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

Heading: Failure to Obtain Medical Records and Witnesses

Text: Appellant claims that PCRA counsel was ineffective for failing to raise prior counsels' ineffectiveness for failing to obtain Appellant's medical records. In a convoluted writing, Appellant claims that: (1) the district attorney's office committed a Brady violation by failing to turn over to Appellant's trial counsel medical records from Appellant's treating physician and hospital pertaining to a course of treatment he received in August and September of 1981; and, (2) that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to obtain these records and use them to develop a defense that Appellant was physically incapable of committing the crime. The purported Brady violation is absurd, as Appellant offers no explanation of why his own medical records were not available to him, or how the Commonwealth purportedly suppressed them. A violation of Brady requires that the prosecution intentionally withhold exculpatory evidence that was material to the issues to be tried or evidence that materially undermines the credibility of an important prosecution witness. Commonwealth v. Mulholland, 549 Pa. 634, 647, 702 A.2d 1027, 1033 (1997). The Commonwealth does not violate the Brady rule when it fails to turn over evidence readily obtainable by, and known to, the defendant. See Commonwealth v. Appel, 547 Pa. 171, 205, 689 A.2d 891, 908 (1997). Since this alleged Brady violation has no merit, we will not deem counsel ineffective for failing to raise it. Regarding Appellant's argument that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to obtain the medical records in aid of a defense theory that Appellant was physically incapable of committing the crime, this claim lacks merit. The only reference in his brief to medical treatment concerns surgical procedures and related treatment that occurred in August and September of 1981, subsequent to the date the murder was committed. [10] Appellant fails to offer any connection between his course of treatment in August and September of 1981, and his physical condition at the time of the July 1981 murder. Furthermore, considering the testimony from his employer, Mr. Walter Kowalczyk, [11] that Appellant had no physical difficulty shoveling scrap metal and operating an air hammer, and generally performing heavy labor, we cannot find prejudice from counsel's failure to pursue this defense theory of Appellant's purported physical incapacity. [12] Appellant also alleges prior counsels' ineffectiveness for failing to call medical witnesses to testify regarding Appellant's bad back, in support of a defense theory that Appellant was physically incapable of committing the murder. He claims that he was treated for back problems while incarcerated in the Newcastle Youth Center, and that he had worn a specially designed back brace to remedy the problem. Appellant's claim is without merit. To prevail on a claim of trial counsel's ineffectiveness for failure to call a witness, the defendant must show: (1) that the witnesses existed; (2) that the witnesses were available; (3) that counsel was informed of the existence of the witnesses or should have known of the witnesses' existence; (4) that the witnesses were available and prepared to cooperate and would have testified on Appellant's behalf; and (5) that the absence of the testimony prejudiced the Appellant. Commonwealth v. Crawley, 541 Pa. 408, 414, 663 A.2d 676, 679 (1995). Appellant does not identify the witnesses who would testify favorably concerning his purported back problem, nor does he show that these unnamed witnesses would have testified on his behalf. Appellant has failed to meet his burden to raise even a prima facie claim of counsel's ineffectiveness on this basis.