Having recently heard oral arguments, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in Commonwealth v. Lyles may create a bright line rule for determining when exactly an investigative detention begins. In Lyles, the trial court granted the defendant’s motion to suppress the crack cocaine and marijuana found on his person after an allegedly unconstitutional investigative detention. Lyles and another […]
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Are police using new unidentified surveillance techniques in Montgomery County and Bucks County?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/23/cops-phone-tracking_n_5016862.html
Superior Court: Defendant Does Not Have Duty to Object to Rule 600 Violation
On March 7, the Superior Court held in Commonwealth v. Colon, 2014 WL 895216, that a defendant does not have a duty to object to a Rule 600 violation at the earliest opportunity, and that delays caused by the defendant after the Rule 600 clock expires do not preclude the defendant from later moving to […]
Third Circuit: ICE Detainers Are Mere Requests
On March 4, the Third Circuit in Galarza v. Szalczyk, 2014 WL 815127, held that ICE detainers pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 287.7 are mere requests that an arresting agency not release a suspected non-citizen until ICE can arrange a transfer of custody, as opposed to an order that the arresting agency not release the […]
PA Superior Court Decides Fifth Amendment Case
On March 5, the Pennsylvania Superior Court decided in Commonwealth v. Green, 2014 PA Super 42 (2014), that Defendant Len Allen Green’s Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination was violated when, as a condition of his post-incarceration probation for theft, he was ordered to disclose the location of the items he stole. Green argued that the […]
