Pennsylvania PCRA guides

Written for the person serving the sentence and the family trying to help. Each guide explains one part of the post-conviction process in plain language, with the statute and the cases that govern it.

• How long do you have to file a PCRA petition in Pennsylvania?

  Pennsylvania's PCRA deadline is one year from the date the judgment of sentence became final. How that date is calculated, the three exceptions, and why the deadline is jurisdictional.

• PCRA petition vs. direct appeal: what is the difference?

  A direct appeal challenges errors on the trial record. A PCRA petition raises what the record does not show, such as ineffective counsel or new evidence. Which comes first, and why order matters.

• Ineffective assistance of counsel in Pennsylvania

  How Pennsylvania courts decide whether a trial lawyer was constitutionally ineffective: the three-prong Pierce test, common examples, and what evidence a PCRA petition needs.

• What happens after a PCRA petition is denied?

  A denied PCRA petition can be appealed to the Superior Court within 30 days. What the Rule 907 notice means, how the appeal works, and when a second petition or federal habeas corpus is possible.

• Newly discovered evidence and the PCRA time-bar exceptions

  How new evidence reopens a Pennsylvania conviction: the difference between the newly-discovered-facts exception to the PCRA deadline and the after-discovered-evidence claim on the merits, and the four-part test.

• Federal habeas corpus after a Pennsylvania PCRA petition

  When a Pennsylvania state prisoner can file a federal habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, how the one-year federal deadline is tolled by a PCRA petition, exhaustion, and the deferential standard of review.

• PCRA petitions in Philadelphia: how the process works

  What to expect when a PCRA petition is filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas: where it is filed, who reviews it, the DA's PCRA Unit, timelines, and the role of the Conviction Integrity Unit.

• Brady v. Maryland and Pennsylvania PCRA petitions

  What Brady v. Maryland requires prosecutors to disclose, the three-part test Pennsylvania courts apply, how police knowledge is imputed to the prosecution, and how a Brady claim fits the PCRA's grounds and timeliness exceptions.

• Commonwealth v. Derek Lee and felony-murder life sentences

  What the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held in Commonwealth v. Lee (March 26, 2026), what it did not decide, who serving a second-degree murder life sentence can act now, and how the PCRA deadline will run once retroactivity is decided.

• In re Shepard Smith: getting seized property back after charges are dismissed

  What the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held in In re Alisha Shepard Smith (May 27, 2026), a case John Julian briefed, argued, and won: when the Commonwealth keeps property after dismissing the charges, the denial of a Rule 588 motion is a de facto forfeiture, and forfeiture requires a statute.

• Commonwealth v. Jenkins: a prosecutor cannot tell the jury you hired a lawyer

  What the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held in Commonwealth v. Jenkins (October 1, 2026): a prosecutor may not use a defendant's pre-arrest retention of counsel as a sign of guilt, but the error is subject to harmless-error review. Summary, separate opinions, and what it means for direct appeals and PCRA petitions.

• Commonwealth v. Gaspard: theft by deception and unreported income on public benefits

  What the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held in Commonwealth v. Gaspard (October 1, 2026): to convict for theft by deception over a benefits application, the Commonwealth must prove the false statement mattered to eligibility or the amount paid. Summary, the overruling of Volk, and what it means for appeals and PCRA petitions.

• Commonwealth v. Worzel: a judge keeps discretion over DUI ARD violations

  What the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held in Commonwealth v. Worzel (October 1, 2026): 75 Pa.C.S. § 3807(e)(2) does not force a judge to terminate DUI ARD after a violation, because Rule 318(C) discretion applies. Summary and what it means for ARD participants.