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  • Commonwealth v. Pacheco

    Publication Date: 2020-02-10
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Kunselman
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 20-0127

    While the government did in fact conduct a "search" when it obtained defendant's real-time cell site location information, the search at issue was constitutional because it was conducted pursuant to warrants properly issued in accordance with Pennsylvania's Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act. The superior court affirmed.

  • Commonwealth v. Cole

    Publication Date: 2020-02-10
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Bender
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 20-0125

    Where the commonwealth's key witness against defendant admitted that she had been convicted of retail theft and was incarcerated for violating her probation, defendant raised an arguably meritorious claim that trial counsel acted ineffectively by not requesting that the court instruct the jury regarding the witness's crimen falsi convictions. The superior court vacated the judgment of sentence and remanded.

  • Commonwealth v. Bowens

    Publication Date: 2020-02-03
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Dubow
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 20-0101

    The trial court erred in admitting evidence extracted from defendant's cell phone where the search occurred four days after the relevant warrant expired and, thus, police conducted a search of the phone without a valid warrant. The appellate court reversed and remanded.

  • Commonwealth v. Parrish

    Publication Date: 2020-02-03
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Todd
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 20-0105

    Appellate counsel's filing of a deficient Rule 1925(b) constituted ineffective assistance of counsel and entitled appellant to reinstatement of his right to file a Rule 1925(b) statement nunc pro tunc. Case remanded.

  • Commonwealth v. Lipani

    Publication Date: 2020-02-03
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Courts of Common Pleas, Carbon County
    Judge: Judge Nanovic
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 20-0055

    Defendant was not entitled to have his mandatory minimum sentences invalidated under the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Alleyne v. U.S. where his petition for post-conviction relief was untimely and his judgment of sentence became final before Alleyne was decided. The court of common pleas recommended affirmance of an order denying defendant post-conviction relief.

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  • Commonwealth v. Saunders

    Publication Date: 2020-01-27
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Stevens
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 20-0066

    The trial court did not err in refusing to give defendant credit for time served pertaining to an earlier vacated sentence as the state constitution neither permits nor requires the establishment of "penal checking accounts" whereby time served on unrelated charges later declared invalid may be applied toward a future sentence. The appellate court affirmed.

  • Commonwealth v. Coleman

    Publication Date: 2020-01-27
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Strassburger
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 20-0067

    Pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 720, 721 and Pennsylvania precedent, the trial court lacked authority to impose upon defendant a harsher sentence than that originally imposed upon his motion for reconsideration where the court had no new information to support such an increase. The appellate court reversed and remanded.

  • Orie v. Dist. Attorney Allegheny County

    Publication Date: 2020-01-13
    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: 20-0012

    District court properly denied convicted appellant's petition for habeas corpus and her motion for F.R. Civ.P. rule 60(b)(1) relief for her late filing of objections to magistrate judge's report because the neglect in her late filing was manifest and she was not "in custody" on the charges she challenged because she received no penalty for them. Affirmed.

  • Commonwealth v. Clary

    Publication Date: 2020-01-13
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Dubow
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 20-0004

    The sentencing court did not err in allowing the commonwealth to present expert testimony at a resentencing hearing regarding defendant's gang affiliations and activity while in prison since the commonwealth was not required to disclose the names of rebuttal witnesses before knowing whether it needed to produce such rebuttal proof. The appellate court affirmed defendant's sentence.

  • Commonwealth v. Price

    Publication Date: 2020-01-13
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge McLaughlin
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 20-0005

    Denial of suppression of evidence reversed and remanded where traffic stop and search was based solely on 911 report that defendant was in possession of a firearm, with no further information indicating defendant was illegally possessing a firearm or otherwise engaged in illegal activity. Judgment of sentence vacated, case remanded.