Commonwealth v. Belak

OPINION

Justice NIGRO.

Appellee/Cross-Appellant George Belak was convicted of burglary and other related offenses. Given that he had previously been convicted of burglary at least twice, Belak was subsequently sentenced, pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 9714, to the mandatory minimum of twenty-five years’ imprisonment and the mandatory maximum of fifty years’ imprisonment.1 On *417appeal, the Superior Court initially affirmed Belak’s judgment of sentence, rejecting Belak’s claims that his trial counsel had been ineffective2 and that section 9714 is unconstitutional because it places the burden on the…