Court Opinion

ID: 9729647
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 14:45:35.817213+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:00.356787
License: Public Domain

HOFFMAN, Judge,
concurring:
As appellant’s direct appeal was final when the Supreme Court decided Commonwealth v. Scarpone, 535 Pa. 273, 634 A.2d 1109 (1993), and as his claim had already been previously litigated, I agree with my distinguished colleagues that appellant is not eligible for relief under the PCRA. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 9543(a)(3); Pa.C.S. § 9544; Commonwealth v. DeHart, 539 Pa. 5, 650 A.2d 38 (1994) (issues previously litigated may not be relitigated in PCRA action); Commonwealth v. Gillespie, 512 Pa. 349, 355, 516 A.2d 1180, 1183 (1986) (new rule of law will not be applied retroactively after appellant’s direct appeal is final).
However, I write separately to emphasize that there are circumstances where a departure from the PCRA’s stringent eligibility requirements is appropriate, such as where there are extraordinary circumstances or a miscarriage of justice. See Commonwealth v. Szuchon, 534 Pa. 483, 633 A.2d 1098 (1993) (where a strong prima facie showing is offered to demonstrate that a miscarriage of justice occurred, a subsequent petition for post-conviction relief will be entertained); Commonwealth v. Lyons, 390 Pa.Super. 464, 568 A.2d 1266 (1989) (extraordinary circumstances may overcome petitioner’s *419failure to raise issue below), appeal denied, 525 Pa. 663, 583 A.2d 792 (1990).
In the instant case, the evidence at trial clearly demonstrated that appellant deliberately altered the groundwater monitoring system, wrongfully discharged hazardous waste into an unnamed tributary of the Youghiogheny River, and lied under oath to the Commonwealth Court. Although appellant is serving a sentence for a conviction based upon evidence which would no longer support a conviction in Pennsylvania, I believe appellant’s conviction was not a miscarriage of justice or an extraordinary circumstance warranting a departure from the provisions of the PCRA.
Accordingly, I concur.