A person who pleads guilty or is found guilty can file a PCRA motion seeking relief via an appeal. Generally, this relief involves a new trial. First, however, a hearing must be held to determine if ineffective counsel by a Lehigh County criminal lawyer was provided (which is the main reason for a PCRA).
The Supreme Court, in Commonwealth v. Jones, found,
In this case, the Appellant sought review of the order of the Court of Common Pleas, Criminal Division of Philadelphia County (Pennsylvania), which denied his third petition for relief under the Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA), 42 Pa.C.S. § 9541 et seq., as untimely. Appellant was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death for ordering the murder of a rival gang member.A Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA), 42 Pa.C.S. § 9541 et seq., petition, including a second or subsequent one, must be filed within one year of the date the petitioner's judgment of sentence became final, unless he pleads and proves one of the three exceptions outlined in 42 Pa.C.S. § 9545(b)(1). A judgment becomes final at the conclusion of direct review by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania or the United States Supreme Court, or at the expiration of the time for seeking such review. § 9545(b)(3). The PCRA's timeliness requirements are jurisdictional; therefore, a court may not address the merits of the issues raised if the petition was not timely filed. The timeliness requirements apply to all PCRA petitions, regardless of the nature of the individual claims raised therein. The PCRA squarely places upon the petitioner the burden of proving an untimely petition fits within one of the three exceptions. The PCRA further requires a petition invoking one of those exceptions to be filed within 60 days of the date the claim could have been presented. § 9545(b)(2). On appeal from the denial of PCRA relief, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania decides whether the findings of the PCRA court are supported by the record and free of legal error. Commonwealth v. Jones, 54 A.3d 14, 16 (Pa. 2012)