Withdrawal of Guilty Pleas, Double Jeopardy, and DUI Sentencing
Comm. v. Davis, 2018 PA Super 180 (June 22, 2018) Out of Lehigh County. This case is about an attempt to withdraw a guilty plea made under a plea agreement for a sentence not to exceed 38 months…
Confidential Informants, Prosecutorial Misconduct, and Traffic Stops (some aided by the "Find My iPhone" App)
Comm. v. Koonce, 2018 PA Super 169 (June 15, 2018) Out of Montgomery County. Koonce was convicted following a stipulated non-jury trial of possession with intent to deliver. Pre-trial he filed a…
The appellate courts are busy making law . . . and I'm busy keeping up.
June has been a busy month, yet at the same time a relaxing one with a much-needed vacation. This month, the appellate courts haven’t let up. I haven’t let up either, staying on top of the recent…
A Circumstantial DUI, A Case of Be-Careful-What-You-Ask-For, and the Kathleen Kane Case
Comm. v. Gooseby-Byrd, 2018 PA Super 134 (May 23, 2018) This was an appeal out of Delaware County. This was a DUI case charged under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3802(a)(2), which indicates Appellant’s…
Word choice is important . . . and so is a thorough review and timing.
Comm. v. Dempster, 2018 PA Super 121 (May 8, 2018) This is an appeal before an en banc panel of the Superior Court, which arose out of Delaware County. The issue on appeal concerns the scope of the…
A "Stalking Horse"?
Appeal out of Lancaster County. This appeal involved issues of a parolee’s privacy interests under the Fourth Amendment and what is known as the “Stalking Horse Doctrine”—i.e. the idea of a…
One for probable cause and five against equals suppression
This was a direct appeal out of Montgomery County. The issue on appeal pertained to the search of Davis’s car and whether that search was constitutional. The uncontradicted facts taken from the…
An unauthorized driver of a rental car may have privacy interests in the car he drives
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that “someone in otherwise lawful possession and control of a rental car has a reasonable expectation of privacy in it even if the rental…
"I didn't do it!": Capital counsel cannot "sell out" clients as a matter of strategy to avoid death
In a 6-3 opinion authored by Justice Ginsburg, the U.S. Supreme Court held that “a defendant has the right to insist that his counsel refrain from admitting guilt, even when counsel’s…
Is an arrest warrant for one person good to enter and search another person's home?
This discretionary appeal resulted in a plurality opinion, splintering the Supreme Court’s seven justices into roughly two equal camps. The issue on appeal, simply stated, was this: is an arrest…