Opinion
Argued April 28, 1972
Decided September 19, 1973
Criminal Law — Practice — Plea of guilty — Intelligence and voluntariness — Effective assistance of counsel — Degree of guilt hearing — Advice as to right to appeal.
In this case, defendant's contentions, that he was denied his constitutional right to the effective assistance of counsel, that his plea of guilty to murder generally was not entered knowingly and voluntarily, that he was deprived of due process of law at the degree of guilt hearing, and that he was not "properly and fairly" advised of his right to appeal, were Held to be without merit.
Before JONES, C. J., EAGEN, O'BRIEN, ROBERTS, POMEROY, NIX and MANDERINO, JJ.
Appeal, No. 502, Jan. T., 1970, from judgment of sentence of Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County, March T., 1968, No. 275, in case of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Grover G. Sanger. Judgment of sentence affirmed.
Indictment charging defendant with murder. Before JOHNSTONE, JR., J.
Plea of guilty entered; defendant adjudged guilty of murder in the first degree and sentenced. Defendant appealed.
Theodore S. Danforth, Public Defender, for appellant.
Henry J. Rutherford, District Attorney, for Commonwealth, appellee.
Appellant, Grover Sanger, entered a plea of guilty to murder generally on January 13, 1969. Pursuant to a degree of guilt hearing on February 20, 1969, appellant was adjudged guilty of murder in the first degree, and sentenced to life imprisonment. This direct appeal followed. We now affirm.
Appellant argues that: he was denied his constitutional right to the effective assistance of counsel, his guilty plea was not entered knowingly and voluntarily, he was deprived of due process of law at the degree of guilt hearing, and he was not "properly and fairly" advised of his right to appeal.
Having thoroughly reviewed all aspects of the trial record and the proceedings on record we conclude that appellant was not denied his right to the effective assistance of counsel, Commonwealth ex rel. Washington v. Maroney, 427 Pa. 599, 235 A.2d 349 (1967). The record also conclusively establishes that appellant's guilty plea was entered both knowingly and voluntarily, Commonwealth v. Butler, 446 Pa. 374, 288 A.2d 800 (1972). We have considered appellant's other allegations of error and find them to be equally without merit or substance.
Judgment of sentence affirmed.