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Post-Conviction Relief & Criminal Appeals in Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania

If you’re trying to get post-conviction relief in Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania, it’s important to have an attorney that has experience handling appeals and PCRAs in the area. While knowing people in the city and courts should or does have a significant effect on the outcome of a PCRA, having a PCRA lawyer who understands the policies and procedures is important.

Navigating the PCRA Process in Pennsylvania

Post-conviction relief actions are among the most procedurally complex areas of criminal defense practice. With the way the post-conviction relief law was written in Pennsylvania, someone who wants to file for relief has to show specific facts before the court is even allowed to hear the case. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has determined that, no matter how much merit a defendant’s issue may have, if they haven’t shown that their claim is the type that can be heard under the PCRA, that they’re currently serving a sentence of incarceration, probation, or parole, and that they have filed the petition on time, then they aren’t entitled to relief. This means that an innocent person can have their PCRA petition dismissed if they file it too late.

Pennsylvania’s post-conviction relief act also limits the types of claims that a person can try to raise in a PCRA petition. For example, if the person wants to fight a driver’s license suspension or something else that is a civil sanction and not a criminal punishment, then that claim can’t be raised in a PCRA.

An experienced PCRA attorney will know whether a defendant’s PCRA petition is on time and whether the claims they want to raise can be pursued in a PCRA action.

Pittsburgh & Allegheny County PCRA Representation

When a person wants to try to get PCRA relief, they have to file their petition in the court of common pleas that their conviction is from. If a person was convicted of a crime that happened in Wexford, they still have to file their PCRA petition at the Allegheny County Courthouse in Downtown Pittsburgh.

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How the PCRA process works

What to Expect in the
PCRA Process
1. Review Case Materials
2. Identify possible arguments
3. Look up relevant statutes and cases
4. File PCRA Petition
5. Evidentiary Hearing*
*The Court may act on the petition without a hearing
8. The Court decides
8
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Where to file a PCRA petition in western Pennsylvania

Each county in Pennsylvania has its own system and procedures for filing a post-conviction relief petition. The filing office or clerk of courts for most counties is located in or near their respective courthouses. This is the list of county courthouses in western Pennsylvania:

Allegheny County

Allegheny County Courthouse

436 Grant St Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Armstrong County

Armstrong County Courthouse

500 East Market St

Kittanning, PA 16201

Beaver County

Beaver County Courthouse

810 Third St

Beaver, PA 15009

Butler County