An arrestee’s anticipatory invocation of his Fifth Amendment right to counsel did not require suppression of statements he made during a subsequent uncounseled interrogation, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in Commonwealth v. Bland
The post Invocation of Miranda-based Right to Counsel Must Occur in Close Temporal Proximity to Custodial Interrogation appeared first on PBI.org.
The Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole was not divested of jurisdiction to recommit a convicted parole violator when it failed to declare the parolee delinquent before the expiration of his original sentence, the Commonwealth Court held in Price v. Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole
The post Parole Board Retained Jurisdiction to Recommit Delinquent Parolee after his Sentence Expired appeared first on PBI.org.
Applying a property-based Fourth Amendment analysis, the Superior Court recently held that incriminating video files discovered on a computer by a technician performing repairs could not be offered into evidence. Commonwealth v. Sodomsky
The post Court Upholds Suppression of Incriminating Video Files Discovered on Computer at Repair Shop appeared first on PBI.org.
A Crimes Code provision mandating a minimum prison sentence of two years upon a conviction for selling drugs in a “drug-free school zone” is unconstitutional, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held in Com. v. Hopkins.
The post Mandatory Minimum Sentences for School Zone Drug Sales Ruled Unconstitutional appeared first on PBI.org.
Parole agents violated a parolee’s Fifth Amendment rights by interrogating him about new crimes while he was in custody, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held in Com. v. Cooley, III.
The post Parolee Subject to Custodial Interrogation on New Crimes Entitled to Miranda Warnings appeared first on PBI.org.
A defendant’s claim of innocence must be plausible in order to constitute a fair and just reason for a presentence withdrawal of a guilty plea, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held in Com. v. Carrasquillo.
The post Bare Assertion of Innocence Insufficient to Withdraw Guilty Plea Prior to Sentencing appeared first on PBI.org.
A defendant lacked a reasonable expectation of privacy in the contents of a text message conversation he had with a police informant, the Pennsylvania Superior Court held in Com. v. Diego.
The post Sender of Incriminating Text Messages to Informant’s Tablet Computer Lacked Reasonable Expectation of Privacy appeared first on PBI.org.
The common law defense of infancy remains applicable in criminal proceedings where the defendant is being prosecuted for conduct committed before the age of 14, the Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled in Com. v. Martz.
The post Common Law Infancy Defense Remains Viable in Criminal Prosecutions for Conduct Committed before age 14 appeared first on PBI.org.
On July 7, 2015, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court adopted new Rules of Criminal Procedure, and revised and renumbered other Rules, to provide for instructions to prospective and selected jurors concerning the use of personal electronic devices during their service.
The post Supreme Court Approves New Rules on Use of Electronic Devices by Jurors appeared first on PBI.org.
A video recording of a traffic stop was not exempt from disclosure as a criminal investigative record under the Right-to-Know Law (RTKL) or the Criminal History Record Information Act (CHRIA), the Commonwealth Court ruled in Pennsylvania State Police v. Grove.
The post State Police Ordered to Release Video Recording of Traffic Stop to Driver appeared first on PBI.org.
A mandatory minimum sentence imposed upon a convicted sex offender for failing to comply with a statutory registration requirement is constitutional, the Pennsylvania Superior Court held in Com. v. Pennybaker
The post Superior Court Upholds Mandatory Minimum Sentence for Violation of Sex Offender Registration Requirement appeared first on PBI.org.
The Commonwealth could not elicit testimony about private incriminating conversations between a criminal defendant and his wife, an en banc Pennsylvania Superior Court panel held in Com. v. Davis
The post Marital Privilege not Subject to Crime Fraud Exception in Criminal Cases appeared first on PBI.org.
The Commonwealth is under no obligation to prepare written transcripts of videotaped victim interviews for a criminal defendant, the Pennsylvania Superior Court held in Com. v. Robinson
The post Commonwealth not Required to Provide Written Transcripts of Crime Victims’ Video Interviews appeared first on PBI.org.
A state trooper’s interaction with a motorist, which included activating his vehicle’s overhead lights as he approached her parked vehicle, constituted an investigative detention, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held in Com. v. Barnes
The post Sharply Divided Supreme Court Holds that Officer Detained Motorist by Activating his Emergency Lights appeared first on PBI.org.
By order dated September 8, 2015, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court amended Rule of Criminal Procedure 556 (Indicting Grand Jury) to specify the form and contents of a petition by a court of common pleas to resume the use of indicting grand juries.
The post Criminal Rule Amended to Include Requirements for Petition to Resume Use of Indicting Grand Juries appeared first on PBI.org.
The presumption of access to information available in the public domain does not apply to an untimely pro se petitioner under the Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA), an en banc panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court held in Com. v. Burton.
The post Superior Court Relaxes Level of Diligence Required of Late Pro Se PCRA Petitioner Asserting After-Discovered Facts appeared first on PBI.org.
An assistant district attorney’s prior representation of a criminal defendant did not warrant disqualification of the entire district attorney’s office, the Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled in Com. v. Ford.
The post District Attorney’s Office not Disqualified by Public Defender-Turned ADA’s Prior Representation of Criminal Defendant appeared first on PBI.org.
A parole agent may perform a protective frisk of a person present during a routine check of a parolee’s approved residence if the agent reasonably suspects that person is armed and dangerous, the Pennsylvania Superior Court held in Com. v. Mathis.
The post Parole Agents Authorized to Frisk Non-Parolees for Weapons appeared first on PBI.org.
A statute mandating a life sentence for a defendant previously convicted of “murder” is not triggered by the defendant’s murder of an unborn child, the Pennsylvania Superior Court held in Com. v. Haynes.
The post Murder of Unborn Child is not “Murder” for Purposes of Third-Degree Murder Sentence Enhancer appeared first on PBI.org.
A Philadelphia local rule imposing a 15-day deadline to appeal a municipal court’s suppression ruling is void and unenforceable, the Pennsylvania Superior Court decided in Com. v. Williams.
The post Superior Court Strikes Philadelphia Local Rule on Deadline for Appealing Municipal Court Suppression Ruling appeared first on PBI.org.
