Back-and-forth under the Rape Shield Law, and double-jeopardy problems where there's two sentences for one substance
Comm. v. Jerdon, 2019 PA Super 202 (July 1, 2019) Out of Delaware County. This was a Commonwealth (interlocutory) appeal from a pretrial ruling in favor of the defendant, Jerdon. Jerdon is on trial…
Police syntax in a Fourth Amendment analysis, and trial courts wresting deadlocked charges from a jury
Comm. v. Luczki, 2019 PA Super 179 (June 7, 2019) Out of Allegheny County. The Superior Court affirmed the trial judge’s denial of suppression, the circumstances of which involved a plain-clothes…
Corporate outlawry and "suspicion and conjecture."
Comm. v. Pi Delta Psi, Inc., 2019 PA Super 167 (May 23, 2019). Out of Monroe County. This was a rare criminal action against a corporate entity. This fraternity had been criminally charged, along…
Supreme Decisions (October)
Comm. v. Valdivia, ___ A.3d ___ (Pa. 2018) Out of Centre County. This case was about a consent search of a vehicle by a canine. The facts, briefly, were these. Valdivia was driving along I-80—a…
Supreme Decisions (from September)
Comm. v. Peterson, 192 A.3d 1123 (Pa. 2018) Out of Crawford County. The Supreme Court granted allowance to appeal to address one of the time-bar exceptions to the PCRA. The gist of the case was…
SORNA registration beyond maximum limit of incarceration is legal
Comm. v. Strafford, 2018 PA Super 223 (Aug. 6, 2018) Out of Delaware County. The Superior Court addressed an issue of first impression: whether a lifetime registration requirement under SORNA, which…
The Rule of Completeness: An assist from the bench
Comm. v. Thomas, 2018 PA Super 221 (Aug. 3, 2018) Out of Philadelphia County. Thomas was convicted of first-degree murder. Three issues were raised in this appeal, but only one was of particular…
Tipsters more reliable when they provide self-incriminating details
Comm. v. Butler, 2018 PA Super 219 (Aug. 1, 2018) Out of Bucks County. Butler was convicted of drug-related offenses, namely possession with intent to deliver (PWID). He raised a single issue on…
The July Batch (so far) from the Superior Court
The Superior Court has issued seven precedential opinions this month. Straying from my usual summaries, I intend only to provide the holdings and other pertinent points and, of course, my commentary…
Supreme Decisions: Two Conviction Reversals, Pinkerton Liability at Risk in PA, Rule 600, and more
Supreme Court In the Interest of J.B., __ A.3d __ (Pa., July 18, 2018) This is one of two cases in which the Supreme Court overturned a criminal conviction—well, here, really a juvenile…