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  • Commonwealth v. Durazo

    Publication Date: 2019-05-27
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Bender
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 19-0628

    Contrary to defendant's assertion, the trial court articulated its reasons for sentencing him to a prison term beyond the sentencing guidelines, including defendant's criminal assault of a five-week-old child while he was in a caregiver role and the extreme, life-altering injuries the child suffered as a result. The appellate court affirmed defendant's judgment of sentence.

  • Commonwealth v. Adams-Smith

    Publication Date: 2019-05-27
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Gantman
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 19-0629

    Pursuant to recent case law questioning the retroactive application of sex offender registration requirements under the under Sexually Violent Registration and Notification Act to offenses committed before the act's effective date, the imposition of registration requirements upon defendant violated the ex post facto clauses of both the state and federal constitutions. The appellate court vacated in part.

  • Commonwealth v. Payne

    Publication Date: 2019-05-20
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Dubow
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 19-0575

    PCRA court erred in denying relief from first-degree murder conviction based on after-discovered DNA evidence when that evidence refuted the theory upon which the degree-of-guilt panel placed significant or exclusive evidence to find that defendant committed murder of the first-degree. Order of the PCRA court reversed.

  • Commonwealth v. Byrd

    Publication Date: 2019-05-20
    Practice Area: Civil Rights | Criminal Appeals
    Industry: Legal Services
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Shogan
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 19-0581

    The commonwealth charged defendant with person not to possess a firearm. While the trial was proceeding, the court received an email message with a voice recording from Brandy Wilson, who was set to testify as a character witness for defendant. Wilson said she had been threatened by assistant district attorney Lawrence Sachs. After a hearing, the trial court declared a mistrial sua sponte based on manifest necessity due to prosecutorial misconduct. The trial court later dismissed the charge with prejudice. On appeal, the commonwealth

  • Commonwealth v. Griffin

    Publication Date: 2019-05-20
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Baer
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 19-0583

    The superior court did not err in affirming separate consecutive second strike mandatory minimum sentences for each conspiracy conviction and underlying crime conviction since under 42 Pa.C.S. §9714, a second-strike offender such as defendant is to receive separate mandatory minimum sentences for a conspiracy conviction and underlying offense conviction when both are listed as "crimes of violence." The high court affirmed defendant's judgment of sentence.

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  • Commonwealth v. Frein

    Publication Date: 2019-05-13
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Todd
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 19-0530

    While the victim impact evidence admitted by the trial court in this case may have been unnecessarily extensive, defendant failed to establish that he was prejudiced by the admission of such evidence where the jury found several aggravating circumstances but no mitigating factors. The high court affirmed defendant's judgment of sentence.

  • Commonwealth v. Jezzi

    Publication Date: 2019-05-13
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Gantman
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 19-0551

    Contrary to defendant's assertion, the Medical Marijuana Act, which created a temporary program for qualified persons to access medical marijuana, did not conflict with the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act and thus require declassification of marijuana as a controlled substance. The appellate court affirmed defendant's judgment of sentence.

  • Commonwealth v. Dozier

    Publication Date: 2019-05-13
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Strassburger
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 19-0548

    The trial court properly rejected defendant's claim that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to pursue Recidivism Risk Reduction Incentive Program eligibility on his behalf as defendant's past and present violent behavior barred him from such relief. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's judgment.

  • Commonwealth v. Cephus

    Publication Date: 2019-05-06
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Stevens
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 19-0514

    The trial court properly found that a state trooper had probable cause to stop defendant's vehicle where he saw the vehicle failing to maintain its lane in violation of Motor Vehicle Code §3309(1) and dash camera footage supported an inference that the trooper saw defendant's car cross over the center line multiple times. The appellate court affirmed defendant's judgment of sentence.

  • Commonwealth v. Medina

    Publication Date: 2019-05-06
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Superior Court
    Judge: Judge Colins
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:
    Case Number: 19-0511

    The trial court properly denied defendant post-conviction relief based on trial counsel's alleged ineffectiveness for failure to call character witnesses where defendant failed to establish that the testimony of any of his alleged character witnesses would have been admissible at his criminal trial. The appellate court affirmed.