Commonwealth v. Harris

OPINION

ZAPPALA, Justice.

Appellant, James Harris, is appealing an order of the Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County denying his supplemental PCHA petition to withdraw his guilty plea and for appointment of a special prosecutor.

In his petition, Mr. Harris alleges that a conflict of interest existed when his public defender, William Platt was appointed to the position of District Attorney of Lehigh County during the pendency of Harris’ first PCHA appeal.

The facts surrounding Mr. Harris’ appeal may be summarized as follows:

On February 21, 1973, James Harris was arrested for murder. He was…