Philadelphia criminal defense lawyer Zak T. Goldstein, Esquire, recently won a new trial for a client who served 18 years for a wrongful conviction for attempted murder. In 2006, the client, R.C., was arrested and charged along with three others for participating in shooting at an alleged rival from the neighborhood. The shots missed and struck a young child, seriously injuring him. R.C. and his co-defendants were charged with various counts of attempted murder and firearms offenses. The entire case depended on the testimony of one eyewitness who repeatedly told significantly different versions of the events. All four defendants proceeded by way of jury trial, and the jury convicted three of them. One of the four was acquitted by the Philadelphia jury.

About eight years later, one of the co-defendants filed and litigated a successful Post-Conviction Relief Act Petition alleging that his trial lawyer provided the ineffective assistance of counsel in failing to adequately prove that he could not have done the shooting because he was on video at the Gallery at the time of the shooting. The trial lawyer had introduced some of the video evidence at trial, but the trial lawyer had not obtained phone location data and receipts which further corroborated that that co-defendant could not have been there because he was in fact shopping miles away during the incident. The trial judge was eventually required by the Superior Court to grant that defendant a new trial, and the Commonwealth elected not to proceed with re-trying him.

Unfortunately, the co-defendant’s successful alibi exoneration did not result in any relief for R.C. or the other co-defendant who remains in custody. Fortunately, re-investigation of the case led to two leads in R.C.’s attempt to obtain justice. First, a review of the police file revealed the existence of a handwritten note which showed that police had five suspects from the beginning rather than the four that the sole eyewitness testified to. Further, the handwritten note actually had writing on it which suggested that R.C. never even fired a gun. This note was never provided to the defense. Second, the main eyewitness agreed to speak with an investigator, and she recanted her testimony. She ultimately said that she suspected R.C. may have been out there and part of the shooting because the fourth shooter wore all black, which R.C. was known to do, and had a similar build, but she was not sure that she had actually seen his face. Instead, she asserted that her husband had convinced her to say that it was R.C. who did the shooting even though she was not 100% sure that he was involved.

Armed with this new evidence, Attorney Goldstein filed a Post-Conviction Relief Act Petition alleging that the Commonwealth committed a Brady violation by failing to disclose the note to the defense and that the recantation qualified as after discovered evidence which required a new trial. The PCRA court conducted a full day evidentiary hearing to hear from various witnesses from the defense and the Commonwealth. The judge found the recanting witness credible and after 18 years, finally granted R.C. a new trial.

Facing criminal charges or appealing a criminal case in Pennsylvania?

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. We have successfully obtained full acquittals and dismissals in cases involving charges such as Conspiracy, Aggravated Assault, Rape, Violations of the Uniform Firearms Act, and First-Degree Murder. We have also won criminal appeals and PCRAs in state and federal court, including the successful direct appeal of a first-degree murder conviction and the exoneration of a client who spent 33 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. 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.