The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to take up the issue of whether the smell of marihuana can justify police entering and searching a car now that medical marihuana is legal. A Lehigh County Judge had suppressed evidence (a gun) found pursuant to such a search. The Pennsylvania Superior Court reversed that holding on the […]
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Arrested for DUI without drinking?
Many times I have heard attorneys laugh about clients with DUI level BAC results who deny they were drinking. Ridiculous right? Right – in most cases. But some of these clients are telling the truth. How can that be? Auto-brewery Syndrome is a medical condition where the body actually produces alcohol during digestion, creating an […]
“I’m NOT GUILTY!”
What does it mean when someone enters a plea of Not Guilty? Reporters also rush to print articles “on blast” that the defendant in a case pleaded Not Guilty. So what is the significance of this fact? In Montgomery County, Bucks County and probably most of the neighboring Pennsylvania counties, absolutely nothing. Every defendant in […]
A facetious Facebook post can now be a Terroristic Threat in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Superior Court has upheld a Washington County ruling that a person who remarked “Let’s shoot them and start over” on Facebook, during a school strike, can be convicted of Terroristic Threats. Terroristic Threats is a Misdemeanor of the First Degree, removing a host of rights including the right to possess firearms. Mr. Shallenberger […]
PA police really do need a warrant to draw the blood of an unconscious DUI driver
The Pennsylvania Superior Court just decided the case of Akim Sharif Jones-Williams, finding that police must have a warrant or valid exception to the warrant requirement to request a blood draw of a DUI driver who is fading in and out of consciousness. The warrant requirement is clear. Police can only avoid getting a search […]
