9545(b)(1), (3). Therefore, Appellant had
until Monday, August 22, 2016, to file a facially timely PCRA petition. See 42
Pa.C.S. § 9545(b)(1); see also 1 Pa.C.S. § 1908. Accordingly, there is no
dispute that the instant petition, which Appellant filed on August 8, 2018, was
untimely on its face and that Appellant bore the burden of establishing a PCRA
timeliness exception.
The Groller Affidavit
Appellant challenges Attorney Mazza’s and the PCRA court’s
determination that he previously litigated his claims based on the Groller
affidavit. Appellant notes that before the PCRA court denied relief in his first
PCRA proceeding, he filed pro se petitions on December 12, 2016 and January
5, 2017, attempting to raise claims based on Groller’s statement. Appellant’s
Brief at 13-14. However, Appellant claims that his December 12, 2016 and
January 5, 2017 filings were nullities and that the PCRA court and this Court
should not have addressed the merits of his claims in his first PCRA appeal.
Id. at 14-15.
Moreover, Appellant contends that he timely raised his claims based on
the Groller affidavit in the instant petition. Id. at 15. Appellant asserts that
he did not have a proper opportunity to preserve his claims based on the
Groller affidavit while his first PCRA proceeding was pending in the PCRA court
and he was represented by counsel. Id. at 14-15. Appellant adds that his
counsel in the first PCRA proceeding abandoned him by failing to raise any
claims based on the Groller affidavit at the evidentiary hearing. Id. at 12-13.
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The Commonwealth responds that Appellant failed to establish a time-
bar exception under Section 9545(b)(1)(ii). Commonwealth’s Brief at 12.
Additionally, the Commonwealth asserts that Appellant failed to establish due
diligence in discovering the fact on which Appellant sought relief and failed to
file the instant petition within one year of the date Appellant could have raised
the claim. Id. at 12-13.
Instantly, Appellant asserted that he first discovered that Groller gave a
statement in October of 2016, and that he obtained Groller’s affidavit in
November of 2016. See PCRA Pet., 8/8/18, at 3; Mem. of Law, 8/8/18, at 1,
6-7. Therefore, former Section 9545(b)(2) applied and required him to raise
his claims within sixty days of the date they could have been raised, or no
later than January of 2017. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 9545(b)(2); Act of Oct. 24,
2018, P.L. 894, No. 146, § 3. However, Appellant did not file the instant
petition until August of 2018, well beyond the sixty-day period in former
Section 9545(b)(2).
We acknowledge Appellant’s argument that he did not have a proper
opportunity to raise claims based on the Groller affidavit because the PCRA
court had not yet ruled in his first PCRA proceeding and he was still
represented by counsel. Nevertheless, as the PCRA court and this Court noted
in Appellant’s first PCRA appeal, Appellant could have raised the Groller
affidavit in response to prior PCRA counsel’s no-merit letter or in response to
the PCRA court’s notice of its intent to deny relief.
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Therefore, we conclude that Appellant failed to establish that he filed
the instant petition within sixty days of the date the claim could have been
raised as required by former Section 9545(b)(2). Accordingly, Appellant’s
claim that he timely filed the instant petition based on the Groller affidavit
fails.
The Boase and Davila Affidavits
Appellant also contends that Attorney Mazza erred in concluding that his
claims based on the Boase affidavit were untimely. Specifically, Appellant
asserts that under Lark, he could not have raised the Boase affidavit while his
first PCRA appeal was pending and that he properly filed the instant petition
shortly after the conclusion of his first PCRA appeal. Appellant’s Brief at 10-
11, 20, 25. Appellant further contends that Attorney Mazza and the PCRA
court erred in concluding that his claim of after-discovered evidence based on
the Davila affidavits did not merit relief. See id. at19, 21.
The Commonwealth, in part, asserts that Appellant could not state a
timeliness exception under Section 9545(b)(1)(ii) based on the Boase and
Davila affidavits. Commonwealth’s Brief at 12. The Commonwealth contends
that Boase and Davila did not state previously unknown facts, but were new
sources of previously known facts. Id.
The record establishes the following. In the instant petition, Appellant
outlined the investigative steps he took to identify Boase as a witness and how
he obtained favorable information from Davila. See Mem. of Law, 8/8/18, at
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9-10, 11-12. Appellant asserted that he obtained the Boase and Davila
affidavits during the pendency of his first PCRA appeal. Id. at 10, 12.
Following her appointment in the present matter, Attorney Mazza
determined that Appellant’s claims based on the Boase affidavit were time-
barred, and in any event would not merit relief. Attorney Mazza’s No-Merit
Ltr., 11/15/18, at 2. Attorney Mazza stated that Appellant’s claims based on
the Davila affidavit were timely raised, but did not entitle Appellant to relief.
Id. at 2-3. The PCRA court, in its Rule 1925(a) opinion, did not address the
timeliness of Appellant’s claims based on the Boase and Davila affidavits, but
concluded that Boase’s and Davila’s proposed testimony would not have
changed the outcome at trial. PCRA Ct. Op., 3/27/19, at 6.
Because the timeliness of a PCRA petition is a threshold, jurisdictional
issue, we first consider whether Appellant established an exception under
Section 9545(b)(1)(ii). See Brown, 111 A.3d at 175. Instantly, a review of
the Boase and Davila affidavits reveals that Boase and Davila would assert the
same underlying facts as stated in the Groller affidavit; namely, that Appellant
was not a participant in the attack in the victim’s home. Therefore, these
affidavits are new sources for the same facts that were previously known to
Appellant. See Marshall, 947 A.2d at 720.
Accordingly, even if Appellant promptly raised his claims following the
conclusion of his first PCRA appeal, see Lark, 746 A.2d at 588, the Boase and
Davila affidavits do not establish an exception under Section 9545(b)(1)(ii).
See Marshall, 947 A.2d at 720.
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Brady
Appellant also claims that Attorney Mazza and the PCRA court erred in
finding that he previously litigated his Brady claim based on a statement the
victim gave about his assailants in May of 2009.5 Appellant’s Brief at 34-35,
37-38. However, we agree with the PCRA court’s assessment that this claim
was previously litigated in Appellant’s first PCRA proceeding. See PCRA Ct.
Op., 3/27/19, at 5; see also PCRA Ct. Op., 4/18/17, at 12 (concluding in
Appellant’s first PCRA proceeding that Appellant’s same Brady claim was
waived); Watley, 645 EDA 2017 at 7-9 (affirming the denial of relief on
Appellant’s Brady claim in his first PCRA appeal).
In any event, we add that Appellant failed to establish that his Brady
claim could establish a time-bar exception under the PCRA. Appellant asserts,
without citation to law, that as a constitutional violation, his Brady claim
“cannot be waived” and that a court may not add a due diligence and a
timeliness requirement. Appellant Brief at 34-35. Moreover, Appellant
contends that the failure to disclose the victim’s May 2009 statement
undermined the validity of his plea. Id. at 43.
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5 Appellant also argues that a separate Brady violation occurred when the
Commonwealth did not disclose the immunity agreement with Appellant’s co-
defendant, as well as any of his co-defendant’s prior inconsistent statements.
Appellant’s Brief at 38-40. This claim is waived because it was not included
in Appellant’s instant PCRA petition and thus is being presented for the first
time on appeal. See Commonwealth v. Mason, 130 A.3d 601, 638-39 (Pa.
2015).
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The Commonwealth responds that Appellant cannot establish a
timeliness exception under Section 9545(b)(1)(i) because Appellant cannot
prove that the failure to previously raise the claim was the result of
interference by government officials. Commonwealth’s Brief at 16. The
Commonwealth notes that “[g]overnment officials clearly did not prevent
Appellant from raising this claim previously, because he actually did raise this
claim previously.” Id. The Commonwealth further agrees with the PCRA
court’s assessment that the claim was previously litigated for the purposes of
the PCRA. Id. at 27.
Following our review, we agree with the Commonwealth that Appellant
has failed to establish any timeliness exception based on his Brady claim. As
noted above, the Brady claim was raised and addressed on Appellant’s first
PCRA proceeding. Therefore, Appellant cannot demonstrate that
governmental interference prevented him from raising this claim for the
purposes of the instant petition. See Commonwealth v. Abu-Jamal, 941
A.2d 1263, 1268 (Pa. 2008); accord Commonwealth v. Fahy, 737 A.2d
214, 222 (Pa. 1999) (noting that the PCRA’s jurisdictional time limits must be
strictly construed and that the doctrine of equitable tolling will not extend the
filing deadlines).
In sum, having reviewed Appellant’s first three issues in this appeal, we
discern no merit to Appellant’s contentions that Attorney Mazza’s no-merit
letter was defective and that the PCRA court failed to conduct an independent
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review. Although our reasons differ from those stated by Attorney Mazza and
the PCRA court, we conclude that the PCRA court did not err in permitting
Attorney Mazza to withdraw and dismissing Appellant’s claims. See
Charleston, 94 A.3d at 1028. Moreover, because all of Appellant’s underlying
claims were untimely or previously litigated, any error in the conclusions
drawn by Attorney Mazza or the PCRA court do not require further
proceedings.
In his final issue, Appellant argues that he was entitled to an evidentiary
hearing. However,
[i]t is well settled that there is no absolute right to an evidentiary
hearing on a PCRA petition, and if the PCRA court can determine
from the record that no genuine issues of material fact exist, then
a hearing is not necessary. To obtain reversal of a PCRA court’s
decision to dismiss a petition without a hearing, an appellant must
show that he raised a genuine issue of fact which, if resolved in
his favor, would have entitled him to relief, or that the court
otherwise abused its discretion in denying a hearing.
Commonwealth v. Maddrey, 205 A.3d 323, 328 (Pa. Super. 2019) (citations
and some formatting omitted), appeal denied, 218 A.3d 380 (Pa. 2019).
Having found that there are no claims presented in the instant PCRA petition
that would entitle Appellant to relief, we conclude that the PCRA court did not
err in denying Appellant’s petition without an evidentiary hearing.
Order affirmed.
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Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 4/30/20
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