Case Name: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania v. Alfred ELLIOTT, Appellant
Court: Superior Court of Pennsylvania
Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
Decision Date: 1983-10-07
Citations: 319 Pa. Super. 521
Docket Number: No. 698
Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania v. Alfred ELLIOTT, Appellant.
Judges: Before WICKERSHAM, WIEAND and HOFFMAN, JJ.
Reporter: Pennsylvania Superior Court Reports
Volume: 319
Pages: 521–531

Head Matter:
466 A.2d 666
COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania v. Alfred ELLIOTT, Appellant.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania.
Submitted March 2, 1982.
Filed Oct. 7, 1983.
Richard A. Ash, Philadelphia, for appellant.
Jane Cutler Greenspan, Assistant District Attorney, Philadelphia, for Commonwealth, appellee.
Before WICKERSHAM, WIEAND and HOFFMAN, JJ.

Opinion:
WIEAND, Judge:
Alfred Elliott was tried by jury and convicted of rape. The conviction and judgment of sentence were affirmed on direct appeal by this Court. Commonwealth v. Elliott, 228 Pa.Super. 753, 312 A.2d 801 (1973). Allocatur was denied. Elliott then filed a pro se petition for relief under the Post Conviction Hearing Act, 42 Pa.C.S. § 9541 et seq. New counsel was appointed and filed an amended petition, in which the effectiveness of prior counsel's representation was challenged. Following evidentiary hearings, the P.C. H.A. court dismissed the P.C.H.A. petition. This appeal followed.
Appellant's P.C.H.A. petition recited numerous instances of alleged ineffectiveness of counsel during pretrial proceedings, at trial, and on direct appeal. These averments included (1) an alleged failure to conduct pretrial discovery or otherwise make an adequate investigation of the facts; (2) a failure to call as part of the defense a known and available alibi witness; (3) a failure to show the distance between the site of the crime and the place where appellant testified he had been at the time of the crime; (4) a failure to demonstrate the differences between the vehicle in which appellant was arrested and the vehicle described by the victim as the place of the rape; (5) a failure to move pre-trial to suppress evidence obtained allegedly as a result of an unlawful search and seizure; (6) a failure to make various objections during trial; (7) joining a request for a curative instruction after the jury had heard evidence of an unrelated auto theft; and (8) failing to file an adequate appellate brief in support of appellant's direct appeal. Evi-dentiary hearings were held on five separate dates, to wit: November 20, 1978, December 18, 1978, March 5, 1979, March 6, 1979 and November 2, 1979. An opinion filed February 17, 1981 was accompanied by an order denying relief. The opinion contained no specific findings of fact but concluded generally as follows:
We have reviewed this record in its entirety and we are convinced and find as a fact that the defendant was not deprived of his constitutional right to representation by competent and effective counsel. On the contrary, we conclude as a matter of law that defendant's counsel competently and effectively did represent this defendant.
On appeal from the order denying P.C.H.A. relief, appellant contends, inter alia, that the court's opinion was inadequate because it failed to contain findings of fact, and that, in any event, the court erred in finding trial counsel effective.
We agree that the hearing court's opinion is inadequate. Although the opinion contains an accurate recitation of applicable legal principles, it does not contain findings of fact and does not resolve fundamental conflicts in the evidence. Without findings of fact, this Court cannot fulfill in a meaningful way its responsibility to conduct appellate review.
Several illustrations will demonstrate the impossibility of conducting appellate review in this case. Appellant testified at the P.C.H.A. hearing that he had informed trial counsel in advance of trial that Bernard Broomer was an alibi witness. Broomer testified at the P.C.H.A. hearing that he had been with Elliott at the time the crime was allegedly committed. He also testified that he had given this information to appellant's trial counsel and had offered to appear and testify as an alibi witness. He testified that he had heard nothing further from counsel. Counsel testified, however, that he had not been given Broomer's name prior to trial and was not aware that he had relevant information. This presented a clear conflict, the resolution of which was essential to a decision. If trial counsel failed to obtain favorable testimony of a known alibi witness, his failure suggests ineffectiveness which will probably require a new trial. See: Commonwealth v. Anderson, 501 Pa. 275, 287, 461 A.2d 208, 214 (1983); Commonwealth v. Sawyer, 309 Pa.Super. 72, 77, 454 A.2d 1088, 1090 (1982); Commonwealth v. Williams, 271 Pa.Super. 114, 120-121, 412 A.2d 601, 605 (1979). See also: Commonwealth v. Wade, 501 Pa. 331, 332, 461 A.2d 613, 614 (1983); Commonwealth v. Leonard, 499 Pa. 357, 361, 453 A.2d 587, 589 (1982); Commonwealth v. Casner, 315 Pa.Super. 12, 21, 461 A.2d 324, 328 (1983); Commonwealth v. Stafford, 307 Pa.Super. 278, 288, 453 A.2d 351, 355-356 (1982). There can be no ineffectiveness, however, if the existence of the alibi witness was not disclosed to counsel. See: Commonwealth v. Owens, 454 Pa. 268, 272-273, 312 A.2d 378, 381-382 (1973); Commonwealth v. Blackwell, 312 Pa.Super. 117, 122, 458 A.2d 541, 544 (1983); Commonwealth v. Williams, 310 Pa.Super. 501, 516, 456 A.2d 1047, 1055 (1983); Commonwealth v. Oliver, 280 Pa.Super. 274, 277, 421 A.2d 719, 721 (1980); Commonwealth v. Williams, 274 Pa.Super. 464, 472, 418 A.2d 499, 504 (1980).
Another of appellant's contentions is that trial counsel failed to discover and, therefore, was unable to use at trial a statement made by the victim and appearing in police files that the glove compartment of the vehicle in which the rape occurred contained an inscription which began with the letter "G" or "C." In fact, as was demonstrated by photographic evidence introduced at the P.C.H.A. hearing, the glove compartment of the vehicle driven by appellant contained the word "Thunderbird." Appellant contends further that the Commonwealth had in its possession exculpatory, scientific evidence which trial counsel failed to discover because of pre-trial ineffectiveness. We cannot make an evaluation of the merits of these contentions. We can only review the hearing court's order if it will first fulfill its responsibility to make necessary findings of fact. See: Pa.R.Crim.P. ^(^).
On prior occasions we have remanded for findings of fact where the P.C.H.A. hearing court failed to resolve conflicts in the evidence or determine issues of credibility. See: Commonwealth v. Whittman, 306 Pa.Super. 174, 175, 452 A.2d 271, 272 (1982); Commonwealth v. Reed, 298 Pa.Super. 480, 482-483, 444 A.2d 1285, 1285-1286 (1982). See also: Commonwealth v. Howell, 290 Pa.Super. 144, 434 A.2d 171 (1981); Commonwealth v. Sims, 265 Pa.Super. 55, 401 A.2d 797 (1979); Commonwealth v. Diggs, 254 Pa.Super. 262, 385 A.2d 1010 (1978). This is another case which must be remanded.
Remanded with directions to the hearing court to promptly make findings of fact. Meanwhile, jurisdiction is retained.
WICKERSHAM, J., filed a dissenting opinion.
. Pa.R.Crim.P. 1506 provides:
When the court grants a post conviction hearing, it shall:
(5) Cause all evidence adduced at the hearing to be recorded, file a statement of record setting forth its findings of fact and its conclusions of law[.]