Commonwealth, Aplt. v. Perez, A.

Summary

The opinion reviews a capital PCRA court order granting Albert Perez a new trial based on ineffective assistance concerning cross-examination of jailhouse informant Donald Sumner, alleged nondisclosure of impeachment evidence, alleged use of uncorrected false testimony, and failure to seek suppression of portions of Perez’s police statements. In the portion shown, the Court concludes that counsel’s deficient cross-examination of Sumner did not prejudice Perez because substantial independent circumstantial evidence supported the convictions and undermined Perez’s account of Kayla’s death. The opinion text is truncated before the final disposition. Justice McCaffery, joined in part by Justice Wecht, would remand the Napue claim for application of a more defendant-protective materiality standard, and Justice Wecht would require claim-specific and cumulative-prejudice analysis of remaining claims.