Commonwealth v. Collins

WIEAND, Judge:

Is counsel ineffective for complying with his client’s instructions to withdraw an appeal without first advising the client that the appeal cannot thereafter be revived? The trial court concluded that counsel had not been ineffective when he followed his client’s instructions and discontinued the appeal. We affirm.

Billy Dean Collins was tried and convicted of arson. After guilty verdicts had been returned, trial counsel left the Public Defender’s staff, but Richard E. Moose, Esquire, undertook representation of Collins. He filed post-trial motions which were dismissed following…