Attorney Mehta Wins New Trial For PCRA Client Serving 20-Year Illegal Gun Sentence

Criminal Defense Lawyer Demetra Mehta

Criminal Defense Lawyer Demetra Mehta

Philadelphia criminal defense attorney Demetra P. Mehta, Esquire recently won a new trial for her client in the case of Commonwealth v. C.F.

C.F. had been sentenced to 10 to 20 years of incarceration following a jury trial for gun possession charges. However he will now be given a new trial following a successful challenge of his conviction through the Post-Conviction Relief Act. 

PENNSYLVANIA’S POST-CONVICTION RELIEF ACT

Pennsylvania’s Post-Conviction Relief Act allows petitioners to challenge their conviction for a number of reasons. Generally, PCRAs take place at the conclusion of a direct appeal if the direct appeal has been unsuccessful and addresses trial counsel’s ineffective assistance. Petitioners may also use the PCRA when the law has changed retroactively, for the discovery of new evidence which would have changed the outcome at trial or the decision to enter into a plea deal, and to test DNA evidence that was previously untested. The rules governing the PCRA are not simple, the statute is complicated and there are a number of procedural hurdles that often condemn a petition to failure with no regard as to the merits of the claim. 

In this case, C.F. had gone to trial on a gun possession charge while represented by different counsel. The facts at trial were as follows:

While at home, he and his wife got into an argument that was loud enough that it attracted the attention of neighbors. A neighbor actually came over to the house to investigate and would later testify that she saw C.F. with a gun. Once the fight was over, C.F. left his home and was confronted by the police a short time later out in the street.

At trial, the neighbor testified that she had seen C.F. with a firearm. This witness also had her own Federal drug possession case at the time of C.F.’s arrest, but it had been resolved by time of trial. A gun had been recovered in the general area at the time of C.F.’s arrest, but there was no forensic evidence to link C.F. to that firearm.

C.F.’s wife testified that C.F. did not have a gun the day of their argument and his arrest. There was an additional witness that was not called because the trial attorney did not reach out to that witness. This witness was also present on the day of the argument, but between C.F.’s arrest and trial, the witness had joined the military and was out of the state of Pennsylvania.

C.F.’s trial attorney testified at the PCRA hearing that he did not subpoena this witness because he did not think she could come to court because she was out of state and in the military. At that same hearing, the witness testified that she had made her command aware of the situation and only needed a subpoena to get leave to come to the trial.  

In its ruling, the PCRA court concluded that the witness was available and credible and, had she been subpoenaed, that her testimony may have changed the course of the trial. The court additionally ruled that the trial attorney had been ineffective for not subpoenaing the witness.

PCRAs are highly technically and require an experienced attorney who will look at the record and put forward your best chance to overturn a conviction. To do, this you need someone who has filed PCRAs in the past and had success with them. 

Facing criminal charges? We can help.

Philadelphia Criminal Defense Lawyers Zak Goldstein and Demetra Mehta

Philadelphia Criminal Defense Lawyers Zak Goldstein and Demetra Mehta

If you are facing criminal charges or under investigation by the police, we can help. We have successfully defended thousands of clients against criminal charges in courts throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey at trial and on appeal. We have successfully obtained full acquittals in cases involving charges such as Conspiracy, Aggravated Assault, VUFA, PWID, Rape, and Murder. Our award-winning Philadelphia criminal defense lawyers offer a free criminal defense strategy session to any potential client. Call 267-225-2545 to speak with an experienced and understanding defense attorney today.

Demetra Mehta

Demetra Mehta, Esq. has tried hundreds of cases and is dedicated to providing the best possible legal advice to her clients.

After graduating with a Master of Science degree in Mathematics, Ms. Mehta went on to earn her Juris Doctor at the Temple University Beasley School of Law. There, she earned a spot on Temple's nationally ranked trial team when she was just a second-year student. She was also awarded the Victor A. Jaczun Award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy, and made Fellow of the Rubin Public Interest Law Honor Society for her work with the Innocence Project and her time spent volunteering at the Campaign for Working Families.

After graduating from Temple University, Ms. Mehta worked as a consultant for FTI Consulting, a business advisory firm headquartered in Washington, DC.  There, she advised many Fortune 500 companies on the e-discovery process, often saving millions of dollars in document review costs.

But she felt something was missing. When she got a call from the prestigious Defender Association of Philadelphia to join their ranks as an Assistant Defender, she jumped at the chance to get into court and start fighting for her clients.

In the four years Ms. Mehta spent as an attorney at the Defender Association, she took hundreds of cases to trial. Her dedication and skills were recognized by her supervisors who promoted her to the position of "major felony" trial attorney.  Ms. Mehta left the Defender association as an excellent advocate and accomplished litigator.

When the opportunity to start her own practice with Zak Goldstein materialized, she was excited to work alongside a fellow, passionate litigator who cared about her clients' constitutional rights as much as she does.

http://goldsteinmehta.com/demetra-mehta/
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