Com. v. Sheppard, J.
This text of Com. v. Sheppard, J. (Com. v. Sheppard, J.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.
Opinion
J-S61006-16
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA Appellee
v.
JOHN JAY SHEPPARD
Appellant No. 1867 WDA 2015
Appeal from the Order Entered October 20, 2015 In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-02-CR-0004496-1991
BEFORE: PANELLA, J., LAZARUS, J., and MUSMANNO, J.
JUDGMENT ORDER BY PANELLA, J. FILED AUGUST 22, 2016
Appellant, John Jay Sheppard, appeals, pro se, from the order denying
his request for discovery materials, court records, and transcripts relevant to
his 1991 murder conviction. Sheppard contends that the trial court violated
his Constitutional rights when it denied his request. We affirm.
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania denied review of Sheppard’s
sentence of life imprisonment on March 15, 1995. Sheppard did not file an
appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States.
Sheppard has since filed three separate petitions pursuant to the Post
Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”). The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania denied
review of the dismissal of Sheppard’s most recent PCRA petition on January
27, 2014. J-S61006-16
On October 16, 2015, Sheppard filed the instant motion requesting
discovery material, court records, and transcripts. The motion did not set
forth any theory supporting a collateral attack on his judgment of sentence,
and did not assert any exception to the PCRA’s time-bar. Instead, the three-
paragraph motion merely requests these materials “for appellate review.”
As the Commonwealth and trial court succinctly note, Sheppard’s right
to the requested materials is dependent on the existence of a relevant
underlying court proceeding. See Commonwealth v. Martin, 705 A.2d
1337 (Pa. Super. 1998). As the record does not indicate the existence of any
such proceeding, we conclude that the trial court did not err in denying
Sheppard’s motion. We therefore affirm.
Order affirmed.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq. Prothonotary
Date: 8/22/2016
-2-
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