Articles

Last year the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had agreed to take up a case of first impression to determine whether certain “visit communications” between inmates and their visitors fall within the exceptions to Pennsylvania’s Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act. Pennsylvania’s Wiretap Act generally prohibits intercepting, using or disclosing communications. The Act contains 18 exceptions to […]

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held in a 5-1 decision that a prosecutor violates a defendant’s double jeopardy right by trying him a second time on a charge for which he was acquitted by a Magisterial District Judge. If a defendant is found guilty of a lesser-included offense rather than the one the Commonwealth charged and […]

In a recent case, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that sex offenders who commit certain crimes must commit a subsequent offense following their conviction for the first offense before they can be made to register as sex offenders for life. In A.S. v. Pennsylvania State Police, the Court discussed the proper construction of the […]

On September 20, 2016 the Massachusetts Supreme Court held that fleeing from the police is insufficient to establish reasonable suspicion to stop and frisk. While this rule applies to every civilian in Massachusetts, the Court specifically stated that since black males in Boston are more likely to be targeted in FIO’s (Field Interrogation Observation) encounters […]

Robbery and Burglary are both serious felonies under Pennsylvania law, but the average person seems to have no idea what the difference between them is. For example, this article references “distraction robberies” when that is really an oxymoron: Police Warn of Distraction Robberies in Montgomery County. Robbery requires that force be used against someone in […]