Opinion ID: 1266317
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Reviewing the PCRA Court Decision or the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Decision

Text: In considering a § 2254 petition, we review the last reasoned decision of the state courts on the petitioner's claims. Bond v. Beard, 539 F.3d 256, 289-90 (3d Cir.2008). The application of that approach is somewhat difficult here, where the different blocs of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court cited both procedural or substantive bases, or none at all, for their votes. The four-way split among the justices, with no ground for the case's disposition receiving majority support, means that we cannot find a single rationale explaining the Supreme Court's decision. However, the fact that the result was supported by multiple lines of reasoning does not allow us to deem it unreasoned and look past it to the decision of the PCRA court. The policy of the United States Supreme Court is that [w]hen a fragmented Court decides a case and no single rationale explaining the result enjoys the assent of five Justices, the holding of the Court may be viewed as that position taken by those Members who concurred in the judgments on the narrowest grounds. Marks v. United States, 430 U.S. 188, 193, 97 S.Ct. 990, 51 L.Ed.2d 260 (1977) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, though taking a narrower view, has differentiated between the reasoning of a plurality decision, which is not binding authority, and the conclusion of such a decision, which is still binding on the parties in that particular case. In re Interest of O.A., 552 Pa. 666, 717 A.2d 490, 496 n. 4 (1998). Here, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a judgment, with explanation, binding on the parties before it, and that is the decision the District Court properly reviewed. See Ylst v. Nunnemaker, 501 U.S. 797, 805, 111 S.Ct. 2590, 115 L.Ed.2d 706 (1991) (looking to the last explained state-court judgment to determine state courts' basis for rejecting a habeas petitioner's claims, ignoring only a silent disposition by a higher court). Cf. Holley v. Yarborough, 568 F.3d 1091, 1099 (9th Cir.2009) (reviewing a state appellate court decision in an AEDPA case where the state supreme court had denied the petition for review of that decision without comment); Joseph v. Coyle, 469 F.3d 441 (6th Cir.2006) (treating state supreme court decision as last reasoned decision as to claims that it explicitly decided, and state appeals court ruling as last reasoned decision as to claims the supreme court declined to address). Therefore, we look to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision in our review under AEDPA.