Opinion ID: 2395763
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Allegations of racial bias in jury selection

Text: In his supplement submitted to the PCRA court after it had announced its intent to dismiss the PCRA petition, Williams attempts to raise a challenge to the verdict based upon the equal protection clause to the United States Constitution pursuant to the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986). Williams, an African-American, alleges that the Commonwealth used its peremptory strikes in a racially discriminatory manner to exclude African-Americans from the jury. Williams contends that he is entitled to an evidentiary hearing to make a record of the alleged Batson violation and of trial counsel's ineffectiveness in failing to raise and litigate this issue. Williams' claim includes allegations that the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office employed a systematic prosecutorial practice of discrimination at the time of his trial. Citing to statistics from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, Williams also claims generally that a disproportionate number of African-Americans are sentenced to death in this Commonwealth. As stated, this claim is waived by the failure to raise it on direct appeal. To the extent that Williams brings his trial counsel's effectiveness into question, both the timing and the substance of the claims are implicated. With regard to the timing, Pa.R.Crim.P. 1505 provides that a PCRA court may grant leave to amend, thus vesting the decision to permit amendment within the PCRA court's discretion, subject to the proviso that amendment is to be freely allowed to achieve substantial justice. See Pa.R.Crim.P. 1505(a). The assertion of a new claim after the court has heard argument and indicated its intent to dismiss the petition militates in favor of the decision to deny leave to amend. With regard to the substance of the claims, Williams' contentions are general in nature and lack sufficient connection to the actual selection of jurors in his own capital case. For example, Williams does not include any allegations concerning the race of venirepersons removed by the Commonwealth during voir dire, the race of the jurors who actually served at trial, or the race of the jurors acceptable to the Commonwealth who were stricken by the defense. Moreover, the United States Supreme Court has found the sort of broad statistics Williams seeks to offer inadequate to support a defendant's claim of racial discrimination in the selection of a particular capital sentencing jury. See McCleskey v. Kemp, 481 U.S. 279, 296-97, 107 S.Ct. 1756, 1769-70, 95 L.Ed.2d 262 (1987). Given the generality of this claim and the timing of its assertion, we cannot say that the PCRA court abused its discretion in declining to consider it. Accordingly, no relief is due.
The decision of the PCRA court is affirmed in all respects, save as indicated in the body of this opinion. The matter is remanded for limited further proceedings, and jurisdiction is relinquished.