Opinion ID: 1927414
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Failure to Call Witnesses Suppression Hearing

Text: Appellant contends that he should be entitled to a new trial because his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to call his mother and Wanda Turner, appellant's ex-girlfriend, as witnesses at the suppression hearing. Appellant asserts that these witnesses would have testified that appellant requested to speak with counsel; thereby leading to the suppression of his statement concerning his involvement in the murder because he was denied his Sixth Amendment right to counsel. In order to make a claim of ineffectiveness for failure to interview and/or present a witness, appellant must prove: (1) the existence and availability of the witness; (2) counsel's awareness of, or duty to know of the witness; (3) the witness' willingness and ability to cooperate and appear on behalf of appellant; and (4) the necessity of the proposed testimony in order to avoid prejudice. Commonwealth v. Stanley, 534 Pa. 297, 300, 632 A.2d 871, 872 (1993). Appellant's claim is belied by the factual findings made by the trial court after conducting a post-trial hearing on appellant's ineffectiveness claims. Here, the trial court heard the testimony of both appellant's mother and Wanda Turner that appellant asked them to call an attorney when he was being arrested. Nevertheless, the trial court found that neither appellant nor these two witnesses ever conveyed this request to either a Philadelphia Police officer during his arrest or the Chester County detective during the interview in which he made inculpatory statements. Thus, since the testimony of these two witnesses would not have changed the result of the suppression hearing, appellant was not prejudiced by trial counsel's failure to call these witnesses. Accordingly, this ineffectiveness claim must fail.