Opinion ID: 2633135
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: the district court's dismissal

Text: ¶ 14 In February 2006, Judge Dever of the Third District Court granted the State's motion to dismiss Medel's petition. Judge Dever dismissed the petition on procedural grounds, holding that it was barred by the PCRA as an improper successive petition because it contained claims that could and should have been raised in his previous petition for post-conviction relief and good cause has not been shown for excusing this failure. ¶ 15 In dismissing the petition, Judge Dever considered and then rejected the potentially applicable exceptions to the procedural bars of the PCRA. He concluded that the evidence the State withheld would not have changed Medel's motivation to plead guilty because the plea agreement allowed [him] to plead guilty to four first-degree felonies in exchange for the dismissal of twelve additional felony counts, and . . . the new information was not the type of evidence that would raise a reasonable doubt about [his] guilt. Judge Dever also concluded that the withheld evidence did not render Medel's pleas unknowing or involuntary. Specifically, the DeCaria Report did not suggest that Medel's guilty pleas were involuntary or unknowing because the Report's purpose was to assess Medel's risk to the community, not to determine his competence to plead guilty. Judge Dever also noted that Medel had previously attempted to withdraw his guilty pleas and that the court had, after careful consideration, rejected this request on the basis that his pleas were knowingly and voluntarily entered. It is from these rulings that Medel now appeals.