Com. v. Davis, P., Com. v. Davis, P. No. 636 EDA 2016

On June 28, 2009, Davis shot and fatally wounded Wilson; police later recovered a .380 firearm on Davis that forensic testing linked to the fatal bullet. Two witnesses and a signed confession further implicated Davis.
On March 4, 2013, Davis pled guilty pursuant to a negotiated deal to third-degree murder and two firearms offenses; court accepted plea and imposed a 20–40 year term for murder plus consecutive 1.5–5 year terms for each firearms count. No direct appeal was filed.
Davis filed a pro se PCRA petition (Feb. 24, 2014) and an amended petition (Mar. 16, 2015) alleging ineffective assistance of guilty-plea counsel for failing to explain the elements and sentencing ranges on the record.
The PCRA court issued a Rule 907 notice and dismissed the amended petition without an evidentiary hearing on Feb. 5, 2016; Davis timely appealed.
The record showed Davis completed two written guilty-plea colloquy forms acknowledging he was informed of the elements, nature of charges, permissible sentencing ranges, and that his plea was knowing, voluntary, and intelligent.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether PCRA court erred by dismissing without a hearing where counsel allegedly failed to explain elements and sentencing ranges on the record	Davis: counsel ineffectively permitted plea without on-the-record explanation of offense elements and sentence ranges, so plea may be unknowing	Commonwealth: written colloquies and totality of circumstances show Davis was informed; omissions from oral colloquy are cured and counsel was not ineffective	Court affirmed dismissal: written pleas and totality of circumstances establish plea was knowing/voluntary; no PCRA entitlement to evidentiary hearing

Abu-Jamal v. Commonwealth, 941 A.2d 1263 (Pa. 2008) (standard of review for PCRA denials)
Spotz v. Commonwealth, 84 A.3d 294 (Pa. 2014) (three-prong ineffective-assistance test)
Flanagan v. Commonwealth, 854 A.2d 489 (Pa. 2004) (plea-colloquy requirements and manifest injustice standard)
Henderson v. Morgan, 426 U.S. 637 (U.S. 1976) (totality-of-the-circumstances approach to plea voluntariness)
Shaffer v. Commonwealth, 446 A.2d 591 (Pa. 1982) (presumption counsel explained nature of offenses absent claim of nonunderstanding)
Gardner v. Commonwealth, 452 A.2d 1346 (Pa. 1982) (off-the-record communications may cure on-the-record omissions)
Rega v. Commonwealth, 933 A.2d 997 (Pa. 2007) (burden of proving ineffectiveness rests with appellant)
McCauley v. Commonwealth, 797 A.2d 920 (Pa. Super. 2001) (defendant bound by truthful plea colloquy statements)
Anthony v. Commonwealth, 475 A.2d 1303 (Pa. 1984) (written colloquies can obviate oral-colloquy omissions)