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Philadelphia DA Krasner Calls Cop’s Arrest for Sexual Exploitation of Children ‘An Extremely Disturbing Case’

Article • October 27, 2022

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Battered Child/Spouse Evidence, Sexual Abuse/Harrassment/Exploitation, Child Pornography

Philadelphia DA Krasner Calls Cop’s Arrest for Sexual Exploitation of Children ‘An Extremely Disturbing Case’ by Kaden Gicker On Sep. 30, 2022, WCAU in Philadelphia reported that a former police officer was charged with the sexual exploitation of minors and the tampering of witnesses to it. Patrick Heron, 52, retired …

Third Circuit Announces First Step Act Applies Retroactively to Defendant Whose Pre-Act Sentence Vacated After Act’s Enactment

Article • September 15, 2022 • from CLN October, 2022

Filed under: First Step Act

Third Circuit Announces First Step Act Applies Retroactively to Defendant Whose Pre-Act Sentence Vacated After Act’s Enactment by Harold Hempstead by Harold Hempstead The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit joined the Fourth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits regarding the retroactivity of the First Step Act of 2018 (“FSA”) …

News in Brief

Article • August 15, 2022 • from CLN September, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Canada: Techdirt reported that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (“RCMP”), a division of that country’s federal law enforcement akin to the FBI, used malware to spy on people’s personal communications. The report came after the RCMP admitted to doing so in the summer of 2022. The …

Third Circuit Suppresses Evidence Found After Police Created Safety Concern to Justify Prolonging Traffic Stop

Article • July 15, 2022 • from CLN August, 2022

Filed under: Traffic Stops, Suppression

Third Circuit Suppresses Evidence Found After Police Created Safety Concern to Justify Prolonging Traffic Stop by Anthony Accurso by Anthony W. Accurso The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that prolonging a traffic stop, even for a short period of time, to ensure an officer’s safety is …

Third Circuit: District Court’s Focus on Substance of Defendant’s Meritless Arguments in Denying Request to Represent Himself Resulted in Inadequate Inquiry Prior to Denial in Violation of Sixth Amend...

Article • July 15, 2022 • from CLN August, 2022

Filed under: Self-representation

Third Circuit: District Court’s Focus on Substance of Defendant’s Meritless Arguments in Denying Request to Represent Himself Resulted in Inadequate Inquiry Prior to Denial in Violation of Sixth Amendment by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that U.S. District Court for …

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Clarifies Ex Post Facto Analysis Focuses on When, Not Where, Crime Occurred and Does Not Require Showing of Disadvantage to Defendant

Article • July 15, 2022 • from CLN August, 2022

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Clarifies Ex Post Facto Analysis Focuses on When, Not Where, Crime Occurred and Does Not Require Showing of Disadvantage to Defendant by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that the state’s sex-offender registry law constitutes punishment when imposed retroactively to sex offenders …

University of Pennsylvania-Decarceration's Inside Partners, March 2022

Publication • 2022

Filed under: Criminal Justice, Criminal History

University of Pennsylvania-Decarceration's Inside Partners, March 2022 PennLaw UNIVERSITY of PEN SYLVANIA CAREY LAW SCHOOL Public Law and Legal Theory Research Paper Series Research Paper No. 22-24 Decarceration’s Inside Partners Seema Saifee UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA CAREY LAW SCHOOL This paper can be downloaded without charge from the Social Science Research …

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Smell of Marijuana Alone No Longer Establishes Probable Cause to Conduct Warrantless Vehicle Search

Article • May 15, 2022 • from CLN June, 2022

Filed under: Vehicle Searches, Warrantless Searches, Marijuana Laws/Issues

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Smell of Marijuana Alone No Longer Establishes Probable Cause to Conduct Warrantless Vehicle Search by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that the smell of marijuana, by itself, no longer creates probable cause to justify a warrantless search of a vehicle …

Ex-Pennsylvania Police Chief Found Guilty of Raping Girl, 6, With His Friend for Years

Article • April 11, 2022

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Rape of Minor

Ex-Pennsylvania Police Chief Found Guilty of Raping Girl, 6, With His Friend for Years by Brooke Kaufman by Brooke Kaufman  Former Pennsylvania police chief Brent Getz was found guilty of raping a six-year-old girl with his friend for years, authorities said. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced the jury’s verdict …

Pennsylvania Clearing the Way for More Clemencies and Commutations in 2022

Article • April 11, 2022

Filed under: Pardons/Clemency

Pennsylvania Clearing the Way for More Clemencies and Commutations in 2022 by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott April is Second Chance Month for those whose lives have been changed by an encounter with the criminal justice system in the United States. The state of Pennsylvania, under the leadership …

Third Circuit, Joining Every Other Circuit That’s Addressed the Issue, Holds Hobbs Act Robbery Does Not Qualify as ‘Crime of Violence’

Article • March 15, 2022 • from CLN April, 2022

Filed under: Solicitation to Commit a Crime of Violence, Possession or Use of Firearms, Hobbs Act

Third Circuit, Joining Every Other Circuit That’s Addressed the Issue, Holds Hobbs Act Robbery Does Not Qualify as ‘Crime of Violence’ by David Reutter by David M. Reutter In a precedential ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that Hobbs Act robbery does not qualify as …

Police Disparage Philadelphia Citizenry with False Report That SEPTA Riders Stood Idle While Passenger was Raped

Article • March 15, 2022 • from CLN April, 2022

Filed under: Sexual Assault

Police Disparage Philadelphia Citizenry with False Report That SEPTA Riders Stood Idle While Passenger was Raped by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney During a late-night SEPTA train ride on the Market-Frankford line in October 2021, a woman was raped. In an apparent rush to disparage Philadelphia’s citizenry, Upper Darby police …

Mapp v. Westmoreland County, PA, Minutes, Breach of Confidentiality, 2022

Brief • February 17, 2022

Filed under: Breach of Contract

Mapp v. Westmoreland County, PA, Minutes, Breach of Confidentiality, 2022 February 17, 2022 Pledge of Allegiance Industrial Development Corporation Agenda General Agenda Minutes of the Regular Meeting held January 27, 2022 Correction to the Minutes of November 18, 2021, item 18(D) for Westmoreland Manor, correcting the name to Complete Healthcare …

News in Brief

Article • February 15, 2022 • from CLN March, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: On December 21, 2021, two former police officers in West Blocton, Alabama, were arrested and charged with sexual assault. According to WBRC, a news station serving Birmingham, the Tuscaloosa Police Department announced that the former officers, Craig Baird Arnold, 49, and Brian Keith Whatley, 50, …

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces New Framework for Enforcing Right to Effective Counsel in Post-Conviction Relief Act Proceeding

Article • February 15, 2022 • from CLN March, 2022

Filed under: Counsel - Effective Assistance of

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces New Framework for Enforcing Right to Effective Counsel in Post-Conviction Relief Act Proceeding by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania announced a new framework for enforcing the right to effective counsel in a 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541-9546, Post-Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”), proceeding. …

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Driver Who Leaves Scene of Accident Subject to Only One Hit-and-Run Violation, Regardless of How Many Victims

Article • January 15, 2022 • from CLN February, 2022

Filed under: Vehicle Searches

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Driver Who Leaves Scene of Accident Subject to Only One Hit-and-Run Violation, Regardless of How Many Victims by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney In a case of first impression, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that a driver who leaves the scene of an accident involving …

News in Brief

Article • January 15, 2022 • from CLN February, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arizona: The family of a homeless and mentally ill man who died after being restrained by Phoenix cops in 2017 will get $5 million from the city, after a 7-2 city council vote in favor of the payment on November 17, 2021, according to a report …

Third Circuit Rules Pennsylvania Courts’ Application of Federal Law Objectively Unreasonable, Overturns Conviction and Death Sentence, Grants Habeas Relief

Article • January 15, 2022 • from CLN February, 2022

Filed under: Death Penalty/Death Row, Counsel - Right to

Third Circuit Rules Pennsylvania Courts’ Application of Federal Law Objectively Unreasonable, Overturns Conviction and Death Sentence, Grants Habeas Relief by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the grant of habeas corpus relief to a death-sentenced defendant based on the fact the …

Wright v. Westmoreland County, PA, Minutes, Excessive Force, 2021

Brief • December 16, 2021

Filed under: Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings

Wright v. Westmoreland County, PA, Minutes, Excessive Force, 2021 December 16, 2021 Invocation Rev. Bob Ross of Heritage Baptist Church, Jeannette Pledge of Allegiance Salary Board Agenda Industrial Development Corporation Agenda General Agenda Minutes of the Regular Meeting held November 18, 2021, as presented Notice of Executive Session November 29, …

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Framework for Determining Whether State of Mind Exception to Hearsay Rule Applies to Out-of-Court Statements, Dual-Purpose Statements Generally Inadmissible

Article • December 15, 2021 • from CLN January, 2022

Filed under: Hearsay Evidence

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Framework for Determining Whether State of Mind Exception to Hearsay Rule Applies to Out-of-Court Statements, Dual-Purpose Statements Generally Inadmissible by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that a note implicating the husband of a woman who was drowned the day after …