You will be precluded from asserting ineffective assistance of counsel concerning all proceedings in which you represent yourself. It may be filed only in a Pennsylvania magisterial district court and not in the Philadelphia Municipal Court.Our Philadelphia criminal appeals lawyer explains how to challenge a conviction in Pennsylvania with the Post-Conviction Relief Act (PCRA). The motion raised claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel, which usually need to be deferred until after a direct appeal has concluded. (Name, address and telephone number of all counsel of record and unrepresented parties. Filing motions can involve pre-trial relief, such as requesting a reduction in bail. (1) The court, of its own motion, shall assign counsel to represent a defendant whenever the interests of justice require it. In a New York claim, courts have said that an Article 440 motion is usually the correct way to raise an ineffective assistance of counsel claim. Fahy, 737 A.2d 214 (Pa. You can only claim ineffective assistance of counsel after a conviction.