Commonwealth v. Miller

WIEAND, Judge:

James Miller was tried by jury and convicted of murder in the first degree. He was sentenced to serve a term of life imprisonment on January 2, 1970. The judgment of sentence was affirmed by the Supreme Court. See: Commonwealth v. Miller, 445 Pa. 282, 284 A.2d 739 (1971).

Miller then filed a pro se petition under the Post Conviction Hearing Act. Counsel was appointed, but he did nothing, and the petition was dismissed without hearing. For our purposes, therefore, the proceeding must be deemed uncounseled. See: Commonwealth v. Barton, 312 Pa.Super. 176, 180, 458 A.2d 571, 573-574…