× Open in the RecordGone App Get
0
Higbee & Associates, a national law firm
Cart
877-573-7273

Overturn Appeal Pennsylvania Conviction


When a Pennsylvania judge or jury returns a guilty verdict after trial, the convicted individual may wonder about options for relief. The law provides certain protections to criminal defendants that allow them to seek review of cases, even after a verdict is entered.

Post-Sentence Motion

Pennsylvania law allows a person to file a post-sentence motion within 10 days after the sentence is entered.[1] All post-trial relief requested from the trial court judge is summarized in one motion. However, if newly discovered evidence is brought to the defendant's attention that was not available in time to meet these requirements, the post-trial motion need only be filed promptly after the evidence is found.

Common requests raised in a post-trial motion include:

To get a guilty plea withdrawn, the person typically must establish that the plea was not voluntarily entered. Because the judge must find that the plea is voluntary before accepting it, this is not an easy standard to meet. Any attorney that assisted during trial may be able to help with this motion. A motion for acquittal requires showing that the jury's verdict is not supported by the evidence presented at trial.

Time Frames after the Motion is Filed

Once the motion is filed, the trial court judge has 10 days to determine whether full briefs are necessary. If so, he will set a date for each party to submit a brief outlining his position on the issues raised in the post-trial motion. If the judge would like a hearing to ask questions about the briefs, a separate date can be set for the parties to present their arguments in person.

The judge must decide the post-trial motion within 120 days after the hearing, if there is one. If he fails to do so, his inaction is legally considered a denial of the motion. However, the defendant can request a 30-day extension for good cause shown.

Notice of Appeal

A person who has been convicted of a crime has 30 days after the sentence is imposed to enter an appeal, provided there are no post-trial motions.[2] When a post-trial motion is filed, the defendant has 30 days to file a Notice of Appeal after the judge reaches a decision on the motion.[3]

Issues must be raised in the trial court before they can be considered on appeal. It is not necessary to file a post-trial motion on those issues before filing for appeal. If the conviction occurred in a summary proceeding, filing a Notice of Appeal and transcripts will trigger a new trial before a judge for the court of common pleas. There is no jury in this proceeding.[4] This procedure typically applies to convictions under the Vehicle Code.

For convictions not arising out of a summary proceeding, the first step is to file a Notice of Appeal with the clerk of the criminal court. A person who does not have available assets has a right to seek permission to waive the filing fee. It may also be possible to request an attorney to assist with the appeal at no charge. The clerk of the trial court will assemble the record, along with any transcripts designated by the appellant, and transfer them to the Court of Appeals for a new case to be opened. Once the appellate clerk assigns a case number, notices are mailed to each party with a briefing schedule.

The Appellant's Brief

The Appellant's Brief is an important document, because that is where the appellant lays out the reasons that the conviction was unlawful and should be overturned. The oral argument, when allowed, is not a new trial. It usually is short and primarily consists of the judges asking questions about the arguments in the briefs. The parties do not call witnesses or present new evidence at the oral argument.

Judges Written Opinion

After the argument, the judges will issue a written opinion. The Court may uphold the original conviction or may vacate and the conviction remand the case to the trial court. Usually, a new trial will be held, but the prosecutor is not required to retry the case. The defendant may also move to dismiss the charges if the Court of Appeals finds that it was error to introduce key evidence without which there is no basis for a conviction.

Writ of Habeas Corpus

The last course of action to a person who has been wrongfully convicted is to file a writ of habeas corpus. The writ does not delete a conviction for someone who has been released, but may allow a person being wrongfully held in custody to be set free.

There are two basis for the writ:

  1. The original confinement in prison was unlawful;
  2. That the ongoing confinement of the prisoner is unlawful

A writ of habeas corpus alleging that a person is being unlawfully held in violation of state law is filed with the clerk of the court where the judgment or sentence was entered.[5] If the writ challenges the conditions under which a person is being held, it is filed with the clerk of the court where the jail or prison is located. This is not necessarily where the original sentence was entered. When the writ alleges violations of the United States Constitution, the writ may be filed in federal district court.[6]

The petition for writ of habeas corpus calls upon the government to defend the imprisonment and prove that it is unlawful. The state has the ability to file a response to the petition, and both parties attend a hearing. A person whose constitutional rights were denied during the trial or who is subjected to cruel and unusual prison conditions might be released under this process.

If the writ is approved, the prisoner must be released. If it is denied, the person remains in custody.

Find more legal articles in our articles database.


[1] 234 Pa. Code, Rule 720
[2] 210 Pa. Code, Rule 903(c)(3)
[3] 234 Pa. Code, Rule 720
[4] 234 Pa. Code, Rule 462
[5] 234 Pa. Code, Rule 108
[6] 28 U.S.C. 2241
RECORDGONE.COM
5 I am overwhelmed with joy that I found this service, I thought that I was going to live with the albatross for the rest of my life. They made this process as easy as it possibly could be and for an incredibly affordable rate. I could not be happier.
See More Reviews
Free Eligibility Test
//Google New Tag Manager Code 0823 JM