Right Claim, Wrong Motion: Three Superior Court Decisions on Procedure
On July 31, 2026, the Pennsylvania Superior Court issued three precedential criminal decisions that have nothing to do with each other on the surface. One involves probation termination, one…
Prolonged Stops, Consent Searches, and Terry Frisks: Two New Superior Court Suppression Decisions
The Superior Court issued two precedential suppression decisions a week apart. Both affirmed the denial of a motion to suppress, and together they cover most of the ground that comes up when a…
Two Superior Court Decisions on Proving Mental State
Almost every criminal charge has two parts — an act and a mental state that has to accompany it. In a contested case, the act is often not much in dispute. The fight is over what the defendant knew,…
A Rare Sentencing Reversal in Pennsylvania — and a Third Circuit Reminder About Arrest Records
Sentencing appeals are hard to win. Appellate courts review a sentence for abuse of discretion, and they repeat, in nearly every opinion, that they will not second-guess how a trial judge weighed the…