On March 7, the Superior Court held in Commonwealth v. Colon, 2014 WL 895216, that a defendant does not have a duty to object to a Rule 600 violation at the earliest opportunity, and that delays caused by the defendant after the Rule 600 clock expires do not preclude the defendant from later moving to […]
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Third Circuit: ICE Detainers Are Mere Requests
On March 4, the Third Circuit in Galarza v. Szalczyk, 2014 WL 815127, held that ICE detainers pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 287.7 are mere requests that an arresting agency not release a suspected non-citizen until ICE can arrange a transfer of custody, as opposed to an order that the arresting agency not release the […]
PA Superior Court Decides Fifth Amendment Case
On March 5, the Pennsylvania Superior Court decided in Commonwealth v. Green, 2014 PA Super 42 (2014), that Defendant Len Allen Green’s Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination was violated when, as a condition of his post-incarceration probation for theft, he was ordered to disclose the location of the items he stole. Green argued that the […]
Supreme Court: Defendant Cannot Challenge Grand Jury Before Assets Are Frozen
On February 25, the Supreme Court of the United States in Kaley v. United States, 2014 WL 700097, held that an indicted defendant may not challenge a grand jury’s finding of probable cause when challenging the freezing of assets. 21 U.S.C. § 853(e) authorizes the Government to freeze assets that would be subject to forfeiture […]
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Rejects Good Faith Exception
On February 18, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania decided in Commonwealth v. Johnson, 2014 WL 619896, that under Pennsylvania jurisprudence and its own decision in Commonwealth v. Edmunds, 586 A.2d 887 (Pa. 1991), the good faith exception does not apply to the fruits of defective arrest warrants. In Johnson, defendant Richard Johnson was a passenger in […]
