Commonwealth v. Willis, 68 A.3d 997

Appellant pled guilty on May 27, 2009 to homicide by vehicle while DUI, homicide by vehicle, and related offenses, receiving 10½ to 13 years in prison plus 7 years’ probation.
Appellant filed a timely pro se PCRA petition on February 16, 2010 challenging ineffective assistance of plea counsel; the PCRA panel vacated the prior denial for lack of counsel, and the case was remanded for new counsel and a new PCRA hearing.
On remand, new PCRA counsel (Keith J. Williams) was appointed, records were obtained, and a full evidentiary hearing was held on July 26, 2012.
The PCRA court denied relief after the hearing, and Appellant timely appealed; the Superior Court panel previously vacated the denial in Willis for ineffective assistance of PCRA counsel.
Appellant claimed his guilty plea was involuntary due to counsel’s failure to obtain Correctional Mental Health Records showing depression, alcohol abuse, and medication use that allegedly affected his competence at the plea.
The court affirmed, upholding the validity of the guilty plea and rejecting the claim that medication or mental illness rendered Appellant incompetent to plead.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether plea counsel’s alleged failure to obtain mental health records rendered the guilty plea involuntary	Appellant argues lack of records concealed mental health issues and medication effects	Willis/State contends records were not required; appellant admitted understanding and voluntariness	No; plea voluntary and counseled incompetence not shown
Whether Appellant’s sentence is illegal due to discrepancy between the information and the oral ruling	Appellant asserts Count 4 was improperly sentenced as leaving the scene	Written judgment controls; oral misstatement not incorporated	No; written sentence controls and mirrors the correct offense; no illegal sentence

Commonwealth v. Anderson, 995 A.2d 1184 (Pa. Super. 2010) (standard for PCRA prejudice and appellate review of counsel ineffectiveness)
Commonwealth v. Wah, 42 A.3d 335 (Pa. Super. 2012) (ineffectiveness standard for guilty-plea counsel; voluntariness of plea)
Commonwealth v. Hughes, 581 Pa. 274, 865 A.2d 761 (2004) (reasonableness of investigation depends on known evidence to counsel)
Commonwealth v. Lewis, 708 A.2d 497 (Pa. Super. 1998) (plea voluntariness requires knowing, voluntary understanding of consequences)
Commonwealth v. Turetsky, 925 A.2d 876 (Pa. Super. 2007) (competence to plead requires understanding of the crime and proceedings)
Commonwealth v. Jackson, 569 A.2d 964 (Pa. Super. 1990) (no relief for medication-related incompetence where defendant understood proceedings)
Commonwealth v. Hazen, 462 A.2d 732 (Pa. Super. 1983) (medication at plea hearing does not automatically render plea invalid)
Commonwealth v. Gordon, 897 A.2d 504 (Pa. Super. 2006) (written sentence controls when discrepancy with oral pronouncement exists)
Commonwealth v. Isabell, 467 A.2d 1287 (Pa. 1983) (written judgment controls over non-incorporated oral statements)