Commonwealth v. Crowson

Opinion by

Mr. Justice Pomeroy,

The appellant James A. Crowson pleaded guilty in 1957 to a charge of murder generally. In a subsequent hearing, guilt was fixed at murder in the first degree and a sentence of life imprisonment was imposed. Although no appeal was taken from that judgment of sentence, the appellant has pursued various collateral remedies in the intervening years.

In 1964 appellant filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, arguing that the trial court before which he was convicted lacked jurisdiction over him at the time of…