Articles

Cops smell weed – can you be arrested?

Filed under: Uncategorized by Steven F. Fairlie @ December 30, 2021

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has just addressed, though not necessarily answered, the long-standing question of whether police may search or arrest based upon the mere odor of marihuana. The Court held that the odor of marihuana alone is no longer sufficient to create probable cause to arrest now that marihuana is legal in many forms […]

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Time to Beg Your Pardon

Filed under: Criminal Law, News by Steven F. Fairlie @ July 3, 2021

Have you been convicted of a crime in Pennsylvania? There are complicated rules that apply to minor misdemeanors and summary offenses, those who have completed an ARD program, and those who won their cases at trial or had the charges dismissed – which permit expungement (erasure) of criminal records. But if you were convicted of […]

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More thoughts on the Cosby reversal

Filed under: Fairlie & Lippy News, News by Steven F. Fairlie @ July 2, 2021

https://www.law.com/thelegalintelligencer/2021/07/01/even-bad-people-legal-community-divided-on-unpopular-decision-that-freed-cosby/?kw=%27Even%20Bad%20People%27:%20Legal%20Community%20Divided%20on%20Unpopular%20Decision%20That%20Freed%20Cosby&utm_source=email&utm_medium=enl&utm_campaign=newsroomupdate&utm_content=20210702&utm_term=tli

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Debunking Cosby

Filed under: News by Steven F. Fairlie @ June 30, 2021

I’ve heard enough spin on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s reversal of the Cosby conviction today to justify an article that spells out what really happened. The case was hotly contested by both sides. But there is no way that a jury was going to ignore a parade of women saying that they were sexually assaulted. […]

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Rule 600 given strong teeth by Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Filed under: Criminal Law by Steven F. Fairlie @ June 24, 2021

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court gave strong teeth to Rule 600 in a case decided two days ago (Commonwealth v. Harth). Rule 600 gives the Commonwealth 365 days to bring a case to trial, subtracting delays caused outside the control and due diligence of prosecutors. While the rule seems clear cut enough, the exceptions had swallowed […]

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