Com. v. Ealy v. Jr.
1925 MDA 2015
| Pa. Super. Ct. | Oct 28, 2016Background
- In August 2010 Chambersburg police filed two criminal complaints and obtained arrest warrants charging Vernon L. Ealy Jr. with drug delivery and criminal use of a communication facility.
- Police attempted service at Ealy’s last-known address on September 2, 2010; they spoke with his mother, left their card, and Ealy later called the officer but did not surrender.
- Over the next years officers checked addresses, used internet databases, communicated with New Jersey police (including Hillside and Orange PD), and investigated leads (Facebook, TLO skip-trace); an attempted-warrant-service log recorded numerous entries.
- Ealy was arrested in Orange, New Jersey on April 3, 2013 and extradited to Pennsylvania; he pled guilty on March 10, 2014 and was sentenced to concurrent 20–60 month terms.
- Ealy filed a PCRA petition arguing trial counsel was ineffective for failing to move to dismiss under Pa.R.Crim.P. 600 (speedy-trial), claiming the Commonwealth failed to exercise due diligence in locating him between Aug. 31, 2010 and his arrest.
- The PCRA court held an evidentiary hearing, found the Commonwealth had exercised reasonable efforts to locate Ealy, denied relief; the Superior Court affirmed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Commonwealth failed to exercise due diligence under Pa.R.Crim.P. 600, producing excludable delay | Commonwealth: (respondent) contended it conducted reasonable, documented efforts to locate Ealy | Ealy argued the 1,100+ day pre-arrest period should be included because police did not use all available means to find him | Court held Commonwealth exercised due diligence; pre-arrest delay excluded and no Rule 600 violation |
| Whether trial counsel (Sponseller) was ineffective for not filing a Rule 600 motion | Commonwealth: counsel not ineffective because a Rule 600 motion would have been meritless | Ealy argued counsel’s failure to file the motion was deficient and prejudicial | Court held counsel was not ineffective because the underlying Rule 600 claim lacked merit |
Key Cases Cited
- Commonwealth v. Martin, 5 A.3d 177 (Pa. 2010) (standard of review for PCRA factual and legal determinations)
- Commonwealth v. Abu-Jamal, 833 A.2d 719 (Pa. 2003) (PCRA review principles)
- Commonwealth v. Ghisoiu, 63 A.3d 1272 (Pa. Super. 2013) (deference to PCRA factual findings)
- Commonwealth v. Hinton, 409 A.2d 54 (Pa. Super. 1979) (due-diligence test: judge what authorities did, not what they did not do)
- Commonwealth v. Roles, 116 A.3d 122 (Pa. Super. 2015) (due diligence is fact specific and requires reasonable efforts)
- Commonwealth v. Mitchell, 372 A.2d 826 (Pa. 1977) (police methods to locate suspects need not be second-guessed if reasonable)
- Commonwealth v. McBee, 520 A.2d 10 (Pa. 1986) (meritless claims cannot support ineffective-assistance relief)
- Commonwealth v. Tedford, 960 A.2d 1 (Pa. 2008) (three-prong ineffective assistance test)
- Commonwealth v. Pierce, 527 A.2d 973 (Pa. 1987) (framework for ineffective-assistance analysis)
- Commonwealth v. Harvey, 812 A.2d 1190 (Pa. 2002) (requirement to prove all prongs of ineffective-assistance test)
- Commonwealth v. Johnson, 51 A.3d 237 (Pa. Super. 2012) (presumption of counsel effectiveness)