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Com. v. Mercado, M.
Citation: Not availableDocket: 2454 EDA 2018
Court: Superior Court of Pennsylvania; November 17, 2019; Pennsylvania; State Appellate Court
Original Court Document: View Document
Malik J. Mercado's appeal from the July 20, 2018, order of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, which dismissed his Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA) petition, has been affirmed. Following a non-jury trial in 2007, Mercado was sentenced to 6 to 12 months for multiple offenses, including robbery and assault, and was subsequently incarcerated for a parole violation in 2008. He filed a pro se PCRA petition in 2009, which was amended by counsel in 2011, claiming ineffective assistance of counsel. However, the PCRA court did not act on his petition until 2018, ultimately dismissing it without a hearing due to Mercado's ineligibility for relief under the PCRA. The law requires that a petitioner must be currently serving a sentence of imprisonment, probation, or parole to be eligible for PCRA relief. Mercado had completed his sentence in 2015 while his PCRA petition was pending, which rendered him ineligible for relief. The court noted that it loses jurisdiction to review a petition once a petitioner’s sentence expires. Additionally, Mercado did not address the eligibility or timeliness issues in his appellate brief. Therefore, the court upheld the dismissal of his petition.