Overview
- The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Tuesday reversed a lower court’s 2021 grant of a new trial for Lavar Brown and ruled that his 2004 murder conviction should stand.
- The justices said Philadelphia prosecutors withheld a witness memorandum by Ronald Vann, filed a joint stipulation that was false in multiple respects, and failed to interview witnesses or conduct an adequate independent review.
- As a statewide remedy the court directed judges to notify Attorney General Dave Sunday’s office and give it the chance to review any future requests from the Philadelphia DA to vacate convictions.
- Attorney General Sunday welcomed the added oversight as a check to protect victims’ families, while DA Larry Krasner criticized the ruling as undermining Philadelphia voters and the office’s reform work.
- The opinion flagged broader problems with Krasner’s post‑conviction practice—noting more than 100 concessions since 2018 and citing prior federal disciplinary findings—raising questions about the Conviction Integrity Unit’s procedures and victims’ access to evidence.