Court Opinion

ID: 9758596
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 23:37:54.983037+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:28:53.320638
License: Public Domain

VAN der VOORT, Judge,
concurring and dissenting:
While I concur in the majority’s remanding of this case to the lower court for hearing on appellant’s P.C.H.A. petition, I must dissent to our prohibition of representation by a second member of the public defender’s staff. I believe that the lower court fulfilled the mandate of the Act in appointing counsel, and I would not extend the Crowther and Via precept of counsel not on staff as a public defender to this situation, where a P.C.H.A. petition is begun and there is no immediate appreciation of a situation where second, P.C. H.A. counsel will be less than thorough out of a reluctance to find fault with his “brother” public defender. If such a conflict should arise at the hearing, the appropriate remedy can then be taken. But I am reluctant to join the majority of our Court in which I perceive to be a blanket rule of appointing P.C.H.A. counsel different from the public defender staff when one of its number represented the appellant theretofore. Without a clear showing that second counsel’s hands would be tied in the performance of his duty by being placed in a position of having to allege errors by a member of his own “firm”, I would not strip the office of public defender of this function' and support a rule which surely removes all P.C.H.A. representation from it in cases where it has served as trial counsel.