In State v. Lora, the defendant led police on a high-speed chase after he stole a car from a dealership. The chase ended when police got in front of the fleeing car, and the defendant crashed into the police car. Defendant wanted to use the Attorney General’s Guidelines on Vehicular Pursuit of a Fleeing Suspect … Read more
If you work in criminal defense, read Commonwealth v. Weir. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that a challenge to the sentencing court’s order setting the amount of restitution implicates the court’s discretion and, therefore, must be preserved with (1) a contemporaneous objection and/or a post-trial motion and (2) process provided by 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9781(b) and Pa.R.A.P. 2119(f).
In Commonwealth v. LeClair, the Superior Court affirmed the defendant’s murder conviction but vacated the judgment of sentence because the U.S. Coast Guard does not qualify as a “victim” for purposes of restitution under the Crime Victims Act.
At trial, the defendant admitted that his dog was loose and severely injured the neighbor’s cat. The trial court found him guilty of a summary offense and ordered restitution in the amount of the cat’s vet bills. The defendant appealed and argued the trial court did not have the authority to order restitution. The Superior … Read more