Commonwealth v. Sutherland

ROWLEY, Judge:

John Robert Sutherland, Jr., appellant, was convicted by a jury of robbery and simple assault in April of 1976. Post-trial motions were denied, and appellant was sentenced to 7V2 to 15 years imprisonment. On direct appeal, the judgment of sentence was affirmed by this Court. Commonwealth v. Sutherland, 266 Pa.Super. 615, 405 A.2d 540 (1979).

On January 14, 1980, appellant filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief seeking either his release from custody and discharge or the grant of a new trial on the ground that his trial counsel was ineffective. Counsel was appointed,…