[J-50-2018] IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA EASTERN DISTRICT SAYLOR, C.J., BAER, TODD, DONOHUE, DOUGHERTY, WECHT, MUNDY, JJ. COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, : No. 753 CAP : Appellee : Appeal from the Order dated June 23, : 2017 in the Court of Common Pleas, : Dauphin County, Criminal Division at v. : No. CP-22-CR-0001773-2000. : : SUBMITTED: May 14, 2018 HERBERT BLAKENEY, : : Appellant : Justice Wecht announces the judgment of the Court with respect to Parts III and IV, in which Justice Donohue joins, and in which Justices Dougherty and Mundy concur in the result. Justice Wecht delivers an opinion in support of reversal with respect to Parts I and II, in which Justice Donohue joins. As to Parts I and II, Justices Dougherty and Mundy file separate opinions in support of affirmance. OPINION JUSTICE WECHT DECIDED: September 21, 2018 Herbert Blakeney appeals from the dismissal of a facially untimely, second petition filed pursuant to the Post Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”).1 Recognizing that his petition is untimely, Blakeney relies, inter alia, upon the exception to the one-year time-bar for newly discovered facts.2 We affirm the PCRA court’s orders denying Blakeney’s requests for disqualification of the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office and recusal of the 1 See 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541-46. 2 See 42 Pa.C.S. § 9545(b)(1)(ii). PCRA court. With respect to whether Blakeney has established that the facts upon which his claim is predicated were unknown to him and could not have been ascertained by the exercise of due diligence, this Court is equally divided. Accordingly, inasmuch as the Court is equally divided, the PCRA court’s determination of untimeliness is affirmed.3 I. Background We detailed the facts underlying Blakeney’s convictions in our opinion on direct appeal, Commonwealth v. Blakeney (“Blakeney I”), 946 A.2d 645 (Pa. 2008), and in our opinion following Blakeney’s appeal from the denial of his first PCRA petition, Commonwealth v. Blakeney (“Blakeney II”), 108 A.3d 739 (Pa. 2014). For purposes of today’s proceeding, a brief summary will suffice. Blakeney’s estranged wife, Sacha Blakeney (“Sacha”), lived in an apartment with her friend Duana Swanson (“Swanson”) and their respective children. One of Sacha’s children, Basil, was fourteen months old (and not fathered by Blakeney). On February 1, 2000, Harrisburg police responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at the apartment, and officers escorted Blakeney from the scene. Afraid that Blakeney would return, Swanson asked the police “to keep an eye on the place.” Blakeney I, 946 A.2d at 649. In the early morning hours of February 2, 2000, Blakeney reentered the apartment. He carried a butcher knife. At that time, Sacha was not home. Blakeney confronted Swanson and the children in a bedroom. Blakeney grabbed Swanson by the arm as Swanson’s son, Maurice, ran from the room. Maurice encountered Harrisburg Police Officer William Vernouski, who had heard Swanson screaming, standing on the threshold of the apartment door with his gun drawn. Officer Vernouski entered the apartment to 3 See Creamer v. Twelve Common Pleas Judges, 281 A.2d ...
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