permitting juvenile to file a nunc pro tunc appeal because juveniles have no recourse for ineffective assistance of counsel under the PCRA
How later courts described this case
- permitting juvenile to file a nunc pro tunc appeal because juveniles have no recourse for ineffective assistance of counsel under the PCRA
- granting of nunc pro tunc appeal from juvenile court’s dispositional ruling based upon counsel’s ineffectiveness
- proximity to crime coupled with other factors such as flight or unsubstantiated explanation for presence may support probable cause for arrest
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
CHULLO, Judge,
dissenting:
I most respectfully dissent. I would dismiss the appeal of A.P. as moot. The existence of an actual controversy is essential to appellate jurisdiction. Commonwealth v. Smith, 336 Pa.Super. 636, 639 , 486 A.2d 445, 447 (1984). If, pending appeal, an event occurs which makes relief impossible, the appeal must be dismissed. Id. at 640 , 486 A.2d at 447 . The *155 only exceptions to the jurisdictional requirement for an actual controversy are when the question is of great public importance or when one of the parties will continue to suffer a detriment from the trial court’s decision. Id. at 640-41 , 486 A.2d at 448 .
In this case, the probation period is complete and A.P.’s juvenile disposition for a misdemeanor, possession of a controlled substance, is not a criminal record. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 6354. Juvenile matters are distinguished from adult criminal trials. In re Brandon Smith, 393 Pa.Super. 39, 66 , 573 A.2d 1077, 1090 (1990) (Tamilia, J., concurring in part, dissenting in part); see also 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 6336(a)-(d), 6337, 6352-54. The Rules of Criminal Procedure do not apply to juvenile matters. In re Becker, 370 Pa.Super., 487, 536 A.2d 1370 (1988); see also Pa.Rule Crim.P. 1.
Here there is neither an unresolved question of great public importance, nor will A.P. continue to suffer a detriment. I would, therefore, dismiss the appeal as moot. Smith, supra.