This appeal asked whether a minor’s Fifth Amendment privilege against compulsory self-incrimination was violated when a juvenile court granted the Commonwealth’s request to have a delinquency matter transferred to an adult court for criminal prosecution, based in part upon the minor’s decision not to admit culpability to the delinquent acts alleged. The Court held that … Read more
A police officer was terminated for unauthorized use of a law enforcement database. He sought his position back, and pursuant to Act 111 — the Police and Firemen Collective Bargaining Act — he and his employer engaged in arbitration. The arbitrator awarded the officer his position back, finding that the officer was treated disparately. The … Read more
A civil servant who worked for PennDOT posted to her Facebook account a rant about the poor performance of school bus drivers and her seemingly cavalier attitude toward running over small children. As a result, she was fired. She sued to get her job back. The Supreme Court noted that the government has a heightened … Read more
In this discretionary appeal, the Court considered whether the trial court erred by vacating, pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 5505 (“Modification of orders”), a prior order granting a petition for early termination of a sentence of intermediate punishment based on the court’s discovery that the defendant committed a new offense shortly after the early termination … Read more
In a capital homicide case, the prosecutor and testifying offers made a series of unintentional, but very serious errors. On collateral attack of the convictions, the defendant won a new trial, but sought to preclude another trial under the Pennsylvania Constitutions Double Jeopardy clause found in Article 1, Section 10. The Supreme Court held that … Read more
Coleman filed a PCRA petition alleging trial counsel’s ineffectiveness for failing to object at two different times during Coleman’s murder trial. The PCRA court and Superior Court found that Coleman’s issues were not meritorious. The Supreme Court of PA disagreed, reversed, and remanded to the Superior Court. The Supreme Court ruled that counsel was ineffective … Read more
Ladd, who was in her sixties, lived in MJ and managed the rental of two properties she owned, as well as the rental of some of her neighbors’ properties, in the Poconos. In January 2017, the Commonwealth’s Bureau of Occupational and Professional Affairs (the Bureau), charged with overseeing the Commission’s enforcement of the Real Estate Licensing … Read more
This case presents plenty of intrigue for appellate law experts. A special panel of judges was convened pursuant to the Rules of Judicial Administration to deal with an appeal from a PCRA petitioner. During the PCRA petitioner’s appeal from the denial of his first PCRA petition, Justice Eakin joined in the majority to deny relief. … Read more