Commonwealth v. Roane, 142 A.3d 79

Background

In 1984 Reginald Roane (then 17) was involved in a robbery/shooting at William Crandall’s apartment; an eyewitness (Maria Davis) later identified Roane and he was convicted of second-degree (felony) murder and related offenses in 1985.
Roane was sentenced to life without parole; his conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal and his post-conviction history has been lengthy and complex with multiple PCRA petitions and counsel changes.
Roane raised layered claims of prosecutorial nondisclosure (Brady), racial discrimination in peremptory strikes (Batson/Swain), misconduct in use of police “bad character” witnesses, improper use of an allegedly expunged juvenile photo for identification, and flawed jury instructions on malice and reasonable doubt.
He also alleged ineffective assistance of trial, direct-appeal, and PCRA counsel for failing to raise/preserve those issues.
After briefing and hearings, the PCRA court denied relief on most claims but, in light of Miller and Montgomery, the appellate court vacated the mandatory LWOP sentence for a juvenile and remanded for resentencing.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Roane)	Defendant's Argument (Commonwealth)	Held
1. Brady: prosecutor suppressed exculpatory statements by suspect Lee Pompey	Pompey gave favorable/exculpatory info to detectives that was withheld and would have affected outcome; trial counsel ineffective for not pursuing it	Record doesn’t show Pompey gave exculpatory statements; no material suppression; counsel not ineffective	Denied — no arguable Brady violation; ineffective-assistance claim fails
2. Racial discrimination in peremptory strikes (Batson/Swain)	Prosecution struck a disproportionate number of Black venirepersons; trial counsel ineffective for not objecting and preserving Batson claim	Appellant failed to preserve/establish discrimination; on collateral review he must prove purposeful discrimination by preponderance; record incomplete	Denied — insufficient record and proof; Batson burden-shifting not available on collateral review; Swain claim also fails
3. Use of police “bad-character” witnesses	Prosecutor knowingly presented officers whose only basis for reputation testimony came from unrelated criminal investigations; counsel ineffective for not objecting	This issue was previously litigated on direct appeal; testimony was permissible rebuttal and cautionary instruction addressed prejudice	Dismissed as previously litigated / not cognizable on PCRA
4. Use of allegedly expunged juvenile photo for ID	Photo from an expunged record was used to obtain Davis’s ID, tainting identification; counsel ineffective for not objecting	Ambiguity in record whether the photo was actually expunged; no arguable merit established	Denied — no proof photo was expunged; claim lacks arguable merit
5. Jury instruction on felony-malice (second-degree murder)	Trial court’s instruction created a mandatory presumption of malice by imputing malice from the underlying felony improperly	Instructions read as a whole were consistent with law at time; Commonwealth had to prove felony and mens rea; no burden shift	Denied — instruction proper under controlling precedent; ineffective-assistance claim fails
6. Jury instruction on reasonable doubt	Court gave contradictory/inadequate reasonable-doubt charge that diminished prosecution’s burden	Court used the long-standing Donough formulation; language was standard and appropriate at trial time	Denied — charge was consistent with Donough; no constitutional error
7. Layered ineffective-assistance claims against trial, direct-appeal, PCRA counsel	Counsel(s) failed to investigate, preserve, and raise above errors and failed to pursue appellate/PCRA remedies	Many underlying claims lack arguable merit; where no arguable claim exists, counsel’s failure to raise it is not prejudicial; appellant received multiple PCRA opportunities	Denied — appellant failed Pierce/Strickland prongs for each asserted failure
8. Miller claim: mandatory LWOP for juvenile	Mandatory life-without-parole for a juvenile violates Eighth Amendment; Roane (age 17) entitled to resentencing	Commonwealth previously argued Miller not retroactive under Cunningham, but Montgomery clarified retroactivity	Granted in part — judgment of sentence vacated; remanded for resentencing under Miller/Montgomery principles

Key Cases Cited

Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (prosecution must disclose favorable, material evidence)
Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (peremptory-strike racial-discrimination framework)
Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (mandatory LWOP for juveniles unconstitutional)
Montgomery v. Louisiana, 136 S. Ct. 718 (Miller applies retroactively)
United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667 (materiality standard for nondisclosure)
Commonwealth v. Donough, 377 Pa. 46 (approved reasonable-doubt jury charge language)
Commonwealth v. Uderra, 580 Pa. 492 (post-conviction burden to prove purposeful discrimination)
Commonwealth v. Roane, 521 Pa. 611 (previous appellate decision in this matter)