Commonwealth v. Petroski

JOHNSON, Judge.

In this submitted case, we are asked to determine whether the denial of the constitutional right to a direct appeal from judgment of sentence may be cured by filing a petition for post-conviction relief based solely upon the alleged ineffectiveness of trial counsel in failing to follow the client’s instructions. We hold that the Post Conviction Relief Act requires that a petitioner both plead and prove facts establishing that the violation of the constitutional right or the ineffectiveness of counsel so undermined the truth-determining process as to render a finding of guilt…