The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has decided the case of Commonwealth v. Armolt, holding that an adult defendant may be prosecuted in adult court for a crime he committed twenty years earlier as a juvenile. This case illustrates a serious problem with the criminal justice system. Had the
Philadelphia criminal defense lawyer Thomas C. Clemens, Esquire, recently won a motion to suppress in a firearms case. In Commonwealth v. Y.P., the Philadelphia Police arrested Y.P. after finding a firearm secreted in his car. Prosecutors filed VUFA (violation of the uniform firearms act) charges such as
Philadelphia criminal defense attorney Zak T. Goldstein, Esquire, recently obtained a full acquittal for a client charged with multiple counts of indecent assault. In Commonwealth v. L.B., police arrested and charged L.B. with indecent assault as a felony of the third degree and indecent exposure for one
The Pennsylvania Superior Court has decided the case of Commonwealth v. Malone, holding that the COVID-related suspensions of Pennsylvania’s speedy trial rules are absolute no matter how little the Commonwealth did to try to move a case forward during the suspension. In Malone, the Philadelphia Court of Common
Philadelphia criminal defense attorney recently won a full acquittal for his client in a case involving firearms charges. In Commonwealth v. A. C.-O., prosecutors charged the client with various offenses under the uniform firearms act (VUFA offenses) for allegedly possessing a firearm in a vehicle without a license to carry.
The Superior Court has decided the case of Commonwealth v. Shackelford, holding that the trial court properly allowed the Commonwealth to consolidate the defendant’s possession with the intent to deliver case with his drug delivery resulting in death case. Police executed a search warrant at the defendant’s house
Philadelphia criminal defense attorney Zak T. Goldstein, Esquire recently won the suppression of an assault rifle. In the case of Commonwealth v. WM, police charged WM with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person as a felony of the first degree. Prosecutors alleged that when police
The Superior Court has decided the case of Commonwealth v. Lewis, holding that a trial court has the power to disqualify an attorney from representing a criminal defendant but only in the most extreme circumstances. The Superior Court determined that this was not such a case as the
The Superior Court has decided the case of Commonwealth v. Becher, recognizing that a trial court may grant a new trial to a defendant on its own even after a conviction. The Superior Court, however, reversed the grant of the new trial in this case because the
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has decided the case of Freeman v. Fayette, holding once again that Pennsylvania’s rules regarding the use of redacted statements by co-defendants against the defendant in a criminal case are unconstitutional. The Third Circuit’s decision is