Articles

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania decided Commonwealth v. Holmes on October 30, where it held that the trial court, under the discretion of the judge, can hear post-sentence ineffective assistance of counsel claims under two circumstances: 1) when there are “extraordinary circumstances” that warrant the trial court hearing the issue, and 2) when the defendant […]

In Commonwealth v. Fisher, decided on October 30, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued its decision on a puzzling logical quandary: Can an individual be found guilty of conspiracy to commit third degree murder? On its face, and according to appellee/defendant Nashir Fisher, such a charge is a “legal nullity”, as one cannot possibly intend […]

On October 30, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania decided Commonwealth v. Baker, holding that the mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years for a second conviction of possession of child pornography does not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. The court was persuaded by the Commonwealth’s argument that possession of child pornography […]

On October 22, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals decided United States v. Katzin, a long-awaited Fourth Amendment ruling. The court answered a major question that was left open in United States v. Jones, decided two years prior: Does an officer need a warrant before attaching a “slap-on” GPS receiver to a car in order […]

In August, we wrote a blog post about a Pennsylvania Senate bill (SB 391) that, if passed, would allow for expungement of certain third degree misdemeanors in Pennsylvania.  Here is the post, and here is the actual bill. On October 16, the Senate passed the bill 49-0. All that’s left now is for the House to pass […]