Com. v. Miller, T., 2715 EDA 2024

Tommy Lee Miller pleaded guilty to Aggravated Harassment by a Prisoner based on advice from counsel and was sentenced to 24-84 months in prison.
Miller believed, based on counsel’s advice, that he would be eligible for the State Drug Treatment Program (SDTP) because counsel thought the Commonwealth would waive his disqualifying convictions.
At sentencing, it became clear that the Commonwealth agreed to waive disqualifiers only for an unrelated theft case, not for the aggravated harassment case; thus, Miller was SDTP-ineligible.
Miller filed a timely PCRA petition, claiming his guilty plea was unlawfully induced by ineffective assistance of counsel due to misinformation about SDTP eligibility.
The PCRA court denied relief, finding Miller knowingly and intelligently entered the plea and was advised of possible ineligibility for SDTP.
Appointed counsel filed a Turner/Finley no-merit brief seeking to withdraw, but the Superior Court denied withdrawal, finding the claim may have merit and ordered counsel to file an advocate’s brief.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Ineffective assistance re: Guilty plea and SDTP	Miller pled guilty based on erroneous advice he’d get SDTP.	He knowingly and voluntarily pled guilty despite being told of risks.	Claim may have merit; further advocacy brief required.
Counsel’s withdrawal under Turner/Finley	Counsel found no merit, sought to withdraw after no-merit brief.	N/A	Withdrawal denied; advocate’s brief required.

Commonwealth v. Turner, 544 A.2d 927 (Pa. 1988) (sets the standard for counsel's withdrawal on collateral review)
Commonwealth v. Finley, 550 A.2d 213 (Pa. Super. 1988) (en banc) (establishes procedure for withdrawal on collateral review)