Commonwealth v. Simpson

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

Commonwealth v. Simpson

254 A.2d 306, 434 Pa. 439, 1969 Pa. LEXIS 475

CourtSupreme Court of Pennsylvania

DecidedMay 28, 1969

DocketAppeal, 208

StatusPublished

Cited by3 cases

This text of 254 A.2d 306 (Commonwealth v. Simpson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Commonwealth v. Simpson, 254 A.2d 306, 434 Pa. 439, 1969 Pa. LEXIS 475 (Pa. 1969).

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Opinion

Per Curiam,

Appellant attacks the validity of his guilty plea on the ground that he had been promised a lesser sentence by his trial counsel. The statements of counsel in the record indicate the contrary. The burden of proving an illegal inducement of a guilty plea falls on appellant when the record of a colloquy clearly shows a valid plea. Commonwealth v. Grays, 428 Pa. 109, 237 A. 2d 198 (1968). The existence of the record here makes the application of Commonwealth v. Finney, 433 Pa. 152, 249 A. 2d 286 (1969), inappropriate.

Appellant further contends that the hearing judge erred in not calling appellant’s trial counsel to testify. Appellant, however, requested neither their testimony nor their attendance. A hearing judge is not required to call witnesses of his own initiative. Considering the state of the record and the applicable burdens, there is no error.

Order affirmed.

Mr, Justice Jones concurs in the result.

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Opinion

Per Curiam,

Appellant attacks the validity of his guilty plea on the ground that he had been promised a lesser sentence by his trial counsel. The statements of counsel in the record indicate the contrary. The burden of proving an illegal inducement of a guilty plea falls on appellant when the record of a colloquy clearly shows a valid plea. Commonwealth v. Grays, 428 Pa. 109, 237 A. 2d 198 (1968). The existence of the record here makes the application of Commonwealth v. Finney, 433 Pa. 152, 249 A. 2d 286 (1969), inappropriate.

Appellant further contends that the hearing judge erred in not calling appellant’s trial counsel to testify. Appellant, however, requested neither their testimony nor their attendance. A hearing judge is not required to call witnesses of his own initiative. Considering the state of the record and the applicable burdens, there is no error.

Order affirmed.

Mr, Justice Jones concurs in the result.

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Bluebook (online)

254 A.2d 306, 434 Pa. 439, 1969 Pa. LEXIS 475, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-simpson-pa-1969.

Opinion

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