Articles

On February 6, the Lycoming County Court of Common Pleas applied the Supreme Court’s decision in Alleyne v. United States to Commonwealth v. Derr. In Derr the Commonwealth sought to amend the Criminal Information in order to include the weights of the drugs at issue, which would trigger a mandatory minimum sentence. The court’s opinion also applied […]

A study published on January 29 in the American Journal of Epidemiology purports to find that marijuana use has played an increasing role in fatal car accidents over the past decade. But are the study’s conclusions scientifically sound? The study surveyed toxicology results of drivers involved in fatal car accidents in California, Hawaii, Illinois, New […]

The Pennsylvania Senate introduced Senate Bill 1239, which purports to fix the issue that stemmed from Commonwealth v. Musau, 69 A.3d 754 (2013). You can read about the case, which reduced the maximum sentences for certain DUI offenses from 5 years down to 6 months; here is our previous blog article. The Act, which is now in […]

In an unprecedented move, the Obama administration is actively encouraging defense attorneys and prison officials to recommend inmates who are serving sentences for “low-level” drug offenses for clemency. Clemency is the act of pardoning a convicted criminal so that legally the crime was never committed. It can also include simply reducing the sentence that the […]

In 2003, Pennsylvania amended its motorcycle helmet law, which now allows riders and passengers over age 21 to not wear a helmet if the operator has been licensed for at least two years. Since the law was changed, deaths in motorcycle accidents have increased by 35%. Luckily for Pennsylvania motorcyclists, however, courts do not deny […]