My lawyer and I have been discussing my prior record because I have new charges and I am debating whether I should testify in my new case. She told me my prior record may come into evidence if I testify, but it will not come in…

What is the standard at a preliminary hearing in Pennsylvania. My case is not in Philadelphia County, but one of the surrounding counties. I have a copy of the affidavit of probable cause, and the story is ridiculous. What is the preliminary hearing standard to make it…

Do we use grand juries in Pennsylvania? We do. However, usually we don’t. Almost all the time in Pennsylvania, the police make an arrest on the scene, or a detective gets an arrest warrant based on information from a complainant or information from a police investigation….

My lawyer tells me that the closing argument is one of the most important parts of a jury trial. Why is that? The closing argument, also called the summation, is very important because it lets your lawyer put the case together to the jury from the…

A Monell Claim gives you a cause of action against the government for failure to train and supervise. These are very hard to win. In our experience, when we have a valid Monell Claim, the defendants fold almost immediately and offer to settle. A great example of a…

When there is a taser malfunction, what happens and what are different types of taser malfunctions? A taser malfunction can happen in two ways: First, the taser can fail to charge, so the officer believes that he is about to taser someone, but when they fire…

What do I have to show to be successful in Malicious Prosecution in 42 USC 1983 Cases? In these cases, the following elements must all be proved by the Plaintiff: Prosecution for a criminal offense Instigated without probable cause With malice Under a valid warrant, accusation,…