Articles

In a groundbreaking decision the Pennsylvania Superior Court vacated a conviction for possession of drug paraphernalia in Commonwealth v. Miller (November 20, 2015). The Defendant had been convicted for possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia after a marijuana cigarette was found between the driver’s seat and center console of his vehicle. […]

Recently, one of the nation’s major telecommunication services for incarcerated persons was hacked by an entity known as The Intercept. This hack reveals the extent and scope of information collected on inmates in the corrections system within the United States. The Intercept hack of Securus managed to collect more than 70 million individual records of phone calls. […]

The Diversionary Unit of the Philadelphia District Attorneys Office is looking for participants to  join a pilot program for defendants charged with non-violent felony crimes into a year-long program operated in conjunction with the Community College of Philadelphia. Specifically they are seeking: Philadelphia residents; Age 24 or older; No violent offenses associated with past or […]

A few months ago, we posted about how United States District Judge John Gleeson of the Eastern District of New York ordered a federal fraud conviction to be expunged.  Now, the New York Times Editorial Board, based on Judge Gleeson’s decision is urging action to confront the frightening fact that more than a quarter of […]

We wrote a few months ago of how the State Senate had passed a bill to liberalize expungement in Pennsylvania.    As you’ll recall, expungement is the process by which someone convicted of certain crimes may be able to have governmental records of that event wiped clean from the system (for more on expungement generally, […]