Opinion ID: 1516216
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Drug Felony Aggravating Circumstance, 42 Pa.C.S.  9711(d)(13)[38]

Text: Appellant submits that direct appeal counsel was ineffective in the manner in which he argued that 42 Pa.C.S.  9711(d)(13) was inapplicable to this case. Specifically, appellant argues that direct appeal counsel should have asserted that evidence of a drug turf war did not constitute a violation of the Controlled Substance Abuse Act, a finding necessary to prove the aggravator at issue. Appellant contends that appellate counsel was ineffective for not informing this Court of the necessity to strictly construe the aggravating factor, establishing the insufficiency of the facts to support the elements of Section 9711(d)(13), and arguing that the jury's finding violated the requirements of the Due Process Clause and the Eighth Amendment, which mandate that each element of the aggravator must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The Commonwealth claims that appellant's claim has been previously litigated and the PCRA court agreed, but our holding in Collins prevents us from employing that particular terminology. See Collins, 888 A.2d at 573. On direct appeal, appellant argued that there were insufficient facts to support the (d)(13) aggravating circumstance, because the Commonwealth did not offer evidence that he was engaged in the sale of drugs. Carson I, 741 A.2d at 706. Now appellant argues that direct appeal counsel did not present the insufficiency argument with enough particularity to establish that the aggravator was inapplicable to appellant. Despite the ineffectiveness gloss, the crux of appellant's argument remains the same. We previously found that the evidence was sufficient to establish the (d)(13) aggravating circumstance, id., and, as such, we defer to our prior evaluation of the claim. See Collins, 888 A.2d at 574 (although recognizing a defendant's ineffectiveness claim as a distinct claim for review, refusing to reevaluate the direct appeal Court's holding on the underlying due process issue). Moreover, even if we were to invalidate our prior holding, appellant cannot show he was prejudiced in being sentenced to death when the jury found three other aggravating factors and no mitigating circumstances. See Lester, 722 A.2d at 1006 n. 15.