J-S17013-18

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, IN THE SUPERIOR COURT

OF

PENNSYLVANIA

Appellee

v.

JALIK PEAY,

Appellant No. 2030 EDA 2017

Appeal from the PCRA Order Entered June 12, 2017

In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County

Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0011915-2010

BEFORE: BENDER, P.J.E., LAZARUS, J., and KUNSELMAN, J.

MEMORANDUM BY BENDER, P.J.E.: FILED JUNE 18, 2018

Appellant, Jalik Peay, appeals pro se from the post-conviction court’s 

June 12, 2017 order denying his first petition under the Post Conviction Relief 

Act (PCRA), 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541-9546. After careful review, we affirm.

The PCRA court summarized the facts of Appellant’s case in its Pa.R.A.P. 

1925(a) opinion, and we need not restate them in detail herein. See PCRA 

Court Opinion (PCO), 9/22/17, at 1-2. We only note that Appellant was 

convicted of attempted murder and related offenses in June of 2012. This 

Court affirmed his judgment of sentence on October 22, 2015, and in March 

of 2016, our Supreme Court denied his petition for allowance of appeal. See 

Commonwealth v. Peay, 134 A.3d 104 (Pa. Super. 2015) (unpublished 

memorandum), appeal denied, 135 A.3d 585 (Pa. 2016).
J-S17013-18

- 2 -

On July 14, 2016, Appellant filed a timely, pro se PCRA petition. Gina 

A. Capuano, Esq., was appointed to represent Appellant. However, rather 

than filing an amended petition on Appellant’s behalf, Attorney Capuano filed 

a Turner/Finley1‘no merit letter’ and a petition to withdraw. On April 10, 

2017, the PCRA court issued a Pa.R.Crim.P. 907 notice of its intent to dismiss 

Appellant’s petition. Appellant did not respond to the court’s Rule 907 notice 

or Attorney Capuano’s petition to withdraw; accordingly, on June 9, 2017, the 

PCRA court granted counsel leave to withdraw.2 On June 12, 2017, the court 

issued an order dismissing Appellant’s petition.

On June 16, 2017, Appellant filed a timely, pro se notice of appeal. On 

June 28, 2017, the PCRA court issued an order directing him to file a Pa.R.A.P. 

1925(b) statement. According to the PCRA court, it received a pro se Rule 

1925(b) statement from Appellant on July 18, 2017, but Appellant never 

actually filed that document. See PCRA Court Opinion (PCO), 9/22/17, at 4. 

____________________________________________

1 Commonwealth v. Turner, 544 A.2d 927 (Pa. 1988), and 

Commonwealth v. Finley, 550 A.2d 213 (Pa. Super. 1988) (en banc).

2 We note that Attorney Capuano’s petition was orally granted by the PCRA 

court at a brief hearing that occurred on June 9, 2017. However, the docket 

does not include an entry showing that proceeding took place, and the certified 

record transmitted to this Court did not initially include any transcripts from 

that brief hearing. Moreover, because the PCRA court did not file a written 

order granting counsel’s petition, the trial court’s docket also did not evince 

that any decision had been made on counsel’s request to withdraw. Only 

recently were the transcripts of the June 9, 2017 hearing added to the certified 

record, and the docket retroactively corrected to note the PCRA court’s 

granting of counsel’s petition. We suggest that in the future, the PCRA court 

file a written order to accompany any oral grant of a petition to withdraw, so 

as to make the record clear for appellate review.
J-S17013-18

- 3 -

Nevertheless, on September 22, 2017, the court issued a Rule 1925(a) opinion 

addressing the following three, pro se issues raised in Appellant’s concise 

statement and reiterated herein:

(a) Was counsel for [Appellant] ... ineffective when he failed to 

object to the judge’s improper, and prejudice [sic] jury 

instruction?

(b) Was [Appellant] not intittled [sic] to a fair hearing, with all 

constitutional rights intact[?]

(c) Is it law that all sentences shall be authorized by the 

sentencing code, with the statutes applied so a defendant 

can be aware of the legislature’s intent on what punishment 

is required for a crime[?]

Appellant’s Brief at 2.

We have reviewed the certified record, the briefs of the parties, and the 

applicable law. Additionally, we have reviewed the opinion of the Honorable 

Ann M. Butchart of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County. We 

conclude that Judge Butchart’s opinion sufficiently addresses the issues 

presented by Appellant. Accordingly, we adopt her opinion as our own and 

affirm the order denying Appellant’s PCRA petition on the grounds set forth 

therein.

Order affirmed.
J-S17013-18

- 4 -

Judgment Entered.

Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.

Prothonotary

Date: 6/18/18