When Eyewitnesses Can Say More Than a Number: Commonwealth v. Rivera and the Limits of Speed Testimony
A Butler County vehicular homicide case decided today raises a question that comes up more often than you might think: when an eyewitness to a fatal crash takes the stand, can they describe what they…
Three Sex-Offense Decisions in One Day: Due Process, Severance, Vindictive Sentencing, and the Reach of Strunk
The Pennsylvania Superior Court handed down three precedential sex-offense decisions on April 10, 2026 — Commonwealth v. Mancuso, Commonwealth v. Rivera, and Commonwealth v. Smith. Each case raises…
The Third Circuit Revisits a Familiar Sentencing Enhancement — and the Commentary That Defines It
The Sentencing Guidelines are not statutes. Congress didn't write them; the United States Sentencing Commission did. And for a long time, courts treated the Commission's own explanations of what the…
When a Service Dog Becomes a Trial Issue: Commonwealth v. Roberts and the Limits of Jury Prejudice Claims
A victim's service dog. A carefully negotiated pretrial agreement. A lunch break that didn't go according to plan. And a defendant arguing he deserved a new trial because of it. That's the setup in…
What You Say, What You Don't Say, and What the Law Does With Both
Two decisions came down from the Pennsylvania Superior Court on March 27, 2026, and at first glance they don't seem to have much in common. One is a suppression case arising from a traffic stop in…
Pennsylvania Courts Are Rewriting Probation Law in Real Time — And the U.S. Supreme Court Just Weighed In Too
If you handle probation revocation cases in Pennsylvania, the first few months of 2026 have been unusually busy. The Superior Court has issued a wave of precedential decisions interpreting Act 44 of…
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's March 2026 Term: Three Decisions Worth Knowing
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court handed down three significant criminal law decisions on March 26, 2026. The most important — by a wide margin — is Commonwealth v. Derek Lee, a ruling that upends…
When Does Talking to Police Become a Detention? Commonwealth v. Gibbons
The Pennsylvania Superior Court handed down an important decision today on a question that comes up constantly in criminal practice: at what point does a conversation with police become a detention…
Pennsylvania's New Probation Reform Law Has Another Test — and the Court Splits the Difference
Pennsylvania's probation reform law, Act 44 of 2024, was supposed to fix a broken system. For years, people on probation were being sent to state prison for technical violations — not new crimes, but…
You Can Be the Boss Without Being the Boss: The Third Circuit on the Federal Sentencing Manager Enhancement
Running a legitimate business doesn't insulate you from federal sentencing enhancements if that business becomes the vehicle for a crime. The Third Circuit made that clear earlier this month in…