Commonwealth v. Gresham
Matt Sullivan wrote the brief, which earned a good result for the client in Commonwealth v. Greshan, where, in an unpublished memorandum, the Superior Court agreed the lower court erred in dismissing a PCRA petition.
#IneffectiveAssistance
State v. Aburoumi
The appellate division ruled in this collateral attack on a criminal conviction that evidentiary hearing was needed where defendant claimed he was not informed of the immigration consequences of his plea-into-PTI plea bargain though the law was clear that such a plea would lead to removal.
Commonwealth v. Johnson
The Superior Court remanded the case because the PCRA court misapplied the Strickland/Pierce prejudice test.
Commonwealth v. Brown
The Commonwealth appealed the trial, which granted Brown’s PCRA petition and ordered a new trial. The Superior Court determined that, with specific regard to the prejudice prong of a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, Brown was prejudiced because he established it was reasonably probable that he would not have pleaded guilty had he known … Read more
Commonwealth v. Vo
The PCRA petitioner was represented by counsel during the PCRA proceedings in Common Pleas, but a new attorney entered before the Superior Court on appeal from the denial of that PCRA petition. The new counsel raised issues of ineffective assistance of prior PCRA counsel. The Superior Court detailed an often-conflicting body of law before holding … Read more
Commonwealth v. Coleman
Coleman filed a PCRA petition alleging trial counsel’s ineffectiveness for failing to object at two different times during Coleman’s murder trial. The PCRA court and Superior Court found that Coleman’s issues were not meritorious. The Supreme Court of PA disagreed, reversed, and remanded to the Superior Court. The Supreme Court ruled that counsel was ineffective … Read more
In the Matter of the Adoption of a Child: C.J.
The Court determined that it was appellate counsel’s obligation to review the New Jersey Courts website material concerning contested adoptions and Part II of the Court Rules covering appeals. Alternatively, counsel could have retained substitute counsel with expertise in this area. If counsel was unable to obtain sufficient knowledge or retain counsel with expertise, counsel … Read more
Commonwealth v. Miller
#PCRA #IneffectiveAssistance 04/17/20- The Commonwealth appealed after the lower court granted Miller’s PCRA petition and awarded a new trial. The Superior Court reversed, ruling that Miller did not plead trial counsel’s ineffectiveness in the PCRA petition. Therefore, the PCRA court could not award relief based on ineffectiveness. Even if Miller had properly pleaded ineffective assistance, … Read more