Court Opinion

ID: 9704718
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 00:44:03.429926+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:04.626579
License: Public Domain

KELLY, Judge,
concurring.
I join the majority opinion. I write separately to note the significance of our allowance of “hybrid” appellate representation in this appeal.
In a collateral appeal, even if an appellant has no issues of arguable merit and counsel is permitted to withdraw on that ground, such an appellant is nonetheless permitted to file a pro se brief in support of any frivolous claims appellant seeks to raise. Commonwealth v. Turner, 518 Pa. 491, 544 A.2d 927 (1988). This being the case, I can see no reason to force an appellant on direct appeal to forego *620representation by counsel on claims of arguable merit, in order to pursue, by a pro se brief, claims or arguments which appellant’s counsel deems frivolous. Consideration of pro se supplemental briefs by this Court avoids that dilemma.
Hybrid representation of this kind, on appeal, presents none of the serious practical concerns which have caused courts to reject hybrid representation at the trial level. See Commonwealth v. Williams, 270 Pa.Super. 27, 34, 410 A.2d 880, 883 (1980); cf. McKaskle v. Wiggins, 465 U.S. 168, 104 S.Ct. 944, 79 L.Ed.2d 122 (1984) (illustrating the difficulties of hybrid representation via participation of standby counsel in a jury trial conducted pro se). Allowance of written pro se supplemental briefs is highly unlikely to create the kind of circus atmosphere easily envisioned by having a pro se litigant supplement counsel’s efforts during a jury trial, or vice versa. If, as here, the pro se submissions are frivolities, they will be harmless ones. If, on the other hand, an arguable claim is raised in such a submission, the need to appoint new counsel to present the claim would be revealed. Cf. Commonwealth v. Albert, 522 Pa. 331, 561 A.2d 736 (1989); Commonwealth v. Ely, 381 Pa.Super. 510, 554 A.2d 118 (1988). In either case, the fact and appearance of justice is served by permitting the pro se submission.