442 Pa. 476 | Pa. | 1971
Opinion by
In April, 1959, appellant was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder and was sentenced to a term of life imprisonment.. Since that time appellant has filed a number of habeas corpus petitions, all but one of which were filed without counsel. The only exception was a counselled habeas corpus petition filed in and heard by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 1963.
Apparently the court reasoned that appellant’s failure to raise the issue of the denial of his right of appeal was a waiver of his right to litigate the issue and that there was no right to a hearing on the matter. This was error. In Commonwealth v. Cannon, 442 Pa. 339, 275 A. 2d 293 (1971), we held that the waiver provision of the Post Conviction Hearing Act does not apply retroactively to habeas corpus proceedings instituted prior to the effective date of the Act. That ruling is dispositive of the instant case.
Order reversed and case remanded for proceedings consistent herewith.