Court Opinion

ID: 9728363
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 14:06:14.883937+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:25:48.175681
License: Public Domain

FLAHERTY, Chief Justice,
concurring.
I join the opinion of the court, but wish to emphasize the inherent power of the court to enter a stay in order to effectuate justice. When the legislature is silent, a court can always enter a stay when it is necessary to avoid injustice.
The opinion of the court briefly acknowledges this power, but understandably emphasizes the exception governing this case. When a convict under sentence of death seeks a stay of execution, he is obligated to follow the statutory procedure, set forth at 42 Pa.C.S. § 9545(c), established to control this precise situation. This in no way abrogates the court’s inherent power to grant a stay nor the convict’s right to seek a stay: it merely prescribes the procedure governing exercise of the court’s power and the convict’s rights. Mr. Justice Cap-pas opinion for the court aptly analogizes this situation to the relationship between the PCRA and the right of habeas corpus, whereby a petitioner must seek habeas relief only within the confines of the PCRA or suffer the loss of that right. This being understood, I join the opinion of the court.
As appellant failed to follow the procedure of § 9545(c), I agree that the court lacked the authority to stay the execution.