Pennsylvania v. Burno (majority)
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The Commonwealth filed a criminal complaint charging appellee Junius Burno with, inter alia, two counts of criminal homicide. A jury found him guilty on two counts of first-degree murder. The jury found one aggravating circumstance and the mitigation catchall, and determined that the aggravating circumstance outweighed the mitigating, thus sentencing appellee to death. The Commonwealth appealed the trial court’s order granting appellee a new trial based on his trial counsel’s alleged ineffective representation in failing to object to remarks made by the prosecutor during her closing argument to the jury. Appellee filed a cross-appeal claiming the trial court erred in refusing to grant him relief on numerous remaining issues, which he raised in post-sentence motions. Upon review of the trial court record, the Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s order granting Burno’s motion for a new trial, remanded for the resolution of any pending preserved claims related to trial court error raised in appellee's post-sentence motion, and dismissed his claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel without prejudice to his right to pursue those collateral claims under the PCRA.
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