Firm News

The PA Superior Court has recently held that “marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance under current Pennsylvania law and, therefore, the Commonwealth is not required to prove that the marijuana in an individual’s bloodstream is non-medical marijuana for...

The PA Supreme Court has held that although the prosecutor acted with discriminatory intent to peremptorily strike an African American juror, such conduct did not amount to intentional or reckless misconduct sufficient to invoke the double jeopardy protections of...

The PA Superior Court recently held that the parent of an adult child who lives in a separate residence did not have apparent authority to consent and allow police to make a warrantless entry into the child's home.   Troy David Lehnherd was driving his truck and...

John Aumick filed an appeal from the trial court’s collateral civil finding designating him a sexually violent predator (SVP) under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), thereby making him subject to lifetime registration requirements.  ...

Today, the Superior Court vacated Appellant’s Judgment of Sentence and remanded his case for a new trial after holding that it was ineffective assistance of counsel for trial counsel to advise Appellant against testifying based solely out of concern that Appellant’s...

The PA Commonwealth Court recently held that the possession of a medical marijuana card does not permit a driver to refuse to submit to a blood test requested by a police officer who has reasonable grounds to believe that the driver was driving under the influence of...

IS THE MERE ENCOUNTER A MERE FICTION? To any lawyer practicing criminal law in the Commonwealth of PA, it should not be news that courts are often asked to analyze interactions between law enforcement officers and citizens to determine whether the interaction resulted...

The PA Superior Court en banc has recently affirmed the trial court’s suppression of cell phone data obtained by police, finding that Defendant’s “consent” to a phone data dump was not knowing and voluntary.   Noting that this issue raised “an important question...

The PA Superior Court recently affirmed a suppression court’s finding that probable cause to believe that a man has committed a crime on the street does not necessarily give rise to probable cause to search his home.   In this appeal (filed by the Commonwealth),...

The PA Commonwealth Court has recently held that a motion to suppress evidence may be brought in a Rule 588 return of property action, regardless of whether the Commonwealth has filed criminal charges or a forfeiture action. On January 23, 2020, a Pennsylvania State...