Commonwealth v. Scarborough

Summary

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that an order granting or denying a motion for post-conviction DNA testing under 42 Pa.C.S. § 9543.1 is a final order immediately appealable under Pa.R.A.P. 341. The Court concluded that DNA-testing litigation is separate from any later PCRA petition based on the test results and reversed the Superior Court’s order quashing the Commonwealth’s appeal. The matter was remanded for consideration of the merits of the Commonwealth’s appeal.

Holdings

1. An order granting or denying a motion for post-conviction DNA testing under 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9543.1 is a final order under Pa.R.A.P. 341 because it finally disposes of the sole claim presented in the DNA-testing proceeding. The Commonwealth may immediately appeal such an order.
2. The Commonwealth did not waive its challenge to the Superior Court's jurisdiction because the appealability of an order implicates subject-matter jurisdiction, which is not waived and may be considered sua sponte.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a trial-court order granting a motion for post-conviction DNA testing under 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9543.1 is a final order immediately appealable under Pa.R.A.P. 341.
2. Whether the Commonwealth's jurisdictional challenge was waived by failing to respond to Scarborough's motion to quash in the Superior Court.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded