Overview
- The court reversed a trial judge’s 2021 order that would have given Lavar Brown a new trial, with six justices ruling Brown’s original 2004 conviction should stand after finding the district attorney’s office acted improperly Tuesday.
- Justices said prosecutors withheld a witness memorandum that identified Brown, filed a joint stipulation the court called false, and did not interview witnesses or investigators during the post‑conviction review.
- To prevent similar problems the court directed lower courts to notify the Pennsylvania attorney general and give that office an opportunity to review any future Krasner‑initiated requests to vacate convictions.
- The opinion framed the Brown case as part of a broader pattern of concessions by the Philadelphia DA’s office since 2018, citing the attorney general’s count of roughly 115 conceded cases and noting recent disciplinary actions and a Krasner office admission in a separate federal case.
- The ruling was not unanimous and could shift power over post‑conviction reviews, affecting victims’ access to evidence, how the DA’s Conviction Integrity Unit operates, and whether the attorney general will more often step in to defend convictions.