Pennsylvania’s Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA) sets forth the rules for collaterally attacking a criminal conviction in Pennsylvania courts. A PCRA petition is filed in the Court of Common Pleas and is generally assigned to the judge who presided over the trial/plea proceedings.
To be eligible for PCRA relief the petitioner must timely file a petition, be serving a sentence (incarceration or court ordered supervision),and establish a legal issue that has not been previously litigated and/or waived.
PCRA review is focused on whether the defendant can show that his/her conviction is the result of a breakdown in the judicial process. It is not enough for the defendant to allege (or even to show) that error occurred during trial, he/she must also show that the error prejudiced his/her case to the degree that the conviction should not have occurred. For example, the defendant must plead and prove: (1) a constitutional violation that undermined the judicial process so that no reliable adjudication of guilt or innocence could have taken place; (2) he/she was convicted due to ineffective assistance of counsel; (3) a government official precluded the filing of a meretricious appeal that was properly preserved at trial; (4) he/she has newly discovered exculpatory evidence that was unavailable at trial and that would have changed the outcome if it was introduced during trial; or (5) the judgment of sentence is illegal.
Depending upon the issue(s) raised in the PCRA petition, a court can vacate a sentence, overturn a conviction, order a new trial, or dismiss the case entirely.
To be filed timely, a PCRA must be filed within one year of when the defendant’s direct appeal rights expired. If a PCRA petition is untimely, the court does not have jurisdiction to rule on the merits of the claim(s).
There are three (3) exceptions to the general one-year deadline. The three exceptions are: (1) the failure to raise the claim previously was the result of the interference of government officials; (2) the facts that the claim is predicated upon were unknown and could not have been learned through due diligence; and (3) the right raised is a constitutional right recognized by the United States Supreme Court or Pennsylvania Supreme Court after the one-year deadline expired that has been held to apply retroactively. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9545(b)(1). Additionally, any petition invoking a timeliness exception must be filed within one year of when the claim could have first been filed.
Whenever we review a case’s eligible for PCRA relief we immediately focus on its procedural timeline.
Before we file a petition or an amended petition we must identify and order the relevant transcripts. Once we have the transcripts, we read them line-by-line while taking notes and charting the issues we might want to litigate. Closely reviewing the transcripts is essential to identifying the proper and best PCRA arguments to make.
We believe that it is essential to speak with our clients about what happened in their case. Often, the client is (and should be) the only person who knows the details of conversations that occurred between his/her former attorney and him/herself. The client was also physically present for the original court proceedings and can provide perspective and information on items that may not appear in the court record. Therefore, we believe it is essential to speak with our clients as part of the PCRA evaluation.
If a petition has been timely filed, we will review it and likely file an amended PCRA petition. If a petition has not been filed, the amount of time before the expiration of the filing deadline will dictate when and what we file to comply with the jurisdictional timeliness requirement. In short, we will fully review transcripts and investigate factual claims before filing or amending a PCRA petition if time permits.
Long before we appear at the PCRA hearing, we consider our strategy, subpoena witnesses, and prepare the questions we will ask to establish the claims alleged in the petition.
If a PCRA is denied by the trial court it is then eligible for review in the Superior Court, and if affirmed, the defense can request review in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
If you or someone you love is interested in pursuing PCRA relief call Lampman Law today at: 570-371-3737.
