Winklespecht, Pet v. PA Board of Probation & Parole (Concurring Opinion)

Annotate this Case

Download PDF

[J-175-2001] IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA MIDDLE DISTRICT WALTER WINKLESPECHT, Petitioner, v. PENNSYLVANIA BOARD OF PROBATION AND PAROLE, Respondent. : No. 57 MM 2001 : : Application for Writ of Habeas Corpus : : : : : SUBMITTED: November 20, 2001 : : : : : : : CONCURRING OPINION MR. JUSTICE CASTILLE DECIDED: DECEMBER 31, 2002 For the reasons stated in my concurring opinion in Coady v. Vaughn, 770 A.2d 287 (Pa. 2001) (Castille, J., concurring), which was joined by Madame Justice Newman, I am inclined to believe that non-frivolous constitutional challenges to the denial of parole are cognizable under Pennsylvania's habeas corpus statute, 42 Pa.C.S. § 6501 et seq. See also Commonwealth v. Haag, 809 A.2d 271 (Pa. 2002) (Castille, J., concurring). Although this Court has nonexclusive original jurisdiction of all cases sounding in habeas corpus, see 42 Pa.C.S. § 721(1), I believe that the better practice is for such petitions to be filed with the sentencing court pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 108(A) ("A petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging the legality of the petitioner's detention or confinement in a criminal matter shall be filed with the clerk of courts of the judicial district in which the order directing the petitioner's detention or confinement was entered."). I fully agree, however, with the lead opinion's conclusion that the constitutional ex post facto claim raised here -- a claim this Court has seen raised with increasing frequency on our allocatur and miscellaneous dockets -- is entirely meritless. Subject to the foregoing qualifications concerning the cognizability of and venue for such claims, I join the lead opinion. Madame Justice Newman joins this concurring opinion. [J-175-2001] - 2

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.