Articles

Without a show of good cause, hearsay alone is not enough to find someone a Technical Parole Violator (“TPV”). In the case of Turon McGee, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania recently held the Parole Board, “erred, as a matter of law, in finding him a TPV based solely on hearsay evidence that was admitted over […]

  On October 24, 2018, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed two criminal justice reform bills into law. The first, Act 146 of 2018, extends a particular deadline by which to seek post-conviction relief. The second, Act 147 of 2018, significantly expands DNA testing in Pennsylvania in an effort to ensure the integrity of criminal convictions […]

Can a police officer reenter your house without a warrant after entering for the purposes of emergency aid, a recognized exception to the warrant requirement? The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania recently decided no, they cannot. In Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, on October 27, 2013, authorities saw a group of people on the roof of a sorority house’s […]

Pennsylvania has forfeiture laws pertaining to drugs, fireworks, and alcohol, while requiring that the property have a substantial nexus with the misconduct at issue. But what happens when the State wants to confiscate property but is not authorized to do so by a statute? The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania recently held common law forfeiture does not […]

On October 9, 2018, the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee voted to move forward on a bill that would decriminalize possession of a small amount of marijuana (that is, 30 grams or less) statewide. To become law, the bill – House Bill 928 – must be approved by both the Pennsylvania House and Senate and be […]