Com. v. Maxwell, D. ( 2023 )

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NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37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. :
:
:
DANA H.D. MAXWELL :
:
Appellant : No. 2613 EDA 2021
Appeal from the PCRA Order Entered December 1, 2021
In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at
No(s): CP-51-CR-0004736-2013
BEFORE: PANELLA, P.J., LAZARUS, J., and STABILE, J.
MEMORANDUM BY LAZARUS, J.: FILED MAY 08, 2023
Dana H.D. Maxwell appeals from order, entered in the Court of Common
Pleas of Philadelphia County, dismissing, without a hearing, his petition fled
pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA), 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9541-9546.
In addition, counsel for Maxwell has filed with this Court a motion to
withdraw.1 After our review, we affirm the PCRA court’s order and grant
counsel’s petition to withdraw.
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1 Counsel filed a brief entitled, “Anders/McClendon Brief for Appellant.”
Counsel indicated that “[a]s this is a direct appeal from an order resolving a
petition seeking relief pursuant to the PCRA, this Anders/McClendon brief is
submitted pursuant to Commonwealth v. Turner, 544 A.2d 927 (Pa. 1988)
and Commonwealth v. Finley, 550 A.2d 213 (Pa. Super. 1988) [(en banc)].”
To clarify, an Anders brief is filed when seeking to withdraw in a direct appeal.
An appeal from an order denying post-conviction relief is a collateral appeal,
and the proper mechanism for withdrawal on appeal from the denial of a PCRA
petition is a Turner/Finley no-merit letter. See Turner, supra; Finley,
supra. However, because an Anders brief provides greater protection to a
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In January 2015, a jury convicted Maxell of attempted burglary, criminal
trespass, and possession of an instrument of crime.2 The sentencing court
imposed an aggregate sentence of 12 ½ to 25 years in prison.3 Maxwell filed
post-sentence motions, which were denied by operation of law on April 12,
2016. Maxwell did not file a direct appeal.
On June 8, 2016, Maxwell filed a timely pro se PCRA petition seeking
reinstatement of his appellate rights nunc pro tunc. The court appointed Todd
Moser, Esquire, to represent Maxwell, and Maxwell’s appellate rights were
reinstated. On direct appeal, this Court affirmed Maxell’s judgment of
sentence. Commonwealth v. Maxwell, 2678 EDA 2016 (Pa. Super. filed
Jan. 7, 2020) (unpublished memorandum decision). Maxwell did not seek
review in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
On December 23, 2020, Maxwell filed a timely pro se petition seeking
PCRA relief. The court appointed Andres Yalon, Esquire, to represent Maxwell.
Attorney Yalon filed a petition to withdraw and a Turner/Finley no-merit
letter. The PCRA court issued notice of intent to dismiss without a hearing
pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 907 and Maxwell filed a response. On December 1,
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criminal appellant, we may accept an Anders brief in lieu of a Turner/Finley
no-merit letter. See Commonwealth v. Widgens, 29 A3d 816, 817 n.2 (Pa.
Super. 2011); Commonwealth v. Fusselman, 866 A.2d 1109, 1111 n.3 (Pa
Super. 2004).
2 Todd R. Fiore, Esquire, represented Maxell at trial.
3 Vazken Zerounian, Esquire, represented Maxell at sentencing.
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2021, the PCRA court dismissed Maxell’s petition and granted Attorney Yalon’s
petition to withdraw.
Maxwell filed a timely pro se appeal to this Court on December 8, 2021.
On June 7, 2022, pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 122, the court appointed current
counsel, Michael Parkinson, Esquire, to represent Maxwell on collateral appeal,
and issued an order pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b). Maxwell did not file a Rule
1925(b) concise statement of error relied on for appeal. The PCRA court,
however, acknowledged that the delay in issuing the order was a result of a
breakdown in the court operations and, therefore, it relied on Maxwell’s PCRA
petition to determine the issues Maxwell wished to raise on appeal. On
November 22, 2022, Attorney Parkinson filed a motion to withdraw from
representing Maxwell on collateral appeal.
Before reviewing the merits of this appeal, we must determine whether
counsel has satisfied the procedural requirements for withdrawal from his
representation. See Commonwealth v. Walters, 135 A.3d 589, 591 (Pa.
Super. 2016). Our Supreme Court has stated that competent counsel must
independently review the record before withdrawal shall be permitted.
Turner, supra at 928, citing Pennsylvania v. Finley, 481 U.S. 551, 558
(1987). Such independent review requires proof of: (1) a “no-merit” letter
from PCRA counsel detailing the nature and extent of counsel’s review; (2)
the “no-merit” letter by PCRA counsel listing each issue the petitioner wished
to have reviewed; and (3) PCRA counsel’s explanation, in the “no-merit” letter,
as to why the petitioner’s issues are meritless. Commonwealth v. Pitts,
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981 A.2d 875, 876 n.1 (Pa. 2009); Commonwealth v. Rykard, 55 A.3d
1177, 1184 (Pa. Super. 2012). Additionally, the PCRA court or the appellate
court must independently review the record and agree that the petition was
meritless. See id.In Commonwealth v. Friend, 896 A.2d 607 (Pa. Super. 2006), this
Court announced an additional prerequisite requirement for counsel seeking
to withdraw in collateral proceedings:
that PCRA counsel who seeks to withdraw must
contemporaneously serve a copy on the petitioner of counsel’s
application to withdraw as counsel[] and must supply to the
petitioner both a copy of the “no-merit” letter and a statement
advising the petitioner that, in the event that the [C]ourt grants
the application of counsel to withdraw, he or she has the right to
proceed pro se or with the assistance of privately retained counsel.
Id. at 614.4
Counsel has complied with the procedural requirements. See Petition
to Withdraw, 11/22/22, at ¶¶ 4-9; Counsel’s Letter to Maxwell, 11/22/22.
We, therefore, proceed to our review of the following issue: “Did the PCRA
court err when it dismissed Maxwell’s PCRA petition without a hearing as not
raising a meritorious claim under the PCRA?” Anders Brief, at 4. In his PCRA
petition, Maxwell raised the following issues: (1) sufficiency of the evidence
supporting each of his convictions; (2) trial counsel’s ineffectiveness for failing
to challenge “other crimes evidence” presented by the Commonwealth
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4Our Supreme Court overruled Friend on other grounds, see Pitts, supra,
however the additional requirement that counsel provide copies of the relevant
documentation to the petitioner remains intact. Widgins, 29 A.3d at 818.
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pursuant to Pa.R.E. 404(b); and (3) that the trial judge abused her discretion
in instructing the jury to continue deliberating after informing the court it was
a hung jury.
Our standard of review of a PCRA order is well-settled:
Under the applicable standard of review, we must determine
whether the ruling of the PCRA court is supported by the
record and is free of legal error. The PCRA court’s credibility
determinations, when supported by the record, are binding
on this Court. However, this Court applies a de novo
standard of review to the PCRA court’s legal conclusions.
Commonwealth v. Spotz, 18 A.3d 244, 259 (Pa. 2011) (citations omitted).
For the following reasons, we agree with counsel’s assessment that the
issues are meritless. Maxwell’s claims are either not cognizable under the
PCRA, waived, or previously litigated and, therefore, he is not eligible for relief.
See 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9543(a) (setting forth eligibility requirements for PCRA
relief); see also id. at § 9544(a), (b) (previous litigation and waiver).
In his first claim, Maxwell challenges the sufficiency of the evidence for
each of his convictions. The issue of sufficiency of the evidence does not rise
to constitutional stature and is not cognizable in a PCRA proceeding. See
Commonwealth v. Bell, 706 A.2d 855, 861 (Pa. Super. 1998); see also
Commonwealth v. Price, 876 A.2d 988, 989 (Pa. Super. 2005) (challenge
to sufficiency of evidence fails to raise cognizable claim under PCRA); 42
Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9543(a)(2)(i)-(viii).
In his second issue, Maxwell claims that trial counsel was ineffective for
failing to challenge “other crimes evidence” presented by the Commonwealth
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pursuant to Pa.R.E. 404(b). Maxwell raised the issue of “other crimes
evidence” on direct appeal to this Court. See Commonwealth v. Maxwell,
supra at 4-7. Maxwell did not seek discretionary review of this Court’s
decision in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Thus, the underlying issue has
been previously litigated. See 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9543(a)(3); see also id. at §
9544(a)(2) (issue previously litigated if highest appellate court in which
petitioner could have had review as matter of right has ruled on merits of
issue). Maxwell’s attempt to revive the issue by couching it in terms of
ineffectiveness is of no avail. See Commonwealth v. Rivers, 786 A.2d 923,
929 (Pa. 2001) (claims for post-conviction relief are not merely direct appeal
claims made at later stage of proceedings, cloaked in boilerplate assertion of
counsel’s ineffectiveness; in essence, they are extraordinary assertions that
system broke down).
Finally, Maxwell claims the court abused its discretion in instructing the
jury to continue deliberations once it communicated that it was deadlocked.5
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5 When so informed, the trial court gave the following instruction:
Given the amount of time that you’ve spent thus far in trying to
come to a decision, there really has not been sufficient time for
you all to fully consider this matter. You are welcome to additional
information, additional documentation. And, as the judge in this
matter, I don’t feel you’ve had enough time to fully
deliberate. So I am charging that you continue your
deliberations in an attempt to see upon which, if any, of the
charges you can agree. It isn’t even lunch-time yet, and we
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Maxwell did not raise this claim on direct appeal and, therefore, it is waived.
See 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9543(a)(3)(i).
Based on the foregoing, we conclude that the PCRA properly dismissed
Maxwell’s petition without a hearing. Furthermore, our independent review of
the certified record has uncovered no additional meritorious issues.
Accordingly, we affirm the PCRA court’s order and grant counsel’s petition to
withdraw.
Order affirmed. Petition to withdraw granted.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 5/8/2023
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have ordered lunch for you. . . . Sometimes you feel a little better
after getting some food [in] your stomach.
N.T. Jury Trial, 1/9/15, at 6-7 (emphasis in original). We note that the
Pennsylvania Supreme Court has approved such instructions—a Spencer
charge—when it is “non-coercive.” See Commonwealth v. Spencer, 275
A2d 299, 337 (Pa. 1971). A Spencer charge arises in the context of
deadlocked jury; it is “a non-coercive charge” that “instruct[s] the jurors to
be true to their convictions, but to reconsider their original views[.]”
Commonwealth v. Greer, 951 A.2d 346, 378 (Pa. 2008). Were this issue
not waived, we would find the charge “non-coercive.”
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