Opinion ID: 1906630
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Omnibus Claim of PCRA Counsel's Ineffectiveness

Text: Appellant first asserts, as a distinct issue, an omnibus claim that trial counsel was ineffective for plagiarizing his previous pro se filings and for failing to pursue twenty-seven issues included in Appellant's previous pro se filings but not included in the amended, counseled PCRA petition. He makes a generalized claim that PCRA counsel was ineffective in the manner in which he presented the issues to the PCRA court, and that counsel who was unwilling to pursue all claims of error previously asserted by Appellant denied him the assistance of representation of PCRA counsel. We find nothing in the presentation of the issues preserved in the amended PCRA petition to suggest that PCRA counsel's method of advocacy constituted ineffective assistance of counsel on these grounds. Counsel adequately presented these claims and Appellant's assertion of plagiarizing is absurd. Regarding Appellant's claim that PCRA counsel was ineffective for failing to pursue twenty-seven issues that Appellant sought to include in his PCRA petition, it is axiomatic that counsel will not be considered ineffective for failing to pursue meritless claims. Commonwealth v. Parker, 503 Pa. 336, 341, 469 A.2d 582, 584 (1983). Appellant will only be entitled to relief if he can show: (1) that his claim has arguable merit; (2) that counsel's actions or inaction was not the product of a reasonable strategic decision; and, (3) that he suffered prejudice because of counsel's action or inaction. Commonwealth v. Washington, 547 Pa. 550, 557, 692 A.2d 1018, 1021 (1997). Thus, Appellant's generalized claim of PCRA counsel's ineffectiveness will not prevail unless he shows PCRA counsel was ineffective in failing to pursue a meritorious issue that Appellant attempted to include in the PCRA petition but that was omitted from the counseled, amended PCRA petition. We therefore turn to Appellant's specific allegations.