Court Opinion

ID: 9764400
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 03:20:52.490166+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:29:56.229786
License: Public Domain

POMEROY, Justice,
dissenting.
The Court concludes that the colloquy between the trial judge and the defendant pursuant to which the judge accepted a waiver of trial by jury was not, on its face, sufficient to show that the waiver was knowing and intelligent. With this much of the opinion I can agree. The Court then proceeds, however, based upon that conclusion, to find that defendant’s trial counsel (who was also counsel on appeal to the Superior Court) was necessarily ineffective in failing to raise the invalidity of the waiver as an issue either in post-verdict motions or on appeal to the Superior Court. A new trial is therefore granted. Based upon the present record I am unable to agree either that counsel was ineffective or that the Court should reach and decide the merits of appellant’s underlying claim relative to waiver. Hence this dissent.
*89Counsel may not be deemed ineffective for pursuing a course which was born of a reasonable, calculated strategy. Commonwealth v. Twiggs, 460 Pa. 105, 331 A.2d 440 (1975); Commonwealth ex rel. Washington v. Maroney, 427 Pa. 599, 235 A.2d 349 (1967). In the latter case the presence of “some reasonable basis designed to effectuate his client’s interest” was held to be the test for effectiveness. In the same vein, we said that ineffectiveness cannot be found unless we were to conclude that “the alternatives not chosen [by counsel] offered a potential for success substantially greater than the tactics actually utilized.” Id. 427 Pa. at 605 n.8, 235 A.2d at 353 n.8. Our analysis of the action or non-action of former counsel which is pointed to as demonstrating his ineffectiveness is solely for the purpose of deciding the question of ineffectiveness; the claim itself, not having been timely raised at the trial or first appellate level, has not been preserved for our review. See Commonwealth v. Carter, 463 Pa. 310, 344 A.2d 846 (1975). Rather, as we observed in Commonwealth v. Hubbard, 472 Pa. 259, 372 A.2d 687 (1977), “once we conclude that the omitted contention [i.e., trial counsel’s non-action] is of arguable merit, our inquiry into the substance of the claim ceases and shifts to an analysis of a [trial] counsel’s basis for decision.” 472 Pa. at 278, 372 A.2d at 696.
When the record before a reviewing court is inadequate to disclose whether counsel acted pursuant to a reasoned course, i.e., whether there existed a satisfactory basis for not making the omitted claim, then the appellate court should remand the case for an evidentiary hearing on that issue. Commonwealth v. Hubbard, supra, 472 Pa. at 278, 372 A.2d at 696 (1977); Commonwealth v. Moore, 466 Pa. 510, 353 A.2d 808 (1976); Commonwealth v. Twiggs, supra. A finding of ineffectiveness without the benefit of such a hearing is proper only when it can conclusively be said from an examination of the record on appeal that there could have been no reasonable basis for counsel’s decision. Commonwealth v. Hubbard, supra. The majority has concluded that this is such a case. With respect, I fail to see how this *90conclusion can be reached on this record or under our case law.
The majority’s position is supportable only if counsel acted without possible justification in failing to challenge the effectiveness of petitioner’s jury trial waiver on the basis of the inadequate colloquy which preceded it. Such a conclusion follows, however, only if the inadequacy of the colloquy conclusively establishes the ineffectiveness of the waiver and hence requires the grant of a new trial. The majority suggests that such a rule was announced in Commonwealth v. Williams, 454 Pa. 368, 312 A.2d 597 (1973). In the Williams decision, however, we expressly refused to adopt a prophylactic rule which would invalidate a purported waiver of a jury trial simply because it was not supported by an adequate colloquy. Rather, we recognized that evidence dehors the record could be used to establish the validity of the waiver:
“The appellant argues that we should make a per se prophylactic rule reversing convictions for failure to comply with Rule 1101, despite the fact that a subsequent full and fair hearing proved the waiver of the constitutional right was knowing and intelligent. When we make rules for criminal proceedings we do so in order to protect the rights of the individual and therefore we expect strict compliance with those rules. However, a prophylactic exclusionary rule is applied only in extreme cases where all other attempts to secure compliance have proven unsuccessful. See generally Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 651-652, 81 S.Ct. 1684, 6 L.Ed.2d 1081 (1961). In this area there has been no showing of widespread flagrant disregard to justify formulation of such a rule at this time.
“Furthermore, where there is a subsequent proceeding in which the waiver is proven to be knowing and intelligent on the record such a prophylactic rule seems unnecessary since the purposes of the rule to ensure the constitutionality of the waiver and our ability to review it, are satisfied. See Commonwealth v. Godfrey, 434 Pa. 532, 538, 254 A.2d 923 (1969) (Roberts, J., concurring).” Com*91monwealth v. Williams, 454 Pa. 368, 372, 312 A.2d 597, 599 (1973).
Trial counsel’s decision, then, whether or not to raise the involuntary waiver issue rests not only on the facial adequacy or inadequacy of the colloquy, but also on a review of the circumstances surrounding the waiver. A lawyer who prior to trial had fully discussed with his client the various considerations for and against trial by jury and the consequences of the waiver could reasonably conclude that the decision to forego a jury was in the client’s best interests when made and still remained so. He might also reasonably believe in light of Williams that the attendant circumstances would render futile any effort to challenge the waiver either post-trial or on appeal. Counsel may not be deemed ineffective for failing to pursue an avenue which, in light of the then existing state of the law, would appear frivolous. Commonwealth v. Rice, 456 Pa. 90, 318 A.2d 705 (1974). Nor may counsel be deemed ineffective for failing to anticipate a change in the law such as is accomplished by today’s opinion when it announces a per se rule of invalidity of a jury trial waiver whenever the supporting colloquy is inadequate. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Triplett, 476 Pa. 83, 381 A.2d 877 (1977). Thus a reviewing court may not properly pass upon counsel’s alleged ineffectiveness in failing to pursue a claimed facially defective waiver of jury trial unless and until it is apprised of the reasons for counsel’s inaction. Because the record before us does not yield this information the only proper course is to remand for an evidentiary hearing to develop it.
Ignoring the teaching of both Hubbard and Williams, the majority relies on Commonwealth v. Kulp, 476 Pa. 358, 382 A.2d 1209 (1977) as the authority for its grant of a new trial. In Kulp we held that a new trial is required where the on-the-record colloquy in support of a tender and acceptance of a defendant’s guilty plea is insufficient to establish a valid waiver of the right to proceed to trial. Commonwealth v. Ingram, 455 Pa. 198, 316 A.2d 77 (1974). The fact that a *92majority of this Court is of the opinion that the non-observance of the clear and frequently reiterated requirements for the establishment of a knowing guilty plea is sufficiently widespread as to require automatic reversal where the requirements are ignored does not support the conclusion that a per se rule is required with respect to jury trial waivers, where no widespread abuse of colloquy requirements has been shown.*
To recapitulate, I would remand this case to the trial court for an evidentiary hearing to establish whether or not trial counsel was ineffective. If counsel is held to have been constitutionally effective, a new appeal to the Superior Court on that issue should be available to the defendant. Should trial counsel be held to have been constitutionally ineffective, then it becomes appropriate to determine the merits of the claim that the defendant’s waiver was not voluntary, knowing and intelligent. Because the majority circumvents this jurisprudentially sound procedure, I must dissent.

 Although this Court has said that Commonwealth v. Ingram, 455 Pa. 198, 316 A.2d 77 (1974) established no new law, see Commonwealth v. Minor, 467 Pa. 230, 356 A.2d 346 (1976), nevertheless, since the date of Ingram, the Court has found it necessary on numerous occasions to rectify an Ingram violation. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Kulp, supra; Commonwealth v. Jasper, 472 Pa. 226, 372 A.2d 395 (1976); Commonwealth v. Holmes, 468 Pa. 409, 364 A.2d 259 (1976); Commonwealth v. Ramos, 468 Pa. 404, 364 A.2d 257 (1976); Commonwealth v. Hunter, 468 Pa. 7, 359 A.2d 785 (1976); Commonwealth v. Schork, 467 Pa. 248, 356 A.2d 355 (1976); Commonwealth v. Minor, 467 Pa. 230, 356 A.2d 346 (1976); Commonwealth v. Dilbeck, 466 Pa. 543, 353 A.2d 824 (1976); Commonwealth v. Mack, 466 Pa. 12, 351 A.2d 278 (1976); Commonwealth v. Sutton, 465 Pa. 335, 350 A.2d 793 (1976). In contrast, since our decision in Williams (which was handed down some months prior to the Ingram decision), this Court has not been presented until the instant appeal with a single instance of reversible error involving a jury trial waiver colloquy.