Com. v. Frame, G. No. 146 WDA 2020
Commonwealth v. Frame is an appeal following the denial of a post-conviction relief act petition.
In this case, the defendant was convicted of homicide in 1987. This PCRA petition was filed 31 years after his conviction became final. The defendant alleges that his PCRA meets an exception to timeliness due to the decision in Williams v. Pennsylvania which held that when a judge hearing the PCRA matter failed to recuse himself even though at the time of the underlying case he was the district attorney involved in seeking the death penalty against the defendant, was a denial of due process. The defendant claims that his untimely PCRA meets the exception relating to a new constitutional right due to the Williams case. However, while the Williams case announced a new rule of constitutional law, it was procedural and not substantive and therefore does not apply retroactively on collateral appeal. As the issue is not retroactive, the defendant in this case does not meet an exception for timeliness and therefore is barred from relief.
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