The Pennsylvania Superior Court reversed the lower court and granted the defendant’s PCRA petition. A jury convicted the defendant of three counts of solicitation to commit homicide. After his convictions were affirmed, the defendant filed a PCRA petition and alleged trial counsel’s ineffectiveness. The petition asserted that trial counsel provided erroneous advice concerning his prior convictions, thereby interfering with the defendant’s constitutional right to testify in his defense at trial. The lower court dismissed the PCRA petition, and the Superior Court reversed. The Court found that trial counsel’s advice not to testify because the jury would hear that the defendant had a prior conviction for aggravated assault and about the details of that crime was improper legal advice. And the defendant’s testimony at the PCRA hearing confirmed that, but for trial counsel’s erroneous advice concerning the admission of the aggravated assault conviction, the defendant would have testified. Therefore, the Court reversed the order denying PCRA relief, vacated the judgment of sentence, and remanded for a new trial.
