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  • Commonwealth v. Derrickson

    Publication Date: 2020-11-16
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Lazarus
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 20-1238

    The trial court did not err in resentencing defendant, who was a juvenile when he committed second-degree murder, to a maximum sentence of life in prison since Pennsylvania precedent establishes that 18 Pa.C.S. §1102(b) must be interpreted to require a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for juveniles convicted of such an offense. The superior court affirmed defendant's judgment of sentence.

  • Howell v. Superintendent Albion SCI

    Publication Date: 2020-11-02
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
    Judge: Circuit Judge Jordan
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 20-1183

    District court erred in dismissing habeas petition as untimely where recantations from three state witnesses and a fourth witness's confession to the crime presented sufficient evidence of actual innocence to warrant evidentiary hearing. Order of the district court vacated, case remanded. Gerald Howell appealed from the district court's denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. The victim, Herbert Allen, was shot and killed on Christmas Eve, 1982. Although police recovered no physical evidence at the crime scene, appellant was

  • Commonwealth v. Chmiel

    Publication Date: 2020-11-02
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Saylor
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 20-1181

    While the high court expressed "substantial concerns" about the appropriate use of microscopic hair comparison analysis in the courtroom, it declined to use this case as a vessel to categorically disapprove microscopic hair comparison analysis and bar it from the courtroom. The high court affirmed an order denying defendant PCRA relief.

  • Commonwealth v. Cox

    Publication Date: 2020-11-02
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Wecht
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 20-1182

    Trial court erred in concluding analysis of defendant's alleged intellectual disability after finding standardized testing conducted by defendant's experts to be not credible, where determination of intellectual disability was not limited solely to the results of diagnostic testing but could be based on other assessments as well. Order of the trial court reversed, case remanded.

  • Commonwealth v. Johnson

    Publication Date: 2020-10-26
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Bowes
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 20-1154

    The trial court erred in determining that defendant's robbery conviction was a "second strike offense" under 42 Pa.C.S. §9714 where his 2010 conviction for third-degree aggravated assault in New Jersey was not a "crime of violence" as defined in Pennsylvania. The superior court vacated the sentence and remanded for resentencing.

  • Law Journal Press | Digital Book

    Wrongful Use of Civil Proceedings and Related Torts in Pennsylvania, Second Edition

    Authors: George Bochetto, David P. Heim, John A. O’Connell, Robert S. Tintner

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  • Commonwealth v. Brown

    Publication Date: 2020-10-12
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Stevens
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 20-1100

    The trial court did not err in imposing a guideline range sentence of incarceration upon defendant, who pled guilty to driving under the influence in violation of 75 Pa.C.S. §3802(a)(2), as there was no support for his assertion that the mandatory minimum sentencing provision within 75 Pa.C.S. §3804(a)(1) represented the only sentence available in such cases. The superior court affirmed defendant's judgment of sentence.

  • Commonwealth v. Mickley

    Publication Date: 2020-10-05
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Lazarus
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 20-1066

    Pursuant to Commonwealth v. Torsilieri, defendant was entitled to a hearing on his post-sentence motion for relief with the presentation of evidence regarding Pennsylvania's Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act and relevant legislative policy decisions impacting sexual offenders' constitutional rights. The superior court reversed and remanded.

  • Tyson v. Superintendent

    Publication Date: 2020-10-05
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
    Judge: Circuit Judge Restrepo
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 20-1083

    District court erred in denying habeas corpus relief because state court's conclusory reasoning did not amount to a reasonable application of Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 686, there was likelihood that jury convicted appellant on the mistaken belief that the mens rea for first-degree murder did not apply to him, trial counsel's failure to object to the instruction constituted deficient representation and appellant established prejudice. Reversed.

  • Commonwealth v. Bonnet

    Publication Date: 2020-10-05
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Stevens
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 20-1068

    The trial court did not err in denying defendant's application for a Frye hearing where the defense made no showing that a fire investigation expert's testimony was based on novel scientific evidence and, thus, the trial court had no "articulable grounds" to believe that the expert failed to apply an accepted scientific methodology. The superior court affirmed.

  • Commonwealth v. Epps

    Publication Date: 2020-10-05
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Pellegrini
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 20-1067

    Defendant failed to show that the prosecutor's conduct affected the fairness of his criminal trial; therefore, the trial court properly denied his petition for post-conviction relief based on counsel's alleged ineffectiveness for failing to object to alleged prosecutorial misconduct. The superior court affirmed defendant's judgment of sentence.