| COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. RICK ELWOOD HULL No. 1353 WDA 2008 2009 PA Super 201 Atlantic: n/a Filed: 10/16/2009 | |
| Appeal from the PCRA Order entered July 14, 2008 In the Court of Common Pleas of Fayette County Criminal Nos.: CP-26-CR-0000624-2003, CP-26-CR-0001306-2003 | |
| Before: STEVENS, DONOHUE, and FITZGERALD, JJ. | |
| Opinion by: FITZGERALD, J. | |
| The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania files this appeal from the order entered in the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas, which granted relief to Appellee, Rick Elwood Hull, based on his petition filed pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”). We hold that counsel lacked a reasonable basis for failing to call good character witnesses based on his overall trial strategy to show that the children were lying. Specifically, we hold that trial counsel may not state a broad concern that opposing counsel might introduce bad character evidence on cross-examination without having conducted any kind of investigation to determine if, in fact, there exists bad-character evidence. Accordingly, we affirm. | |
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