Commonwealth v. Dennis
Commonwealth v. Dennis
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
On May 12, 1969, the appellant, George Dennis, represented by counsel, entered a plea of guilty to mur
Appellant’s initial allegation that he was denied his appellate rights is not well founded. Although the information given appellant concerning his appellate rights was inadequate,
Equally lacking in merit is the appellant’s contention that the evidence was insufficient to raise the crime above voluntary manslaughter. When an accused pleads guilty to murder generally, he admits that he is guilty of second degree murder and that there is sufficient evidence to sustain a conviction for second degree murder. Commonwealth v. Dillinger, 440 Pa. 336, 269 A. 2d 505 (1970). Even though an accused enters a plea of guilty to murder generally, he is still given an opportunity to introduce evidence that will mitigate the offense to voluntary manslaughter. Commonwealth ex rel. Kerekes v. Maroney, 423 Pa 337, 340, 223 A. 2d 699, 701 (1966). In Commonwealth v. Walters, 431 Pa. 74, 244 A. 2d 757 (1968), this Court held that whether the trial judge erred in failing to reduce the crime to voluntary manslaughter is a question cognizable in a collateral proceeding because it is an attack on the validity of the plea and not a question of the sufficiency of the evidence. Having carefully reviewed the record, we conclude that the Commonwealth’s testimony more than adequately supported a second degree murder conviction. Three eyewitnesses saw appellant holding the gun on the victim while the victim had his hands up, saw appellant advance and fire at the victim and saw appellant fire again as the victim fled.
In attacking his guilty plea as based on an unconstitutional confession, appellant must demonstrate all of the following: (1) that the confession was unconstitutionally obtained; (2) that the confession was the primary motivation for the guilty plea; and (3) that the entry of the guilty plea was on incompetent advice of counsel. Commonwealth v. Taylor, 449 Pa. 345, 296
We are also unable to find that appellant’s guilty plea was based on the incompetent advice of counsel. The test for the competency of counsel’s advice does not involve a retrospective consideration of whether the advice was right or wrong but rather whether the advice was within the range of competence normally required of criminal defense attorneys. McMann v. Richardson, 397 U.S. 759, 771 (1970). Our concern, therefore, is with the reasonableness of counsel’s assessment of his client’s case and his subsequent advice, including advice as to the effect of entering a guilty plea. Commonwealth v. Ward, 442 Pa. 351, 354, 275 A. 2d 92, 94
Appellant makes a number of claims to support his final allegation that his trial counsel was incompetent. The only claim that we need mention is that counsel was incompetent because he failed to argue to the trial judge, after the appellant pleaded guilty to murder generally and the Commonwealth certified that the crime rose no higher than second degree murder, that the case rose no higher than voluntary manslaughter. In Commomoealth ex rel. Washington v. Maroney, 427 Pa. 599, 604-5, 235 A. 2d 349, 353 (1967), we stated that “the balance tips in favor of a finding of effective assistance as soon as it is determined that trial counsel’s decisions had any reasonable basis,” Upon review of the record counsel’s decision not to argue that the case rose no higher than voluntary manslaughter was reasonable.
Order affirmed.
Act of January 25, 1966, P. L. (1965) 1580, 19 P.S. §§1180-1 et seq. (Supp. 1972).
The record shows that appellant was merely told that he had forty-five days in which to appeal. See Commonwealth v. Wilson, 430 Pa. 1, 241 A. 2d 760 (1968).
Concurring Opinion
Concurring Opinion by
I continue to disagree with this Court’s determination that in order to attack a guilty plea on the ground that it was induced by an unconstitutionally obtained confession the three-pronged test formulated in Commonwealth v. Marsh, 440 Pa. 590, 271 A. 2d 481 (1970) , must be met.
However, since my review of the record convinces me that appellant’s confession was not the primary motivation for the guilty plea, I believe that the majority properly rejected appellant’s attempt to vacate his guilty plea due to an unconstitutional confession. Even before the decision in Commonwealth v. Marsh, supra,
I, therefore, concur in the result.
In Marsh it was established that in attacking a guilty plea allegedly based on an unconstitutional confession the appellant must demonstrate: (1) that the confession was unconstitutionally
in the instant case, the constitutionality of the confession had been challenged before the entry of the plea.
It is interesting to note that in the case at bar a primary basis for the majority’s conclusion that defense counsel had a reasonable basis for advising his client to plead guilty was “the denial of a motion to suppress the confession. . . .”
I also agree that the record before us fails to establish that the confession was constitutionally infirm.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Commonwealth v. Dennis, Appellant
- Cited By
- 19 cases
- Status
- Published