Com. v. Steward, D., 469 EDA 2016

Background

David Steward was convicted after a 1986 jury trial of first-degree murder and related offenses and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987.
Steward previously pursued direct appeal and multiple PCRA petitions; his direct appeal concluded in 2001 and post-conviction review continued through the early 2000s (including a 2002 PCRA focused on hair-sample DNA testing that was denied and affirmed on appeal).
On May 29, 2015 Steward filed a pro se, third PCRA petition and a Motion for Post-Conviction DNA Testing relying on a April 18, 2015 Washington Post article reporting flaws in FBI hair-comparison analysis.
PCRA counsel filed a Finley no-merit letter and sought leave to withdraw; the PCRA court issued a Rule 907 notice concluding the petition was untimely, the Washington Post article was not newly discoverable given earlier publications Steward attached, and prior denial of DNA testing invoked law-of-the-case.
The PCRA court dismissed Steward’s 2015 petition as time-barred, granted counsel’s withdrawal, and Steward appealed pro se. The Superior Court affirmed.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
1. Whether the PCRA petition was timely under §9545(b)(1)(ii) (after-discovered facts) and §9545(b)(2)	Steward: Washington Post April 2015 article revealed previously unknown, dispositive flaws in hair-analysis; filed within 60 days of that discovery	Commonwealth/PCRA court: Steward had earlier articles (2012, 2013) and previously litigated DNA testing in 2002; petition was filed well after the one-year PCRA deadline and he failed to plead/ prove due diligence	Held: Petition untimely; Steward not entitled to statutory exception because he was on notice earlier and failed to file within 60 days
2. Whether the Washington Post article warranted a new trial or evidentiary hearing	Steward: The article undermines forensic evidence used at trial, warranting remand/hearing	Commonwealth: Timeliness jurisdictional bar makes the claim moot; prior awareness undermines novelty	Held: Moot because petition properly dismissed as untimely
3. Whether Steward is entitled to post-conviction DNA testing under §9543.1 to show actual innocence	Steward: Expanded DNA testing of many items would establish actual innocence	Commonwealth/PCRA court: Motion was treated as part of untimely PCRA petition; even if considered under §9543.1, prior denial and appellate affirmance foreclose relief under law-of-the-case	Held: DNA-testing request denied/apply law-of-the-case — prior denial in 2002 and subsequent appeals bar re-litigation
4. Whether a second DNA testing request is permissible because prior testing was incomplete or improperly litigated	Steward: Earlier testing addressed only a hair sample; further testing of other items remains available and reliable	Commonwealth: Earlier PCRA proceeding and appellate decisions resolved DNA-testing issue; doctrine of law of the case and prior reasoning apply to comprehensive testing request	Held: Moot/denied under law-of-the-case; prior litigation forecloses renewed testing request

Key Cases Cited

Commonwealth v. Finley, 550 A.2d 213 (Pa. Super. 1988) (procedure for counsel filing no-merit letter and seeking withdrawal)
Commonwealth v. Lawson, 90 A.3d 1 (Pa. Super. 2014) (PCRA timeliness framework and exceptions)
Commonwealth v. Gacobano, 65 A.3d 416 (Pa. Super. 2013) (post-conviction DNA testing proceedings are separate from PCRA timeliness bar; law-of-the-case discussion)
Commonwealth v. Scarborough, 64 A.3d 602 (Pa. 2013) (§9543.1 DNA-testing proceedings distinct from PCRA petitions)
Commonwealth v. Williams, 35 A.3d 44 (Pa. Super. 2011) (one-year PCRA bar does not apply to §9543.1 DNA motions)
Commonwealth v. Godschalk, 679 A.2d 1295 (Pa. Super. 1997) (DNA testing appropriate when conviction depends largely on identification and testing could exonerate)
Commonwealth v. McCandless, 880 A.2d 1262 (Pa. Super. 2005) (law-of-the-case doctrine explained)
Commonwealth v. Murray, 753 A.2d 201 (Pa. 2000) (timeliness of PCRA petition is a jurisdictional threshold)