Commonwealth v. Russell
Commonwealth v. Russell
Opinion of the Court
ORDER
AND NOW, this 13th day of December, 2007, the Petition for Allowance of Appeal is DENIED.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent from the decision to deny allowance of appeal to Petitioner, who filed a supplemental Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) statement before receiving the trial court’s express permission to do so. On May 3, 2005, the trial court issued its 1925(b) order. Petitioner timely filed a “Preliminary Statement of Matters Complained of on Appeal and Request That Court Grant Consideration to a Supplemental Statement Upon Receipt of Notes of Testimony,” in which she requested permission to file a supplemental statement within 14 days of receiving the notes of testimony. For well over a month, the trial court did not act on her request. Petitioner filed her supplemental statement on June 29, 2005, to which the trial court issued a responsive opinion. The trial court also issued the following order on November 3, 2006: “Final Statement filed on June 29, 2005 be accepted and considered as timely filed.” Trial Ct. Docket at 12.
A split panel of the Superior Court, relying on its decision in Commonwealth v. Woods, 909 A.2d 372 (Pa.Super. 2006), found
I would grant allowance of appeal and reverse the Superior Court’s finding of waiver. I note that Petitioner filed her hybrid statement/request before the Superior Court’s decision in Woods. Woods, in turn, relied on Commonwealth v. Jackson, 900 A.2d 936 (Pa.Super. 2006) (en banc), which also was filed well after Petitioner’s hybrid statement/request in May 2005. Indeed, Petitioner made her request even before Castillo and Schofield were filed. Therefore, at the time Petitioner requested an extension of time, there was no explicit holding, either from this Court or the Superior Court, that appellants could not request extensions in the 1925(b) statement itself, but rather only in a separate petition. Nor did Rule 1925(b), as constructed at the time, specify such procedure. See Pa.R.A.P.1925(b) (2005).
Moreover, Petitioner was not in possession of the notes of testimony at the time of the 1925(b) order. Her request for an extension of time was therefore reasonable, as a proper review of the notes of testimony ensures that no frivolous claims are presented to the trial court. The court apparently understood this problem, because it not only accepted the
. The revisions to Rule 1925 now provide specifically for appellants to apply for extensions of time. Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b)(2) (2007).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Respondent, v. Angelnita RUSSELL, Petitioner
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published