Machine Guns, Visa Holders, and an Officer's Mistake: Three Third Circuit Decisions From One Day
On September 1, 2026, the Third Circuit published three precedential criminal opinions. Two are Second Amendment cases decided under the Bruen framework. The third is a Fourth Amendment case about…
Can You Be Convicted of a Crime the Information Never Charged? Commonwealth v. Blackston
The criminal information is the document that tells a defendant what he is on trial for. In Pennsylvania, it is filed after the preliminary hearing or grand jury and lists each offense the…
Who Has to Register, and Who Can Argue Their Way Out: Three Superior Court Decisions in Two Days
Pennsylvania's sex-offender registration laws have been the among the most heavily litigated statutes for thirty years. Four versions of Megan's Law and two versions of SORNA — the Sex Offender…
Does Pennsylvania's Overdose Immunity Law Cover What Police Find in Your Car?
Someone overdoses. A bystander calls 911. Police and paramedics arrive, the person is revived, and everybody leaves the scene alive. That is exactly what Pennsylvania's medical amnesty law was built…
Five From One Day: What the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Decided in July
On a single day last month — July 21, 2026 — the Pennsylvania Supreme Court handed down five criminal decisions. Four of the five turn on the same underlying question, asked in four different…
A Confession Without a Question, a Search Without a Card: Four New Superior Court Decisions
The Pennsylvania Superior Court published four criminal decisions in three days last week. Here is what is in them. A parole agent handcuffs a parolee, reads him the new allegations against him, and…
Does the Second Amendment Protect Sending Guns Out of the Country? The Third Circuit Says No
A man walks into a sporting goods store in Monroeville and buys a handgun. Perfectly legal. He comes back and buys another. Still legal. Over about ten weeks he buys nine 9mm pistols in all — and…
When Your Phone Is the Weapon: Commonwealth v. Hernandez and the Reach of the PIC Statute
A man sends a woman threatening messages, nude photographs, and videos over Facebook and Instagram. When she blocks him, he builds new accounts and starts again. He is charged with stalking. He is…
Two Filings, One Day: Commonwealth v. McAllister and the Post-Sentence Motion Trap
A defendant filed two documents on the same day. The first, in the morning, asked the trial court for permission to file late post-sentence motions. The second, in the afternoon, was a notice of…
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…