Hromek appealed the denial of his challenge to the legality of his sentence via a “Petition for Enforcement of Plea Agreement.” The Superior Court treated the Petition as a PCRA petition, and affirmed its denial because it was untimely.
The Court noted that, while challenges to the legality of a sentence cannot be waived, they must be raised in a timely PCRA petition. Hromek filed the petition in 2019, though he only had until 2014 to file. The Court also held that, as explained in Commonwealth v. Murphy, 180 A.3d 402 (Pa.Super. 2018), the PA Supreme Court’s decision in Muniz does not allow a petitioner to escape the PCRA time-bar because the holding of Muniz does not satisfy the newly-recognized constitutional right exception as set forth in Section 9545(b)(1)(iii).
