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…
When Turning On a Phone Is a Search: Commonwealth v. Hunter and the Cost of Missing Riley
If police pick up a suspect's phone, power it on, call the number they think is associated with it, and watch the phone ring — have they searched it? Under federal constitutional law, the answer has…
Can Kratom Get You a DUI in Pennsylvania? The Answer Is Yes.
You've probably seen them by now — the little brown bottles at the gas station checkout, the energy shots in the cooler at the smoke shop, the canned drinks with names like "Kratom King" or "Happy…
When Does the PCRA Clock Really Start? Cruz Draws a Line Between "Reset" and a Second Bite at the Apple
One of the most common — and most consequential — questions I get from clients and their families is some version of this: Is it too late to file? In Pennsylvania, when it comes to post-conviction…