While many people are familiar with the arrest and trial stages of a criminal case, what happens after a defendantis sentenced isn’t as well known. When mistakes are made in a case in Pennsylvania, the defendant can file a direct appeal or a petition for relief under the Post-Conviction Relief Act.
What is a PCRA petition?
When a defendant feels that certain mistakes happened in their case and the direct appeal wasn’t successful, they can file a post-conviction relief act petition, which is known as a PCRA Petition. A PCRA petition is used in cases when:
1.) There was a constitutional violation that made it so that wasn’t possible for the judge or jury to reliably determine that the defendant was innocent or guilty.
2.) An attorney gave “ineffective assistance” and that ineffective assistance had an effect on the outcome of the case.
3.) The guilty plea was unlawfully obtained and the defendant is innocent.
4.) Government officials obstructed the direct appeal.
5.) Exculpatory evidence that wasn’t available at trial is now available.
6.) The defendant is serving an illegal sentence.
7.) The court didn’t have jurisdiction.
8.) The defendant is trying to have DNA testing done in very specific circumstances.
Who is eligible to file a PCRA Petition?
To be eligible for PCRA relief, the defendant has to 1.) currently be serving a sentence of incarceration, parole, or probation for that specific case; 2.) is waiting for the execution of a death sentence; 3.) is serving a sentence that has to be finished before the PCRA case sentence can start; or 4.) finished the sentence but is eligible for special DNA testing according to the law.
When can a defendant file a PCRA petition?
A defendant can file a PCRA petition after the direct appeal process is finished. But, the PCRA petition has to be filed before the deadline.
What is the deadline for filing a PCRA petition?
A PCRA petition has to be filed within a year of the judgment of sentence becoming final.
When does the judgment of sentence become final?
If the defendant doesn’t file a direct appeal, the judgment of sentence becomes final 30 days after the sentencing date. If a direct appeal was filed and the defendant doesn’t ask the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to review the case, then the judgment of sentence becomes final 30 days after the Pennsylvania Superior Court files its decision. If the defendant asked the Pa Supreme Court to review the case, then the judgment of sentence will become final 90 days after the court filed its decision in the case. If the defendant asked the United States Supreme Court to review the case, then the judgment of sentence becomes final on the day that the court files its order resolving the case.
What if I missed the deadline for filing the PCRA petition?
The law includes certain exceptions to the filing deadline. The exceptions are very narrow.
How do I know if an attorney is qualified to handle a PCRA?
Post-conviction relief act cases can be complicated. The courts tend to interpret the statutory requirements very strictly and many defendants are denied relief because of technical mistakes. Proving that the legal claims in the PCRA petition is also challenging. Because the burden of proof is so high for a PCRA petitioner, the signs of a qualified PCRA attorney won’t come down to a win/loss record. A qualified PCRA attorney will be familiar with Pennsylvania PCRA law, regularly researches cases about PCRA law, have an advanced understanding of constitutional law, and have a solid understanding of criminal defense litigation strategies.
When judges are considering whether a PCRA claim is valid, they are supposed to decide whether the mistake the defendant is talking about had an effect on the verdict. For ineffective assistance of counsel claims, the court has to decide whether the approach the defense attorney took was reasonable. So, a well-qualified PCRA attorney needs to know what is or isn’t a reasonable criminal defense strategy in order to give good advice to their client and make the right argument to the court.
The most important part of the service a PCRA lawyer offers is giving their client good advice about whether they have a good case or not. The PCRA requirements are clear enough that a qualified attorney should be able to tell how strong an argument is because they should be able to point to a specific case that deals with the issues. This doesn’t mean that a PCRA attorney should turn down harder cases. What it means is that a good PCRA attorney will tell a defendant whether their case is a longshot.
When can a defendant get DNA testing done in a Pennsylvania PCRA case?
If there is DNA evidence that hasn’t been tested or was tested but a new form of testing is now available, a defendant can file a PCRA petition asking to test the DNA evidence.
What is ineffective assistance of counsel in Pennsylvania?
Under Pennsylvania law, ineffective assistance of counsel is a legal term of art. Which means that it has a special meaning that goes beyond the regular definitions of ineffective assistance. A lawyer can be bad but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they gave ineffective assistance.
For a defendant to have received ineffective assistance of counsel, the defendant has to show: 1.) that the lawyer had to do something or failed to do something, 2.) the lawyer didn’t have a good legal reason for what they did or failed to do; and 3.) that what the lawyer did or failed to do had an effect on the outcome of the case. To succeed on an ineffective assistance of counsel claim, the defendant has to show all three of those elements.
