Court Opinion

ID: 9761895
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 01:58:11.711084+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:29:27.372799
License: Public Domain

McEWEN, Judge,
concurring and dissenting:
While I concur in the ruling of the majority which affirms the order denying relief, and permits counsel to withdraw, I am, nonetheless, compelled to most respectfully dissent from the decision to alter the procedures which counsel must employ when appointed to represent indigent defendants in proceedings pursuant to the Post Conviction Hearing Act, 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541-9551. The dilemma presented by frivolous collateral attacks upon convictions is a troublesome situation made perplexing by the scrupulous commitment of our legislature and courts to prevent injustice. Any and every method employed to resolve the dilemma is replete with seemingly purposeless procedures, and the Anders solution is no exception. Nonetheless, as toilsome as it may frequently appear, the Anders procedure is, in my view, as expedient a solution as has yet been devised and *391has not proven so unwieldy as to require that it be discarded.
The United States Supreme Court in Anders devised a three pronged formula to determine when court appointed counsel will be permitted to withdraw his appearance in a direct appeal in a criminal case. The Court there decreed that when counsel, after a conscientious evaluation of the record, believes an appeal to be “wholly frivolous” and wishes to withdraw as counsel, he must: “(1) request the court’s permission to withdraw as counsel, (2) submit with his request a brief referring the court to anything in the record which might arguably support an appeal, and (3) furnish a copy of this brief to his client in time to allow an appeal in propria persona or a request for appointment of new counsel.” Commonwealth v. Greer, 455 Pa. 106, 108, 314 A.2d 513, 514 (1974). See: Commonwealth v. McClendon, 495 Pa. 467, 434 A.2d 1185 (1981); Commonwealth v. Baker, 429 Pa. 209, 239 A.2d 201 (1968). The Anders decision was rendered in a direct appeal, and is not, by reason of federal law, of compulsory application in collateral appeals. It was, however, deemed sufficiently effective as to become prudently applicable in this Commonwealth to post conviction proceedings as well as direct appeals.
A convicted defendant who is indigent is, in most instances, entitled to representation by counsel1 during proceedings initiated pursuant to the Post Conviction Hearing Act:
Rule 1503. Appointment of Counsel
(a) Except as provided in Rule 1504, when an unrepresented petitioner satisfies the court that he is unable to procure counsel, the court shall appoint counsel to represent him. The court, on its own motion, shall appoint *392counsel to represent a petitioner whenever the interests of justice require it.
(b) Where counsel has been appointed, such appointment shall be effective until final judgment, including, any proceedings upon appeal from a denial of collateral relief
Pa.R.Crim.P. 1503 (emphasis supplied).
It is well settled that the requirement that counsel be appointed is not satisfied by “ ‘the mere naming of an attorney to represent the accused, but also envisions that counsel so appointed shall have the opportunity and in fact discharge the responsibilities required by his representation.’ ” Commonwealth v. Carrier, 494 Pa. 305, 309, 431 A.2d 271, 273 (1981) quoting Commonwealth v. Fiero, 462 Pa. 409, 413, 341 A.2d 448, 450 (1975). See also: Commonwealth v. Scott, 469 Pa. 381, 383, 366 A.2d 225, 226 (1976); Commonwealth v. Barton, 312 Pa.Super. 176, 178, 458 A.2d 571, 573 (1983); Commonwealth v. Ollie, 304 Pa.Super. 505, 506, 450 A.2d 1026, 1027 (1982). Accord: Commonwealth v. Turner, 353 Pa.Super. 173, 175, 509 A.2d 391, 393 (1986); Commonwealth v. Miller, 325 Pa.Super. 163, 164, 472 A.2d 698, 699 (1981). The appointment of counsel in post conviction proceedings sharpens the presentation of issues and promotes the administration of justice. Commonwealth v. Holland, 496 Pa. 514, 515, 437 A.2d 1159, 1160 (1981). “Exploration of the legal grounds for complaint, investigation of the underlying facts and more articulate statement of claims are functions of an advocate— ” Commonwealth v. Mitchell, 427 Pa. 395, 397, 235 A.2d 148, 149 (1967). See also: Commonwealth v. Carrier, supra, 494 Pa. at 308, 431 A.2d at 273; Commonwealth v. Hines, 287 Pa.Super. 291, 293, 430 A.2d 291, 292 (1981).
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Commonwealth v. Lohr, 503 Pa. 130, 468 A.2d 1375 (1983), declared:
Where counsel believes that an appeal would be wholly frivolous the procedure to be pursued is set forth in Commonwealth v. McClendon, 495 Pa. 467, 434 A.2d *3931185 (1981) (McClendon) requiring that counsel seek to withdraw by so petitioning the court and filing an Anders brief setting forth claims of “arguable merit.” This requirement is intended to act as a reconciliation between disparate views: first, counsel’s belief that an appeal would be wholly frivolous and, second, the right of an indigent defendant to enjoy representation commensurate with that available to more monied defendants. Submission of an Anders brief induces the court’s review of the potential merit of an appeal before ruling on counsel’s application to withdraw. As stated in McClendon, the goal is an independent determination of the merit of an appeal by a reviewing court.
Id., 503 Pa. at 138, 468 A.2d at 1379 (footnote omitted). I am of a mind that our role as an intermediate appellate court precludes our rejection of a rule of procedure which our Supreme Court has approved, as I see it, in no uncertain terms. Because the Supreme Court has, in my view, the sole prerogative to revise any procedure it has adopted, I am unable to heed the call of the majority to scrap the Anders procedure, and to enact what is, in effect, a Rule of Criminal Procedure.
Since I take the position that this Court is powerless to enact such a rule, my view of the rule proposed by the majority becomes merely parenthetical. I am, nonetheless, obliged to observe that the manner in which the proposed procedure serves as an improvement upon the Anders procedure is, during my analysis, elusive. Moreover, it strikes me that submission of an Anders brief is a quite purposeful procedure, particularly in view of the quite minimal extra effort required of counsel who has already thoroughly examined the record and studied the applicable law.
Appellant in the instant matter claims that his guilty plea was unlawfully induced and that he should, therefore, be permitted to withdraw the plea. A cursory review of the record presently before this Court suggest that this issue has formed, with minor embellishments, the basis for approximately one dozen PCHA petitions filed by appellant. *394This issue was raised in the first PCHA petition filed by appellant in December of 1980. That petition was dismissed when appellant knowingly failed to appear at the evidentiary hearing scheduled thereon. No appeal was taken. The second and third PCHA petitions filed by appellant, raising the same issue, were dismissed by the trial court and again no appeal was taken to the Superior Court. A fourth petition was dismissed and the Superior Court, on appeal, affirmed the dismissal of the petition on the grounds that appellant’s failure to appear at the hearing on his first petition acted as a waiver of the issue. No petition for allocatur was filed. Appellant simply continued to file subsequent petitions raising the same issue. There can be no question but that appellant was not entitled, under the Rules of Criminal Procedure or the Post Conviction Hearing Act, to the appointment of counsel to assist him in the presentation of this petition. See: 42 Pa.C.S. § 9544(a); Pa.R.Crim.P. 1504. Thus it is that I would affirm the order which dismissed the latest PCHA petition filed by appellant and allow counsel to withdraw.

. Rule 1504 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure provides that counsel need not be appointed where "a previous petition involving the same issue or issues has been finally determined adversely to the petitioner and he was either afforded the opportunity to have counsel appointed or was represented by counsel in proceedings thereon”. See also: Commonwealth v. Curtin, 365 Pa.Super. 424, 529 A.2d 1130 (1987); 42 Pa.C.S. § 9545(c).