J-S02016-20

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

Appellee

v.

THOMAS J. PARIS 

Appellant

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 IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF

 PENNSYLVANIA

No. 1114 MDA 2019

Appeal from the PCRA Order Entered June 21, 2019

In the Court of Common Pleas of Schuylkill County 

Criminal Division at No(s): CP-54-CR-0000950-2015

BEFORE: BENDER, P.J.E., KING, J., and MUSMANNO, J.

MEMORANDUM BY KING, J.: FILED JANUARY 28, 2020

Appellant, Thomas J. Paris, appeals pro se from the order entered in the 

Schuylkill County Court of Common Pleas, which dismissed as untimely his 

second petition filed under the Post Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”).

1

 We 

affirm. 

The relevant facts and procedural history of this case are as follows. On 

January 26, 2016, Appellant entered an open guilty plea to one count of 

receiving stolen property. The court sentenced Appellant on March 22, 2016, 

to twenty-three (23) months’ probation. Appellant did not file post-sentence 

motions or a direct appeal. 

On February 23, 2018, the Commonwealth filed a motion to revoke 

Appellant’s probation, claiming police had arrested Appellant for two new 

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1 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9541-9546. 
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criminal episodes. On March 20, 2018, Appellant stipulated to the violations, 

and the court revoked probation and resentenced Appellant to twelve (12) to 

twenty-four (24) months’ imprisonment, with thirty-one (31) days of credit 

for time served. Appellant did not file post-sentence motions or a direct

appeal. 

On May 15, 2019, Appellant filed his first PCRA petition, arguing the 

court should modify and reduce his term of imprisonment. The PCRA court 

denied relief on May 22, 2019, and Appellant did not file a notice of appeal. 

Appellant filed the current, second pro se PCRA petition on June 17, 2019,

2

claiming the court failed to provide credit for “the time spent at liberty on 

probation/parole.” (Pro Se PCRA Petition, filed 6/17/19, at 1.) By order 

entered June 21, 2019, the PCRA court concluded it lacked jurisdiction to 

consider Appellant’s untimely PCRA petition and denied relief.3 Appellant 

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2 Appellant styled his filing as an “amended” PCRA petition. “Pennsylvania law 

vests PCRA courts ‘with discretion to permit the amendment of a pending, 

timely-filed post-conviction petition....’” Commonwealth v. Swartzfager, 

59 A.3d 616, 619 (Pa.Super. 2012) (quoting Commonwealth v. Flanagan, 

578 Pa. 587, 605, 854 A.2d 489, 499 (2004)). Additionally, “leave to amend 

must be sought and obtained, and hence, amendments are not ‘selfauthorizing.’” Commonwealth v. Baumhammers, 625 Pa. 354, 391, 92 

A.3d 708, 730 (2014). Here, Appellant did not seek leave to amend his first 

PCRA petition prior to the court’s denial of relief on May 22, 2019. 

Consequently, Appellant’s petition filed on June 17, 2019 is properly 

characterized as a second PCRA petition rather than an amendment to the 

prior petition. See id; Swartzfager, supra. 

3 The record indicates the PCRA court did not give Appellant notice of its intent 

to dismiss the current petition without a hearing, pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 
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timely filed a pro se notice of appeal on July 5, 2019. The PCRA court did not 

order, and Appellant did not file, a concise statement of errors complained of 

on appeal pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b).4 

Preliminarily, the timeliness of a PCRA petition is a jurisdictional 

requisite. Commonwealth v. Zeigler, 148 A.3d 849 (Pa.Super. 2016). A 

PCRA petition, including a second or subsequent petition, shall be filed within 

one year of the date the underlying judgment of sentence becomes final. 42 

Pa.C.S.A. § 9545(b)(1). A judgment of sentence is deemed final “at the 

conclusion of direct review, including discretionary review in the Supreme 

Court of the United States and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, or at the 

expiration of time for seeking the review.” 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9545(b)(3). The 

statutory exceptions to the PCRA time-bar allow for very limited circumstances 

under which the late filing of a petition will be excused; a petitioner asserting 

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907. Nevertheless, Appellant does not challenge the absence of Rule 907 

notice on appeal, which constitutes waiver of that claim. See 

Commonwealth v. Boyd, 923 A.2d 513, 514 n.1 (Pa.Super. 2007), appeal 

denied, 593 Pa. 754, 932 A.2d 74 (2007). Moreover, the court’s oversight 

regarding Rule 907 notice is not reversible error, where the PCRA petition is 

unquestionably untimely. See Commonwealth v. Pursell, 561 Pa. 214, 225

n.7, 749 A.2d 911, 917 n.7 (2000). 

4 On July 29, 2019, this Court remanded for a determination regarding 

Appellant’s eligibility for court-appointed counsel. Upon remand, the PCRA 

court appointed counsel. On September 30, 2019, Appellant filed a pro se

application for relief with this Court, complaining about new counsel’s 

representation. In response, this Court remanded for a hearing pursuant to 

Commonwealth v. Grazier, 552 Pa. 9, 713 A.2d 81 (1998). Following 

Grazier hearings on October 10, 2019 and October 24, 2019, the PCRA court 

informed this Court that Appellant wanted to proceed pro se on appeal. 
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a timeliness exception must also file the petition within one year of when the 

claim could first have been presented. 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9545(b)(1-2). 

Instantly, Appellant’s judgment of sentence became final on April 19, 

2018, upon expiration of the 30-day period to file a direct appeal in this Court

following imposition of Appellant’s revocation sentence. See Pa.R.A.P. 

903(a). Appellant filed the current, second PCRA petition on June 17, 2019, 

which is patently untimely. See 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9545(b)(1). Additionally, 

Appellant failed to plead and prove any exception to the PCRA timeliness 

requirements. Therefore, his petition remains time-barred. Accordingly, we 

affirm. 

Order affirmed. 

Judgment Entered.

Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.

Prothonotary

Date: 01/28/2020