Commonwealth v. Reed

OPINION

Justice TODD.

In this appeal, we consider whether the filing of a deficient appellate brief constitutes a complete denial of counsel so as to warrant a presumption of prejudice in the context of an ineffective assistance of counsel claim. In the instant case, the Superior Court reversed the PCRA court’s denial of Appellee Adam Reed’s petition for relief under the Post Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”)1 on the basis that the filing of a deficient appellate brief by Reed’s direct appeal counsel created a presumption of prejudice, and, therefore, that Reed successfully established he was…