Com. v. Sheppard, D., 851 EDA 2016

David Sheppard was convicted after a 1994 jury trial of second-degree murder and related offenses and received a mandatory life sentence without parole; direct review concluded in 2001.
Sheppard filed multiple PCRA petitions; his third counseled PCRA petition was filed in 2012 and amended in 2015; the PCRA court dismissed it as untimely in February 2016.
Counsel (Earl Kauffman) filed a Turner/Finley (no‑merit) brief and sought withdrawal; the Superior Court found substantial compliance with Turner/Finley and performed independent review.
Sheppard’s primary claims: (1) trial counsel was ineffective for failing to communicate a Commonwealth plea offer (invoking Lafler/Frye), and (2) his mandatory life sentence for second‑degree murder is illegal under Alleyne.
The PCRA and Superior Court held the petition was time‑barred and that neither Lafler/Frye nor Alleyne created a retroactive new constitutional right that would excuse untimeliness; they therefore denied relief and permitted counsel to withdraw.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Sheppard)	Defendant's Argument (PCRA/Commonwealth)	Held
1) Whether trial counsel was ineffective for failing to communicate a Commonwealth plea offer (timeliness exception via Lafler/Frye)	Martelli did not tell Sheppard about an offer; but for that omission Sheppard would have accepted a plea and received a lesser sentence	Lafler and Frye apply Strickland to plea bargaining but did not announce a new, retroactive constitutional right that excuses an untimely PCRA petition	Timeliness bar stands; Lafler/Frye do not create a retroactive exception—claim fails for lack of jurisdiction
2) Whether Alleyne renders Sheppard’s mandatory life sentence illegal and provides a timeliness exception	Alleyne renders mandatory fact‑driven increases of sentence invalid, so Sheppard’s life sentence is illegal	Alleyne is inapplicable: Sheppard’s life sentence flows from a jury conviction of second‑degree murder (no judicial fact‑finding), and Alleyne does not apply retroactively on collateral review	Alleyne does not provide relief; claim is meritless or nonretroactive—petition remains untimely

Lafler v. Cooper, 566 U.S. 156 (U.S. 2012) (applied Strickland to plea‑bargaining context; prejudice requires reasonable probability the plea would have been accepted and court would have approved it)
Missouri v. Frye, 566 U.S. 134 (U.S. 2012) (duty to communicate formal plea offers to defendant)
Alleyne v. United States, 570 U.S. 99 (U.S. 2013) (any fact that increases mandatory minimum must be submitted to jury; rule not applied retroactively on collateral review here)
Commonwealth v. Robinson, 837 A.2d 1157 (Pa. 2003) (PCRA timeliness is jurisdictional)
Commonwealth v. Washington, 142 A.3d 810 (Pa. 2016) (Alleyne does not apply retroactively to cases on collateral review)