Articles

A new United States Supreme Court holding dealing with Miranda has just come down: BERGHUIS, WARDEN, PETITIONER v. THOMPKINS, No. 08–1470. The Supreme Court reversed the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit despite a strong dissent. The Sixth Circuit had ruled that a statement made by a man accused of First Degree […]

In an unanimous (3-0) panel decision the Superior Court has just issued a decision reversing an order of restitution where the Commonwealth presented no evidence to support the alleged amount and the Trial Judge placed the burden on the Defendant to prove why the amount was not accurate. The facts were that Christopher Atanasio pled […]

The United States Government has been systematically chipping away at Constitutional rights for many years. In yet another assault on privacy and individual rights, the House passed a Bill, by unanimous vote of all Democratic members, that will require people who have been arrested but never convicted to have their blood drawn by needle, analyzed, […]

The United States Supreme Court recently decided the case of Padilla v. Kentucky, holding that attorneys must advise illegal immigrants of the possibility of deportation as a consequence of any guilty plea to a criminal charge. While I strongly agree that competent criminal defense counsel should always advise ALL possible consequences of a guilty plea, […]

After successfully acquiring a not guilty to First Degree Murder at trial, Steven Fairlie’s client received a fifteen (15) to thirty (30) year sentence on a Third Degree Murder charge.    The case stemmed from the murder of a man who was shot in the back of his head while sleeping In another courtroom, Elizabeth Lippy’s client, charged with […]