PRINTER'S NO. 107
No. 81 Special Session No. 1 of 1995
INTRODUCED BY GREENLEAF, O'PAKE, ANDREZESKI, DELP, KASUNIC,
MOWERY, PETERSON, ROBBINS, SALVATORE AND WENGER,
MARCH 15, 1995
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY, MARCH 15, 1995
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the
2 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for
3 eligibility for postconviction relief.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Section 9543(a) of Title 42 of the Pennsylvania
7 Consolidated Statutes is amended by adding paragraphs to read:
8 § 9543. Eligibility for relief.
9 (a) General rule.--To be eligible for relief under this
10 subchapter, a person must plead and prove by a preponderance of
11 the evidence all of the following:
12 * * *
13 (5) That the person has not previously initiated a
14 proceeding under this subchapter arising out of the same
15 conviction.
16 (6) That the person initiated the proceeding under this
17 subchapter by filing the petition for relief within one year
18 of the date on which the person was convicted. This paragraph
1 shall not apply if the petitioner could not have had
2 knowledge of the grounds for the petition by the exercise of
3 reasonable diligence before the one-year time period expired.
4 * * *
5 Section 2. This act shall apply to petitions filed on or
6 after the effective date of this act.
7 Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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