A divided Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ordered new outside scrutiny of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office in post-conviction cases, following concerns raised in how certain convictions were handled after prosecutors agreed to grant relief.

The 4–3 ruling was authored by Justice Kevin Dougherty, a Democrat, in the case of Levar Brown, a Philadelphia man whose murder convictions became central to the broader legal dispute involving Krasner’s Conviction Integrity Unit. Justice Daniel McCaffery, also a Democrat, joined the majority along with two Republican justices. The dissenting votes came from three Democratic justices.

The court reversed a Philadelphia post-conviction order that had granted Brown a new trial after Krasner’s office conceded the conviction should not stand and a local judge approved the request.

In its decision, the court said concerns about reliability in the handling of such concessions were not limited to a single case, prompting broader procedural changes moving forward.

Under the ruling, Philadelphia judges handling post-conviction petitions must now notify the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General and allow it to intervene before granting relief in any case where the district attorney’s office agrees that a conviction should be overturned.

The decision effectively introduces an additional layer of oversight in a process that has already been the subject of ongoing political and legal debate within the state’s criminal justice system.

As the legal framework shifts, the ruling signals increased scrutiny of how post-conviction relief is evaluated in Philadelphia going forward.