Commonwealth v. Williams, 630 Pa. 169

Summary

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied the appellee's motion to quash the Commonwealth's appeal from an order granting post-conviction relief and a new trial. The Court held that the appeal was timely because the Commonwealth electronically filed its notice of appeal within the applicable thirty-day period, even though the clerk did not immediately time-stamp it due to perceived defects. Under Pennsylvania Rules of Appellate Procedure 902 and 905(a)(3), a timely notice of appeal is self-perfecting and the lower court clerk lacks authority to reject it as defective.

Holdings

1. A lower-court clerk lacks authority to reject a notice of appeal as defective when it is timely filed; under Pa.R.A.P. 905(a)(3), the clerk must immediately time-stamp the notice upon receipt.
2. The Commonwealth perfected its appeal by filing the notice of appeal on January 29, 2014, within thirty days of the PCRA court's order; the clerk's failure to time-stamp the filing did not deprive the Supreme Court of jurisdiction.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a lower-court clerk must accept and immediately time-stamp a notice of appeal that is filed within the Rule 903(a) deadline but contains procedural defects.
2. Whether the Commonwealth's timely electronic filing perfected the appeal and invoked the Supreme Court's jurisdiction despite the clerk's failure to time-stamp the original notice of appeal.

Disposition

other