In an opinion hardly longer than this summary, the Pennsylvania Superior Court reaffirmed its prior holding that “a judgment of sentence becomes final the day an appellant discontinues his direct appeal.” On June 16, 2020, the appellant filed a petition seeking relief under the Post Conviction Relief Act. But he had voluntarily discontinued his direct appeal on May 14, 2019. The appellant argued that his judgment of sentence did not become final until 30 days after he discontinued the appeal. But the lower court and the Superior Court disagreed, ruling that his judgment of sentence became final when he withdrew his direct appeal.
