Founded in 1895, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania is responsible for deciding certain direct appeals from the Courts of Common Pleas. The Courts of Common Pleas are Pennsylvania’s county trial courts, and they also hear direct appeals from Pennsylvania’s minor courts (magisterial district courts and municipal courts). After an appeal from a minor court is decided by the Court of Common Pleas, that ruling can also be appealed to the Superior Court.
The Superior Court has jurisdiction to hear appeals from criminal convictions, juvenile adjudications of delinquency, and most final orders in civil cases. Criminal defendants, juvenile subjects, and civil litigants who are dissatisfied with the way their case was decided in the Court of Common Pleas can appeal to the Pennsylvania Superior Court as a matter of right. This means that the Superior Court must rule on the appeal if it is timely filed, the issues are preserved, and the argument permits judicial review. Accordingly, the Superior Court is an extremely busy court.
Statistics from the Superior Court show that the Courts of Common Pleas are infrequently reversed on appeal. Specifically, criminal convictions are historically difficult to overturn. For example, in 2019 the Superior Court received over 7,500 appeals with more than 4,600 being criminal cases. During that year, the Superior Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court in 77% of the appeals it decided. It reversed the trial court in only 12% of the cases. Five percent of cases were affirmed in part, reversed in part, and the final 6% of cases quashed, dismissed, or transferred.
Furthermore, once the Superior Court affirms a criminal conviction, the odds are against it being reversed. In 2019, the Superior Court denied 81% of the applications for rearmament it received. Re-argument and/or panel reconsideration was only granted in 9% of the cases that applied. The remaining 10% of these applications were considered untimely, moot, or were withdrawn.
During that year, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania only granted review of 2% of cases decided by the Superior Court. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania affirmed half the cases it decided, it reversed the Superior Court in 33% of the cases reviewed, and the remaining 17% of cases were either affirmed/reversed, dismissed, improvidently granted, vacated, or withdrawn.
There are fifteen (15) judges on the Superior Court. Superior Court judges are elected in statewide elections to serve a ten (10) year term. Judges may serve a second term if retained but they must retire at age 75. Appeals are generally heard by a panel of three (3) judges; however, cases can also be en banc by nine (9) judges.
Criminal appeals to the Superior Court should focus on a legal question or make a few specific legal challenges. For example, a direct appeal of a criminal conviction may require the Superior Court to consider one of the following questions:
There are other issues not included on this list that can be raised on appeal. Every case is different and must be reviewed individually to determine the basis for relief.
The Pennsylvania Rules of Appellate Procedure define how and when litigants must act and present their arguments. The rules are extremely particular; however, they are not always intuitive and are sometimes perplexing. For example, the rules outline when to initiate an appeal to preserve review, the way a brief must be structured, its font size and length, and how to file the brief. Below is a summary of process of appealing a criminal conviction in the Superior Court of Pennsylvania.
The Superior Court has three judicial districts: the eastern district is in Philadelphia, the middle district is in Harrisburg, and the western district is in Pittsburgh. Occasionally, it travels to hold special sessions in county courthouses, schools, or other public locations.
Depending upon what issue has been appealed, the Superior Court can grant a range of relief. If the appellate court overturns a decision of the trial court, it can order a new trial, re-sentencing, or dismiss the case entirely. The type of relief that the Superior Court would order depends entirely on the type of issue brought before it.
The first step to appeal a criminal conviction in Pennsylvania is to file a Notice of Appeal with the clerk of courts in the Court of Common Pleas where the conviction occurred. Both the clerk of courts for the Courts of Common Pleas and the Superior Court charge fees for filing a Notice of Appeal.
Generally, the Notice of Appeal must be filed within thirty (30) days of the sentencing date. However, if post-sentence motions were filed (also called 10-day motions), the Notice of Appeal must be filed within thirty (30) days of the Court’s order denying the post-sentence motion or when the post-sentence motion is denied by operation of law.
After the Notice of Appeal is filed, the Superior Court issues a docketing statement that the parties must complete and return to the Court.
During this time, the trial court normally issues an order requiring the appealing party to file a Concise Statement of Errors Complained of on Appeal (“concise statement”).
The concise statement provides the trial court with notice of the alleged error(s) it made in the case that will be raised on appeal. Clear notice of the issues that will be appealed is necessary so that the trial court can respond to the allegation(s) in its opinion. Failure to include an issue in the concise statement will result in the Superior Court’s refusal to consider the issue. Issues not specified in the concise statement are deemed waived. Accordingly, filing of the concise statement is one of the most critical and important steps in the appeal process.
When the concise statement is filed, the trial court normally issues an opinion outlining its legal authority and reasoning supporting its decision. In other words, the trial court’s opinion offers the Superior Court and the parties its view of the appeal.
After the trial court files its opinion and transmits the record to the appellate court, the Superior Court then issues a briefing schedule. The briefing schedule provides the deadlines for when the parties must file their briefs.
After the briefs are submitted, the Superior Court may schedule oral argument. However, most cases are decided without oral argument. Defendants in criminal cases are not required to appear for argument or any hearings before the Superior Court.
The Superior Court issues its decision by publishing an opinion or releasing a memorandum.
Published Superior Court opinions are binding legal authority in Pennsylvania, which means that the Court’s legal conclusion is the law. Unpublished memorandum decisions are not binding on lower courts but may have persuasive value.
In 2019, only 6% of the Superior Court’s criminal case decisions were published opinions and since 2015, it published 7% of its criminal appeal decisions. The judge who wrote the decision or the panel of judges who decided the case also choose whether it should be a published reported opinion or an unpublished non-precedential memorandum decision.
Generally, a decision will result in a published opinion if it announces a change or modification of the law or if the Court applies settled law to a case involving atypical, or “new” facts or novel topics. The rules of appellate procedure direct parties to request publication in their briefs. Pa.R.A.P. 3519. According to that rule, the Court will publish an opinion when “the Court of Common Pleas has decided a question of substance not previously determined by the Superior Court or the Supreme Court” or “has rendered a decision in conflict with the decision of another Court of Common Pleas on the same question” or “the question involves an issue of substantial public importance.” Id. Within 14 days of the Court issuing an unpublished memorandum decision, a party may file a motion with the Superior Court to convert it to a published opinion. Id. The panel has complete discretion whether to publish a decision. Id.
It depends, but it will probably take over one year from the filing of the notice of appeal. On average, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania will decide a case approximately eleven (11) months from receiving the certified record from the Court of Common Pleas.
If you or someone you love has recently been convicted of a crime in Pennsylvania, time is of the essence to directly challenge the conviction in the Superior Court.
Call Lampman Law today at: 570-371-3737 to speak with a lawyer. We help people convicted of crimes throughout Pennsylvania file direct appeals to the Superior Court.
