Q: Can you appeal again after an appeal for judgement of sentence has been denied all the way through the Supreme Court?
Criminal case in Common Pleas court appealed judgement of sentence all the way to Supreme Court and was denied. On 11/6 defendant ordered to report to prison on 11/25. Defendant filed a motion to modify sentence on 11/21. Defendant did not report to prison as ordered. Should defendant still have reported to prison on 11/25 even though another motion was filed and is that motion even vaild?
A: You can appeal the conviction all the way to the United States Supreme Court. In some cases, a judge may allow the defendant to remain free on bail while appealing the case. If the direct appeal is unsuccessful, the defendant can challenge the conviction by filing a Post-Conviction Relief Act Petition and appealing the denial of the PCRA Petition if it is denied. If the PCRA Petition is denied and the denial is upheld on appeal, the defendant can then file habeas petitions in federal court. Judges are not required to allow a defendant to remain free on bail during some or all of these appeals. The judge can permit the defendant to remain on appeal during the direct appeals to the Superior Court and Supreme Court, but once those are denied, the sentence would typically start, and the defendant would have to report to prison as ordered regardless of whether a motion or PCRA Petition has been filed.
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