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...
You Have A Right To Remain Silent. Before You Decide To Talk, Call Mike Winters.
Firm News
Hey … mind if we look at your phone?
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...
PROBABLE CAUSE TO BELIEVE DEFENDANT WAS INVOLVED IN DRUG SALES DOES NOT ALWAYS EQUATE TO PROBABLE CAUSE TO SEARCH DEFENDANT’S HOME
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),...
MOTION TO SUPPRESS EVIDENCE MAY BE BROUGHT IN A RETURN OF PROPERTY ACTION
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...
LEWD TEXT MESSAGES BETWEEN CONSENTING ADULTS DO NOT MEET DEFINITION OF OBSCENITY
Andrew Thomas Alexander was found guilty after a non-jury trial of one count of obscenity based on sexually explicit text messages he sent to an unidentified recipient. The trial court “struggled” with the obscenity charge and acknowledged that the definition of...
The space protected by the Fourth Amendment ends at the threshold of the door.
Aaron Charles Martin was convicted after a stipulated bench trial of carrying a firearm without a license. Prior to the bench trial, he had filed a Motion to Suppress the seized firearm based on the fact that it was only seized after police made an unconstitutional...
MASKING and SOCIAL DISTANCING DID NOT COMPROMISE JURY SELECTIONS PROCESS
The PA Superior Court recently held that masking and social distancing of prospective jurors during the jury selection process does not interfere with the sole purpose of voir dire: The empaneling of a competent, fair, impartial, and unprejudiced jury capable of...
DRIVER’S NERVOUS BEHAVIOR ALONE DURING A TRAFFIC STOP DOES NOT JUSTIFY FURTHER INVESTIGATION
The PA Superior Court has recently ruled that a driver’s nervous behavior alone does not provide a sufficient basis to warrant police to ask him to step out of the vehicle for an investigatory detention. Andrew Jordan Mattis was convicted for possession of marijuana...
Was that a deliberate refusal? (Or do you deserve a second chance?)
Today, the PA Commonwealth Court reversed the trial court’s decision to deny licensee’s appeal of a refusal-based license suspension adding that under the circumstances, the licensee “should have been given another opportunity to complete the test.” In the case at...
MOVING A VEHICLE OUT OF THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC TO PARK DOES NOT REQUIRE USING A TURN SIGNAL
Tillery and a passenger were stopped by police because Tillery “pulled [his] car into the parking spot right in front of Cousin’s Supermarket without using a turn signal.” During the traffic stop, Tillery was asked to get out of the car. He ultimately complied and the...