Read Our Blog
It seems like all the news talks about lately in the United States is cops shooting unarmed black men who did not actually present a threat to the police or the community. The Washington Post reports that 990 people were shot and killed by law enforcement officers…
If you are convicted of a crime – whether due to a guilty plea or a jury verdict – the next step in your case will be sentencing. During sentencing, the judge decides what penalties you will face for your specific criminal offense as allowed by…
In order to convict you of any criminal offense, a prosecutor must prove all of the elements of that crime as set out in Pennsylvania criminal law. For example, if you are charged with possession of marijuana, the prosecutor would have to prove not only that…
Yesterday, Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathy Kane was found guilty of two counts of perjury and multiple misdemeanors. Today, the question is, what will be Kathy Kane’s sentence? Pennsylvania Sentencing Guidelines The Pennsylvania sentencing guidelines layout a matrix to be applied to every defendant. However, the guidelines are not mandatory and…
Summary Expungements Pennsylvania allows Summary Expungements under 18 Pa.C.S. §9122(b)(3) if you have been arrest free for five years at the time you file the expungement. The specific language is: (3)(i) An individual who is the subject of the information petitions the court for the expungement of…
As if the federal sentencing guidelines aren’t harsh enough, the guidelines occasionally contain a “cross reference” or a “special instruction”. At sentencing in federal court, Cross References & Special Instructions create a situation where the guidelines are increased to suggest to the court the defendant should get…
You may hear or read news reports of individuals being accused of “fraud.” Fraud can refer to many acts, all of which involve the element of deceit or dishonesty with the intent for wrongful personal gain, usually financial gain. In some cases, fraud allegations may be…
In Birchfield v. North Dakota, 579 US _ (2016), the Supreme Court of the United States changed the Driving Under the Influence laws throughout the United States. More specifically, in Pennsylvania, the holding in Birchfield calls for sweeping changes to our DUI laws. Philadelphia criminal defense…
If you are a driver and have casually read or discuss drunk driving in the United States, chances are that you have heard of the Standardized Field Sobriety Test, 1 or SFST. This National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)-approved test was designed to help law enforcement…
All of us make mistakes at one point or another. If you are one of the lucky ones, your mistakes do not result in the creation of a record that can follow you around and create problems for years. Unfortunately, not all of us are so…
