Opinion
No. 77 EM 2020 No. 100 EM 2020
01-27-2021
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, Respondent v. MICHAEL PURVIS, Petitioner
ORDER
AND NOW, this 27th day of January, 2021, in consideration of the "Motion to Withdrawl [sic] Counsel" and the Motion to Proceed Pro Se, these matters are REMANDED to the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County.
Petitioner's court-appointed counsel, Joshua E. Scarpello, Esquire, did not file an allocatur petition. Furthermore, Attorney Scarpello did not comply with a July 30, 2020 letter from this Court's Prothonotary, instructing him to submit either a counseled allocatur petition or an application to withdraw. As such, it appears that Attorney Scarpello failed to provide the representation to Petitioner contemplated by the Rules of Criminal Procedure. See Pa.R.Crim.P. 904 (explaining that a petitioner is entitled to court-appointed counsel on his or her first PCRA petition; further instructing that this representation shall continue through all avenues of appeal, including allocatur review).
If Petitioner's request to remove Attorney Scarpello as counsel is granted, the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County is ORDERED to determine whether new counsel should be appointed or whether Petitioner should be permitted to proceed pro se. See Commonwealth v. Grazier, 713 A.2d 81 (Pa. 1998) (explaining that an on-the-record determination must be made as to whether a criminal defendant's request to proceed pro se is knowing, intelligent, and voluntary).
Finally, the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County is ORDERED to enter its order regarding this remand within 90 days and to notify this Court promptly of its determination.