Opinion ID: 2086402
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Jury Instructions Regarding Unanimity of Mitigating Circumstances

Text: Next, Appellant claims that the trial court violated Mills v. Maryland, 486 U.S. 367, 108 S.Ct. 1860, 100 L.Ed.2d 384 (1988), by failing to instruct the jury that mitigating circumstances need not be found unanimously. Mills, however, was decided two years after the trial in this case, and trial counsel cannot be held ineffective for failing to anticipate changes in the law. Commonwealth v. Gibson, 547 Pa. 71, 688 A.2d 1152, cert. denied, 522 U.S. 948, 118 S.Ct. 364, 139 L.Ed.2d 284 (1997).