Ben Seal

March 19, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

The Superior Court has reversed a trial court's grant of summary judgment to two municipalities in a wrongful-death and survival action over a fatal accident between a motorcycle and a truck on an allegedly dangerous road in Allegheny County.

By Ben Seal

15 minute read

March 19, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

Litigants in civil-forfeiture cases must be provided proper notice of their right to obtain counsel, even though they have no right to court-appointed counsel, the Commonwealth Court has ruled.

By Ben Seal

12 minute read

March 19, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

In the case of a "fictional" six-figure tax assessment, the justices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court weighed arguments on the balance between the city of Philadelphia's "scary practices" and a man's failure to appeal the matter in a timely fashion.

By Ben Seal

10 minute read

March 19, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

A litigant does not have an absolute right to the presence of counsel during an independent psychological evaluation, the Superior Court has ruled.

By Ben Seal

8 minute read

March 18, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

In an admittedly ironic twist, Attorney General Kathleen Kane moved Friday for a hearing in her criminal case to determine whether the prosecutors charging her leaked evidence to the press that she said could represent prosecutorial misconduct.

By Ben Seal

7 minute read

March 17, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

The tense political climate in Harrisburg will influence who Gov. Tom Wolf may nominate to replace Justice J. Michael Eakin on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, as well as the likelihood of that individual gaining approval of two-thirds of the state Senate, attorneys and court observers said.

By Ben Seal

10 minute read

March 16, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

The first campaign-finance reports in the race for attorney general show the three Democrats vying for office have far more funds than their Republican counterparts to bolster their efforts to replace Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane.

By Ben Seal

4 minute read

March 16, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

President Obama has nominated an ­assistant U.S. attorney from the Western District of Pennsylvania to a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

By Gina Passarella 
and Ben Seal

2 minute read

March 15, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

Justice J. Michael Eakin has announced his retirement from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, becoming the second justice to step away from the court amid a scandal over the exchange of offensive emails. Eakin had been set for a March 29 disciplinary trial on charges that he violated four ethics canons.

By Ben Seal

6 minute read

March 15, 2016 | The Legal Intelligencer

Pennsylvania's retired judges and justices earn nearly $43 million in annual pension payouts from the State Employees' Retirement System, including 98 former jurists who receive six-figure annuities, according to SERS records. Several of the judges receiving significant annual payouts are among those who regularly hear cases as senior judges at a rate of $545 per day.

By Ben Seal

4 minute read