Q: How long does defendant have to file an appeal if new evidence is avaiable to present that wasn't available at hearing.
Other charges thrown out from lying witnesses. Charges were harassment,lewd, disorderly conduct. Engage in fighting.
Note: NO FIGHT OCCURED DEFENDANT HOLDING FOOD IN ARM & then both hands in pockets as lying plaintiff made gestures then when asked if he wanted to hit me he ran upstairs & called police.
A:
Normally, for cases in a Court of Common Pleas, you've got 10 days to file a post-sentence motion after the date of sentencing -- and that could include a request for a new trial. If that post-sentence motion is denied, you've got 30 days from the date of denial to file an appeal to the Superior Court. If you choose not to file a post-sentence motion at all, you've got 30 days after your sentencing date to file a direct appeal to the Superior Court.
If you've got new evidence, however, as you say, you should consider filing a petition for post-conviction relief. There would be a hearing on that petition, and you'd explain to the judge how this new evidence was discovered and why it wasn't available at the last trial. The judge would have the discretion then to grant a new trial, and you'd be able to present the new evidence at the new trial. Typically, you must file such a petition within 1 year from the sentencing date -- but there are exceptions.
One exception is your inability to discover this new evidence because of interference by government officials; another is that you were unaware of the new evidence and it could not have been ascertained by the exercise of due diligence." If one of these exceptions applies, you must file your post-conviction relief petition within 60 days of discovery of the new evidence.
If you'd like to discuss your case in further detail, feel free to contact me offsite. Best of luck to you.
A: If you have already been convicted, you have one year from the date of sentencing or when the appeals were finished if you appealed to file a PCRA based on after-discovered evidence. If you are outside of that one year deadline, you have sixty days to file a PCRA from when you learn about the new evidence.
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