Opinion ID: 1915285
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Jury Instructions Regarding Mitigating Circumstances

Text: Appellant next argues that the penalty phase jury instructions erroneously suggested that the jury must unanimously find a mitigating circumstance, in violation of Mills v. Maryland, 486 U.S. 367, 108 S.Ct. 1860, 100 L.Ed.2d 384 (1988). As we recently explained in Commonwealth v. Duffey, 585 Pa. 493, 889 A.2d 56, 71 (2005) and Cox, 863 A.2d at 554, an alleged Mills violation will not be available on collateral review in cases in which the alleged error occurred before the United States Supreme Court's decision in Mills.  In this case, the allegedly erroneous instruction was given in 1986, before the Court's 1988 decision in Mills. Appellant never raised or preserved a Mills claim before the trial court or on direct appeal. As such, Appellant's claim regarding Mills is waived. Duffey, Cox, supra . Like the appellants in Duffey and Cox, Appellant attempts to overcome waiver by asserting that all prior counsel were ineffective for failing to preserve and raise this issue. He does not, however, attempt to develop this aspect of his argument. In any event, we will not deem trial counsel ineffective for failing to anticipate a change in the law. Duffey, 889 A.2d at 71. Accordingly, trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to anticipate the Mills decision, and Appellant's claim of ineffectiveness necessarily fails.