Opinion ID: 2559519
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Accomplice and Co-conspirator Liability Instruction

Text: Next, Appellant argues that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the trial court's accomplice and co-conspirator liability instructions as violative of due process because the instructions allowed the jury to find Appellant guilty of first-degree murder without proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he, rather than an accomplice or co-conspirator, had specific intent to kill. The trial court instructed as follows: A defendant may by reason of being a member of a conspiracy become personally liable for a crime even though he did not personally commit it. You may find the defendant guilty of the crime of murder as a conspirator if you are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubtfirst that the defendant agreed with another person or persons that they or one of them would commit the crime of murder, or that the defendant would assist in the crime of murder; that the defendant did so with the intent of promoting or facilitating the commission of that crime and that while the agreement remained in effect the crime of murder was committed and the crime of murder was committed in furtherance of the common design of the conspiracy. Also, you may find the defendant guilty of a crime without finding that he personally engaged in the conduct required for the commission of that crime, or even that he was personally present when the crime was committed. A defendant is guilty of a crime if he is an accomplice of another person who commits a crime, however a defendant does not become an accomplice by being present at the scene or by knowing about a crime or by knowing that a crime is about to be committed, he is an accomplice if with the intent of promoting or facilitating the commission of the crime he aids in its commission, or he attempts to aid in the commission, and, or, assists the person who actually commits the crime. Now, you may find the defendant guilty or [sic] a crime on the theory that he was an accomplice as long as you are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the crime was committed and that the defendant was an accomplice of the person who committed that crime. N.T. 2/1/85 at 142-44. According to Appellant, this co-conspirator liability instruction permitted a conviction of first-degree murder where the object of the conspiracy is something other than murder, and created the reasonable probability that the jury understood these instructions as allowing a first-degree murder conviction based on a general agreement to commit a crime. Further, according to Appellant, the accomplice liability instruction did not state that the jury must find the defendant an accomplice to the particular crime or explain that the defendant, as an accomplice, must have the specific intent to kill, and instead indicated that the jury could convict of first-degree murder if it believed Appellant was an accomplice to any crime. Appellant's claim, therefore, is that counsel was ineffective for failing to object to these instructions. [19] The Commonwealth argues that Appellant's claim completely disregards that the evidence at trial established Appellant was the shooter. Therefore, according to the Commonwealth, although Appellant was also convicted of conspiracy, his murder conviction was not based on accomplice or co-conspirator liability. The PCRA court considered this claim frivolous, and held that the trial court's charge was proper. The Commonwealth's argument that Appellant's conviction for first-degree murder was premised on his act of shooting the victim rather than on accomplice or co-conspirator liability is well-taken. Appellant's first-degree murder conviction was premised on the evidence of an intentional killing. Specifically, the evidence established that Appellant approached the victim from behind, shot him once, and, as the victim attempted to stand, shot him three more times. Smith, 540 A.2d at 248. Therefore, it was the act of shooting and killing the victim, rather than conspiring with others to commit this crime, that resulted in Appellant's murder conviction. Because Appellant's murder conviction was not based on accomplice or co-conspirator liability, there is no factual predicate to his argument that the trial court's instruction improperly permitted the jury to convict him as an accomplice or co-conspirator, and he cannot prevail on his claim that counsel was ineffective for failing to object to this charge.