In Doe v. Governor of Pa., two John Does wanted to buy guns. They were thwarted, though, because both had been involuntarily committed under Section 302 of Pennsylvania’s Mental Health Procedures Act. As a result of their commitments, Section 6105 of the PA Uniform Firearms Act prohibited them from possessing a firearm. The two Does … Read more
In Mirambeaux v. Att’y Gen., the Board of Immigration of Appeals ruled that the petitioner was convicted of an aggravated felony and thus ineligible for withholding of removal. The petitioner claimed a violation of his Due Process rights when the Immigration Judge denied a request for a continuance. The 3rd Circuit held that the claim … Read more
In Johnson v. Wetzel, the PA Supreme Court ruled that its holding in Bundy v. Wetzel, applies to inmates whose prison inmate accounts were subject to Act 84 deductions without the benefit of the safeguards enunciated in Bundy. Thus, due process required that the Department of Corrections, in response to an administrative grievance which accurately recites that … Read more
In Porter v. Pa. Dep’t of Corr., the 3rd Circuit ruled that its 2017 decision in Williams v. Sec’y Pa. Dep’t of Corr. applied to a plaintiff in a Section 1983 action where that plaintiff’s death sentence had been vacated, but the vacatur order was currently stayed pursuant to local district court rules. The Court … Read more
In Commonwealth v. Bagnall, the PA Supreme Court vacated the defendant’s murder conviction, ruling that his due process rights were violated when the prosecution failed to disclose a cooperation agreement between the DA’s Office, which, due to a conflict of interest recused itself, and a key witness. The Court imputed the Office of Attorney General, … Read more
This appeal involved an investigation into a claim that a mother, S.C., abused her seven-year-old son. The Department of Children and Families (Department) concluded, after its investigation, that the claim of abuse was “not established.” Because the abuse allegation was deemed “not established” rather than “unfounded,” it was not eligible to be expunged. S.C. appealed … Read more
In Commonwealth v. Hoover, the PA Supreme 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 … Read more