Com. v. Powell, K., 2030 EDA 2023

Kashonda Powell was involved in a traffic altercation on May 18, 2018, after which she smashed a car window with a blunt object and shot the victim in the face.
Powell was arrested and charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, and related offenses.
She entered an open guilty plea on July 2, 2019, with the court conducting a full plea colloquy to confirm that her plea was knowing and voluntary.
On September 25, 2019, Powell was sentenced to a lengthy prison term and probation; she did not file a direct appeal, making her conviction final on October 25, 2019.
Powell filed a timely first PCRA petition in September 2020, which was dismissed without a hearing in August 2022, and she then filed a second PCRA petition in April 2023, seeking restoration of appellate rights.
The PCRA court dismissed the second PCRA petition as untimely, and Powell appealed that dismissal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Was Powell's guilty plea knowing and voluntary?	Powell alleges her plea was not knowing/voluntary	Commonwealth argues full colloquy showed plea was valid	Plea was valid and fully colloquied
Denial of first PCRA petition without hearing	Powell claims she deserved an evidentiary hearing	Commonwealth supports court's dismissal	No hearing required; dismissal affirmed
Motion to reinstate appeal rights (second PCRA)	Powell seeks reinstatement of appellate rights	Commonwealth argues second PCRA was untimely and improper	Petition was untimely; no jurisdiction

Commonwealth v. Sandusky, 203 A.3d 1033 (Pa. Super. 2019) (establishes the standard of review of PCRA petition denials)
Commonwealth v. Ballance, 203 A.3d 1027 (Pa. Super. 2019) (PCRA time limits are jurisdictional and strictly enforced)
Commonwealth v. Albrecht, 994 A.2d 1091 (Pa. 2010) (burden on petitioner to prove PCRA timeliness exceptions)