The PA Supreme Court recently reversed the PA Superior Court’s decision regarding the sufficiency of evidence required to prove the offense of Drug Delivery Resulting in Death (“DDRD”). Specifically, the Supreme Court held that the Commonwealth failed to prove that...
You Have A Right To Remain Silent. Before You Decide To Talk, Call Mike Winters.
Year: 2020
PA SUPREME COURT RESTRICTS POLICE AUTHORITY TO SEARCH VEHICLES
Today, the PA Supreme Court held that in order to conduct a warrantless search of an automobile in PA, police need both probable cause and exigent circumstances, expressly overruling the Court’s prior decision in Commonwealth v. Gary, 91 A.3d 102 (Pa. 2014) which...
Establishing self-defense in an assault case
Often, there is more than one story when someone in Lancaster has been arrested for assault. It's not always clear who started the fight. The person the police arrested may actually have been the victim, not the aggressor. If you are the one charged with assault, the...
Juvenile crime: why a second-chance approach commonly features
As a Pennsylvania parent, do you ever worry about your kids? The answer to that is obvious, isn’t it? The unconditional love that moms and dads have for their children automatically features due concern for their well-being as they negotiate the path toward adulthood....
POLICE OFFICER MAY BE A LAY WITNESS and an EXPERT WITNESS IN THE SAME CASE, BUT THEY CANNOT TELL THE JURY WHO OR WHAT TO BELIEVE
A PROPERLY QUALIFIED POLICE OFFICER MAY TESTIFY TO FACTS OF A SEXUAL ASSAULT AS WELL AS A TYPICAL VICTIM’S BEHAVIORS AND RESPONSES TO SEXUAL ABUSE; HOWEVER, THE OFFICER MAY NOT OFFER AN OPINION ON THE CREDIBILITY OF ANOTHER WITNESS (That's the jury's job 😉 ) Jones...
WANT TO SEARCH A PHONE SEIZED INCIDENT TO ARREST? YOU’LL NEED A WARRANT (and you need to make sure the warrant is supported by probable cause).
The PA Supreme Court “recently explained that, where law enforcement seeks to search a cell phone seized incident to arrest, the applicable rule is “exceedingly simple: . . . get a warrant.” This week, the Court published Commonwealth v. Johnson, No. 25 WAP 2019 (Pa....
LANCASTER COUNTY JUDICIAL EMERGENCY EXTENDED TO DECEMBER 31, 2020
On October 19, 2020, the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas extended the Judicial Emergency in that jurisdiction to December 31, 2020, or until further Notice from the Court. Criminal jury trials will continue to be held, provided they can be conducted safely....
WELL, IT DOESN’T TAKE AN EXPERT …
IT DOESN'T TAKE AN EXPERT TO SHOW THAT AN OPERATOR'S REFUSAL TO SUBMIT TO A CHEMICAL TEST WAS NOT A KNOWING & CONSCIOUS REFUSAL (if the operator has suffered injuries that were severe, incapacitating & obvious) In an unreported memorandum opinion from the Hon....
MICHAEL T. WINTERS APPOINTED TO PA COMMISSION ON CRIME & DELINQUENCY TRAINING SUBCOMMITTEE FOR COUNTY ADULT PROBATION & PAROLE
Attorney Michael T. Winters was recently appointed to serve on the PA Commission on Crime & Delinquency's Training Subcommittee for County Adult Probation & Parole in the Commonwealth. Nominated by the PA Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, where he...
WHEN IS AN AGGRAVATED ASSAULT NOT A “CRIME OF VIOLENCE?”
Saeed Rasheed Johnson appealed from the aggregate judgment of sentence of ten to twenty years of imprisonment imposed after he was convicted of robbery and possessing an instrument of crime (“PIC”). Johnson contended that his prior conviction for aggravated assault in...