Court Opinion

ID: 9639212
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 16:08:16.560465+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:10:14.390879
License: Public Domain

*346HOFFMAN, Judge,
concurring:
I agree with the majority that appellant’s PCHA counsel was not ineffective for failing to raise the issues of the alleged after-discovered evidence and the inability of appellant to understand the consequences of his guilty plea. I write separately, however, because I cannot agree with the majority’s conclusion that counsel’s “purported Anders brief,” Majority Opinion at 336 n. 1, satisfies the dictates of Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967).1
The PCHA judge below instructed appellant’s counsel that, if she sought to withdraw from this case, she “should write this Court outlining the extent of her review and listing each issue [appellant] himself wished to raise followed by an explanation why each issue was meritless.” (Lower Court Opinion at 3) (emphasis added). Counsel, in her letter “brief” to the court, did just that; she demonstrated why the issues of the (1) involuntariness of appellant’s guilty plea, (2) ineffectiveness of his trial counsel, and (3) failure to advise appellant of his right to withdraw his guilty plea and his right to appeal, were meritless.2 I do not believe that this procedure comports with Anders.
In Anders, Justice Clark stated that
[t]he constitutional requirement of substantial equality and fair process can only be attained where counsel acts in the role of an active advocate in behalf of his client, as opposed to that of amicus curiae. The no-merit letter and the procedure it triggers do not reach that dignity. Counsel should, and can with honor and without conflict, be of more assistance to his client and to the court. His role as advocate requires that he support his client’s *347appeal to the best of his ability. Of course, if counsel finds his case to be wholly frivolous, after a conscientious examination of it, he should so advise the court and request permission to withdraw. That request must, however, be accompanied by a brief referring to anything in the record that might arguably support the appeal.

This requirement would not force appointed counsel to brief his case against his client but would merely afford the latter that advocacy which a nonindigent defendant is able to obtain.

Anders v. California, supra, 386 U.S. at 744-45, 87 S.Ct. at 1400-01 (footnote omitted) (emphasis added). Thus, assuming that the Anders requirements apply to collateral proceedings, as I believe they should,3 see also Commonwealth v. Finley, 330 Pa.Superior Ct. 313, 479 A.2d 568 (1984) petition for allowance of appeal granted January 7, 1985, counsel seeking to withdraw from such proceedings should “file[] a brief referring to anything in the record that might arguably support the appeal” but which “does not resemble a no-merit letter or amicus curiae brief.” Commonwealth v. Wallace, 322 Pa.Superior Ct. 157, 160-62, 469 A.2d 230, 232 (1983). Otherwise, as is typified by the instant case, “the role of appellant’s ... PCHA counsel might more aptly be characterized as that of assistant to the prosecutor.” Commonwealth v. Lowenberg, 493 Pa. 232, 242, 425 A.2d 1100, 1105 (1981) (ROBERTS, J., dissenting). I am not, of course, suggesting that counsel should never be permitted to withdraw. If counsel, after thoroughly reviewing the record, believed that a petitioner’s PCHA claims were frivolous, he or she could simply “set[] forth in an amended petition, in acceptable, intelligible legal terms, those claims which appellant wished to advance, as well as any additional claims, ... necessary to the effective presentation of appellant’s primary claims....” Id., 493 Pa. at 244, 425 A.2d at 1106.4 Counsel could also include relevant case citations *348and references to the record in aid of the reviewing judge.5 In this way, a petitioner will not be “ ‘sandbagged when the counsel appointed by one arm of the Government seems to be helping another to seal his doom.’ ” Commonwealth v. Jones, 451 Pa. 69, 75, 301 A.2d 811, 815 (1973), quoting Suggs v. United States, 391 F.2d 971, 974 (D.C.Cir.1968).6

. I would not reverse here, however, because appellant does not argue that the issues PCHA counsel did raise were improperly briefed, and, contrary to appellant’s assertion, Anders does not require that the brief filed in support of a petition to withdraw must give a court some basis on which to find in favor of a defendant. My only purpose in writing is to take exception to the practice of attorneys who, in seeking to withdraw, argue against their clients.

. Appellant has never had a direct appeal.

. The majority impliedly so finds.

. When petitioning the court to withdraw, counsel must also explain his or her position to petitioner, provide petitioner with a copy of the *348amended petition, and inform him or her of the right to proceed in propia persona. See Commonwealth v. Lowenberg, supra, 493 Pa. at 244, 425 A.2d at 1106 (ROBERTS, J., dissenting).

. Compare the Massachusetts procedure:
In summary, we adopt the following guidelines in order to avoid the fragmentary and circuitous steps of the procedure suggested in Anders yet still achieve the Anders goal of assuring that indigent appellants receive treatment substantially equal to that enjoyed by those able to retain private counsel. Once counsel is appointed to represent an indigent criminal defendant on appeal, no withdrawal will be permitted solely on the basis of the frivolousness or merit-lessness of the appeal. Even if counsel has doubts about the merits of the appeal, he or she must prepare and submit a brief arguing any issues that are arguable. Counsel need not espouse unsupportable contentions insisted on by the defendant, but should present them sketchily, simply designating pertinent portions of the trial transcript and citing any relevant cases. If counsel feels ethically compelled to dissociate himself or herself from contentions presented in the brief, counsel may preface the brief with a statement that it is filed pursuant to Anders and to the guidelines of this case. In that event, counsel must so notify the defendant, who will have thirty days to respond should he so choose. Beyond such a preface, counsel should not inject disclaimers of personal belief in the merits of the case or otherwise argue against the defendant's interests.
Commonwealth v. Moffett, 383 Mass. 201, 216-17, 418 N.E.2d 585, 596 (1981) (footnotes omitted) (emphasis added).

. To the extent that Commonwealth v. McClendon, 495 Pa. 467, 434 A.2d 1185 (1981), permits an attorney to argue against his or her client, that is, to show that the issues a defendant wishes to raise are lacking in merit, I believe that it is in derogation of Anders. See id., 495 Pa. at 474-77, 434 A.2d at 1188-90 (O’BRIEN, C.J., dissenting). McClendon may go even further and stand for the proposition that no discussion of the issues is necessary, in that it holds that once counsel finds "the appeal to be wholly frivolous, he [or she] can do no more.” Id., 495 Pa. at 474, 434 A.2d at 1188. Such a result would render Anders meaningless. A court would have to conduct its own independent review of the record, making it, in effect, a defendant’s "counsel” searching for possible trial errors, or, if the court accepted counsel's conclusion (as may happen in practice), counsel would become the “court” determining the merits of a defendant’s appeal.