Com. v. Norris, B.
Com. v. Norris, B. No. 285 EDA 2017
| Pa. Super. Ct. | Aug 18, 2017Background
- Bruce Norris was convicted in 1975 of second-degree murder and related offenses and sentenced to consecutive prison terms; his judgment of sentence was affirmed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on December 1, 1977.
- Norris filed multiple collateral petitions: a PCHA petition in 1978 (denied), a PCRA petition in 2012 (dismissed and affirmed on appeal in 2016), and the instant (third) PCRA petition filed May 10, 2016.
- The 2016 PCRA petition alleged ineffective assistance of trial counsel for advising Norris to reject a 25-year plea offer and claimed his sentence was illegal under Alleyne v. United States.
- The PCRA court issued Rule 907 notice, received a response, and dismissed the 2016 petition as untimely on December 20, 2016; Norris appealed pro se.
- The Superior Court reviewed whether the petition was jurisdictionally time-barred under the PCRA and whether any statutory exception (including after-recognized constitutional rights like Alleyne) applied.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timeliness / PCRA jurisdiction | Norris argued his petition should be considered despite delay | Commonwealth argued the petition was filed nearly 40 years after finality and thus untimely | Petition was untimely; court lacked jurisdiction to reach merits |
| Alleyne exception / retroactivity | Norris invoked Alleyne to challenge his sentence as illegal | Commonwealth argued Alleyne does not apply retroactively to collateral challenges and does not save an untimely petition | Alleyne does not provide a retroactive exception here; not entitled to relief |
| Illegal sentencing claim as independent exception | Norris suggested illegal sentence prevents timeliness bar | Commonwealth maintained illegal-sentence claims are still subject to PCRA time limits | Illegal-sentence claim does not overcome the PCRA time bar |
| Right to evidentiary hearing | Norris implied entitlement to further proceedings | Commonwealth argued no genuine material factual dispute and no jurisdiction due to untimeliness | No hearing required; dismissal without hearing was proper |
Key Cases Cited
- Commonwealth v. Robinson, 837 A.2d 1157 (Pa. 2003) (no court has jurisdiction to hear untimely PCRA petitions)
- Commonwealth v. Gamboa-Taylor, 753 A.2d 780 (Pa. 2000) (PCRA time-bar and its exceptions explained)
- Commonwealth v. Monaco, 996 A.2d 1076 (Pa. Super. 2010) (clarifying finality and timeliness rules)
- Alleyne v. United States, 133 S. Ct. 2151 (U.S. 2013) (holding facts that increase penalty must be submitted to a jury)
- Commonwealth v. Washington, 142 A.3d 810 (Pa. 2016) (Alleyne does not apply retroactively on collateral review)