A divided Pennsylvania Supreme Court, including two Democrat justices, ordered Soros-backed Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office to face new outside scrutiny over its post-conviction concessions, after the state’s high court found the office’s handling of one convicted murderer’s case was unreliable and said similar problems extended beyond just that single case.Justice Kevin Dougherty wrote the 4-3 opinion in the case of Levar Brown, a Philadelphia man whose murder convictions became the centerpiece of a broader legal fight over Krasner’s Conviction Integrity Unit and the office’s willingness to concede relief in serious criminal cases.Dougherty was joined by Justice Daniel McCaffery, another Democrat judge on the state's Supreme Court, and two other Republican judges.
The dissenters were all Democrats. The 4-3 decision reversed a Philadelphia post-conviction order granting Brown a new trial after Krasner’s office conceded his conviction should not stand and a Philadelphia judge approved the request.
It also ordered that, going forward, Philadelphia judges handling post-conviction challenges must notify the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General and allow the office to intervene before granting relief in any case where Krasner’s office concedes that a conviction should be overturned.FETTERMAN TELLS PHILADELPHIA DA TO ‘LIGHTEN UP, FRANCIS’ AFTER HEATED ICE REMARKSThe ruling stops short of handing control of the cases to the state attorney general, but it creates a new court-ordered check on Krasner’s office in future post-conviction matters.Police work the scene of a shooting on July 3, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Early reports say the suspect is in custody after shooting 6 people in the Kingsessing section of Philadelphia on July 3rd.
(Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)"The prosecutor does not decide whether a defendant is entitled to relief under the Post Conviction Relief Act," Dougherty wrote for the majority, emphasi...