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  • Commonwealth v. Diggs

    Publication Date: 2019-10-21
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Bowes
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 19-1226

    The trial court did not err in dismissing defendant's petition for relief under the Post Conviction Relief Act as untimely where defendant's alleged newly discovered evidence could have been obtained at or prior to trial through reasonable diligence. The appellate court affirmed.

  • Commonwealth v. Caulk

    Publication Date: 2019-10-21
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Stabile
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 19-1228

    The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant's motion to preclude evidence of the death of a confidential informant and, instead, accommodated the needs of both parties by allowing the jury to hear evidence of the CI's death but not the cause. The appellate court affirmed defendant's judgment of sentence.

  • Commonwealth v. Williams

    Publication Date: 2019-10-21
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Lazarus
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 19-1233

    Although statements made in custody prior to Miranda warnings were inadmissible, trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to suppress those statements where defendant suffered no prejudice from their admission due to other, properly-introduced evidence of defendant's guilt, including the victims' testimony identifying defendant as a perpetrator. Order of the PCRA court affirmed.

  • Commonwealth v. Kearns

    Publication Date: 2019-10-21
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Gantman
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 19-1230

    Imposition of a sex offender registration requirement did not breach a plea agreement when existing law's requirement of registration for the offense at issue in the agreement meant that sex offender registration was an implied term of any agreement that did not expressly provide for non-registration. Order of the trial court affirmed.

  • Commonwealth v. Knecht

    Publication Date: 2019-09-30
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge McLaughlin
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 19-1135

    The "retroactive right" timeliness exception did not apply to defendant's untimely PCRA petition since neither the state's high court nor the U.S. Supreme Court has held that the right at issue, application of Pennsylvania's Sex Offender Registration Act as interpreted in Commonwealth v. Muniz, applied retroactively. The appellate court affirmed the denial of post-conviction relief and granting counsel's petition to withdraw.

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  • Commonwealth v. Chimenti

    Publication Date: 2019-09-23
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Stevens
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 19-1110

    Defendant failed to demonstrate that his untimely Post Conviction Relief Act petition was subject to the governmental interference exception to the timeliness requirements since the purported plea agreement he relied upon and sought to enforce had already been declared void by the state's high court. The appellate court affirmed defendant's judgment of sentence.

  • Commonwealth v. Clemat

    Publication Date: 2019-09-23
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Stevens
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 19-1108

    In this criminal case involving drug-related charges, the trial court did not err in denying defendant's request to strike for cause a juror whose close friend had recently died of a drug overdose but said she remained a fair and impartial juror, as the trial judge was in the best position to assess the juror's credibility and fitness to serve. The appellate court affirmed defendant's judgment of sentence.

  • Commonwealth v. Brensinger

    Publication Date: 2019-09-16
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Panella
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 19-1087

    PCRA defendant entitled to pro se prisoner exception under newly-discovered facts exception where there was no evidence that any attorney had agreed to represent defendant prior to a timely date. Order of the PCRA court reversed, case remanded.

  • Commonwealth v. Benitez

    Publication Date: 2019-09-16
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Nichols
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 19-1085

    Consent to canine search was validly given where police developed reasonable suspicion during valid traffic stop for a registration issue, and there was no indication defendant was coerced or threatened or made an unintelligent decision to consent to search. Judgment of sentence affirmed.

  • Commonwealth v. Casey

    Publication Date: 2019-09-16
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Stabile
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 19-1090

    A single petition for permission to appeal orders from multiple docket numbers was denied where petitioners were required to file separate petitions for each docket. Petition denied.