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Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces New Rule to Allow IAC Claims for Fine-Only Sentences
by Dale Chappell
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania announced a new rule allowing post-sentencing motions raising ineffective assistance of counsel (“IAC”) claims where only a fine but no prison or probationary time is imposed.
After being convicted by a jury and sentenced to pay restitution and a …
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More from this issue:
- Courts Have Made Social Media a Landmine for Defendants. Could It Change Soon?, by Steve Horn
- $600,000 Awarded Missouri Man in Legal Malpractice Verdict After 17 Years in Prison
- Denver Under Fire For Law That Critics Describe as Legalized ‘Car Stealing’, by Derek Gilna
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Search Warrant Required for Nonconsensual Entry into Any Residence to Carry Out Arrest Warrant, by Richard Resch
- Mississippi Supreme Court Clarifies that Appellate Courts Never Serve as ‘13th Juror’ for Motion for New Trial, by David Reutter
- New Mexico Supreme Court: Seriousness of Charged Crime Itself Not Sufficient to Deny Defendant Pretrial Release, by Dale Chappell
- #Policetoo: 35 States Allow ‘Consensual’ Sex Between Police and Detainees, by Christopher Zoukis
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Announces ‘Finality’ Under Sentence Enhancement Provision for Out-of-State Convictions Governed by Texas Law, by Dale Chappell
- Durham, North Carolina, Opts Out of Military-Style Training for Police, by Christopher Zoukis
- Seventh Circuit Affirms Suppression of Evidence Because Traffic Stop Unreasonably Prolonged, by Christopher Zoukis
- Montana Supreme Court Holds Failure to Instruct Jury on State’s Burden of Proof is Plain Error, by Dale Chappell
- Utah Supreme Court: Procedural Due Process Violated Where Failure to Participate in Sex Offender Treatment Program Used to Deny Parole to Prisoner Not Convicted of Sex Offense, by David Reutter
- Eleventh Circuit Holds Florida Drug Trafficking Statute Indivisible and Overbroad for Removal Under Immigration and Nationality Act, by Dale Chappell
- Biased Facial Recognition Systems Are Coming to a Law Enforcement Agency Near You, by Christopher Zoukis
- Washington Supreme Court: Nexus Between Property Searched and Probation Violation Required for Warrantless Search of Probationer’s Property, by Dale Chappell
- Missouri High Court Holds Checkbox-Style Search Warrant Constitutes an Unconstitutional General Warrant, by Dale Chappell
- $1 Million Paid by NYC to Settle False Arrest Claim
- Government Eyes Are Watching You: We Are All Prisoners of the Surveillance State, by John W. Whitehead
- Kansas Supreme Court: Judge’s ‘Thwarting’ of Defendant’s Right to Self-Representation was Structural Error Requiring Reversal of Convictions, by Dale Chappell
- New Jersey Supreme Court: Substantive Error to Amend Indictment to Change Degree of Felony on Eve of Trial, by Matthew Clarke
- Seattle to Toss Old Pot Convictions
- Missouri Supreme Court Clarifies No Resisting Arrest Charge Once Arrest is Completed, by Dale Chappell
- Fifth Circuit Grants § 2255 Petition Challenging Failure to Register Conviction for Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, by Christopher Zoukis
- FBI Data Reveal ‘War on Cops’ is Nonexistent, by Dale Chappell
- South Carolina Supreme Court Clarifies When Court Can Deny Right to Self-Representation; Orders New Trial, by Dale Chappell
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Vacates Intellectually Disabled Prisoner’s Death Sentence, by Christopher Zoukis
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces New Rule to Allow IAC Claims for Fine-Only Sentences, by Dale Chappell
- Ninth Circuit: Younger Abstention Not Appropriate in Habeas Case Challenging Lack of Constitutionally Sufficient Bail Hearing, by Christopher Zoukis
- Delaware Supreme Court Reverses Criminally Negligent Homicide Because Conduct was ‘Too Remote’ from Cause of Death, by Dale Chappell
- Is FBI Using Classified Tools for Everyday Investigations?, by Christopher Zoukis
- Legally Thrown in Jail for Wanting to File a Complaint Against Police
- District Court Grants Bail in a Drug Case Over Government’s Typical Assertion That ‘No Condition or Combination of Conditions Would Reasonably Assure the Defendant’s Presence at Trial’
- Powerful District Attorney Lobbies Improperly Influence Law Making, by Matthew Clarke
- NYPD Hands Out Business Cards So Suspects Can Rate Their Encounter with Cops
- State Attorney in Vermont Won’t Prosecute Misdemeanor Opioid Treatment Drug Cases, by Betty Nelander
- News in Brief
- Ninth Circuit Rules Weekends in Jail Count as Time ‘In Prison’, by Dale Chappell
- The Long, Dark History of Law Enforcement’s Warrantless Bus Searches, by Steve Horn
- Louisiana Supreme Court: Jury May Not Speculate on Guilt When Evidence Is Lacking, by Dale Chappell
- Risk Assessment Software: Biased and No Better Than Human Behavior Prediction, by Christopher Zoukis
- Daily Caller Investigation Lays Opiate Crisis at Feet of DEA, by Derek Gilna
- SCOTUS: Warrantless Invasion of Curtilage to Conduct Search Unconstitutional, by Richard Resch
- Dial T for Tyranny: While America Feuds, the Police State Shifts Into High Gear, by John W. Whitehead
- Non-Unanimous Jury Verdicts Give Prosecutors ‘Awesome Power’ and Have Racist Roots, by Dale Chappell
More from Dale Chappell:
- Arguing Successful Federal Habeas Corpus Claims, June 1, 2025
- How to Take Your Postconviction Case Directly to the U.S. Supreme Court: A Roadmap to Direct Collateral Review, March 15, 2025
- Federal Habeas Corpus for State Prisoners: Proving Unreasonableness Under AEDPA, Feb. 1, 2025
- Federal Court Rules Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Laws Violate Constitution, Dec. 1, 2024
- Refuting the Government’s Argument Against Nonretroactive Changes in Law as Grounds for Compassionate Release, Oct. 1, 2024
- Federal Habeas Corpus: Getting Around Procedural Default, July 15, 2024
- The Death of the Savings Clause, May 15, 2024
- Federal Habeas Corpus: Understanding Second or Successive Petitions for State Prisoners, April 15, 2024
- Fourth Circuit Reinstates Relief From Death Penalty, Citing State’s Forfeiture of Argument Against Relief, May 15, 2023
- Federal Habeas Corpus: The Evidentiary Hearing for Federal Prisoners, April 15, 2023
More from these topics:
- Ex-Wife of Minnesota DOC Commissioner Sentenced for Poisoning Attempt on Son, Dec. 1, 2025. Out of State Transfers, Sentencing, Conspiracies, Attempts, Solicitations, Confessions and Statements of Defendant, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
- DOJ Finds Unconstitutional Conditions in Texas Juvenile Detention, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Sentencing, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Protect (Juveniles), Juvenile Prisons.
- New York City Loses Bid to Withhold Jail Records, July 15, 2025. Attorneys, Public Records Act.
- Georgia Moves to Shield Intellectually Disabled Prisoners from Execution, June 1, 2025. Sentencing, Death Penalty.
- Fourth Circuit: District Court Failed to Provide Sufficient Explanation for Sentence Imposed and Did Not Address Defendant’s Arguments for Downward Variant Sentence, May 15, 2025. Sentencing, Drug Laws/Offenses.
- Fourth Circuit: Procedurally Unreasonable Sentence Where District Court Failed to Address Defendant’s Non-Frivolous Downward Variance Argument Based on Sentencing Disparity Due to Which State’s Statute Prior Conviction Based Upon, May 15, 2025. Sentencing, Failure To Consider Disparity, Federal-State Differences/Disparity/Conflicts, Disparity in Charging/Sentencing Practices.
- SCOTUS Announces Only ‘False’ Statements Made to FDIC Are Criminalized Under 18 U.S.C. § 1014, Not Statements That Are ‘Misleading’ but True, May 15, 2025. Sentencing, False Statements/Perjury.
- Tennessee Attorney Sues Federal Court Over Gag Order in CoreCivic Suit, Dec. 15, 2024. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Attorneys, Gag Order.
- Bruce Johnson 1950–2024, Sept. 15, 2024. Editorials, Criminal justice system reform, Attorneys.
- Wisconsin Supreme Court: Jail Time Must Be Credited When Charge Causing Jailing Read in At Sentencing, Jan. 1, 2024. Sentencing, Good Time, Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of, Credits.





