Grading of Unlawful Contact offense, and musings on the "greater latitude" afforded to prove a "state of mind."
Comm. v. Pope, 2019 PA Super 231 (July 29, 2019) Out of McKean County. This case dealt with sentencing issue under the unlawful contact with minor’s offense, which reads this way. (a) Offense…
Supreme Decisions: In-court IDs; Private Search Doctrine; alibi instructions; government interviews of trial counsel; evidentiary consequences for DUI blood refusals.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has issued some important decisions in the past two months in the realm of criminal law and procedure. I detail the holdings of these opinions, note points of interest…
Superior Court hears IAC claim in first instance, and expands on SCOTUS Carpenter case dealing with cell site location information (CSLI)
Comm. v. Shaw, 2019 PA Super 207 (July 3, 2019) Out of Delaware County. This was an appeal from the denial of a post-conviction petition (PCRA). The background can get a little convoluted, but…
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…