Pennsylvania Criminal Defense Legal Questions

If you reported the crime back in March and the police elected not to charge it, then you would have to petition the District Attorneys office to file charges.  Civillians do not have the power to file charges in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, that power rests solely with the Police and District Attorneys.  Given that the financial matters have been cleared up its entirely possible that they would decline to charge as it may look like a retribution complaint.  If you feel strongly enough about it talk to the police and/or the District Attorney and see if charges can still be brought.  ... Read More

You can look up your case at the UJS portal at:  https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/CP.aspx using your name.   If your file is inactive it means that you have a warrant out for your arrest.  Your sister in law saying you stold something is not hearsay.  It is evidence.  Whether there is enough evidence to corroborate her statement is what your defense will hinge on.  Hearsay is an out of court statement offered to prove the matter asserted.  If you are relying for hearsay as your defense you are in big trouble.  Talk with a local defense attorney who will know all the players and can help you sort out of you have real defenses available to you.   ... Read More

The best way to go about one is not to get one.  If you do get one you should talk to a local attorney.  Missing one meeting isn't usually going to trigger a technical violation, usually its a pattern of behavior.  That being said missing a single meeting is a technical violation.  The APO would not threaten you with jail if this was just a single missed meeting, so I would say its imperative that you are working with an attorney and trying to get back in the good graces of your APO.  APO's are vested with a great deal of power to detain probationers and they often wield it like an axe.  ... Read More

Yes.  What other pictures they did or did not take would not affect the admissibility.  Whether they are admissible is determined by their being able to be authenticated by the photographer (usually the officer).  There is no law that requires them to take those other pictures you mentioned.  Now there may be a defense in that the pictures are unreliable, but that is not an admissibility question.  ... Read More

Yes?  There are no rules on which pictures they have to take.  More importantly there are no rules on which pictures they can try to admit as evidence.  If your argument is they didnt take enough pictures you are missing the forest for the trees.  Your defense may be that the pictures were unreliable or tampered with.  If that is your defense you need an attorney because the cross examination will be detailed and specific.  Simply asking why you didnt take these other pictures is not going to get a jury on your side.  ... Read More

The absolute best advice is the one you have already taken.  Get an attorney working on the case.  Courts have held if the officer smells marijuana it is probable cause to search the vehicle.  Your husbands protestations at the time were meaningless as if the officer has probable cause to search the courts have held no warrant is necessary.  There are a lot of very fact specific issues in a suppression case such as this.  Where were the items located?  Where was the officer when he located them?  If he smelled marijuana where was he?  Did he actually smell or could he actually smell marijuana?  These are issues that should be fleshed out by local counsel who will know more about the officer and his general practices and how the court handles these types of cases.  Apologies for not being able to give a more quieting answer but it really depends on a lot of details and minutae.  The sooner an attorney is working on your case the better. ... Read More

Once the jury was sworn in jeopardy attached to his case.   The Consitution does not permit a person to be placed in jeopardy more than once.  Since the jury came back with an acquittal his criminal matter is concluded on these facts.  You may have a civil cause of action and depending on your relationship with the party you may have an opportunity for a protection from abuse order.  However, as far as the criminal charges are concerned there is no legal way for him to be retried on this case. ... Read More

In general rule 600 provides that a person must be brought to trial within one year of being charged.  Additionally, if they are incarcerated for more than 6 months they are entitled to nominal bail.  I say in general because as with any rule there are exceptions.  The foremost of these is any continuances that are attributed to him or time that he was unavailable for trial would not be counted against these rules.  There are other exceptions that are more fact specific.  The challenge with this type of question online is there is no context from which to evaluate your claim.  As he is facing serious charges to which he may have viable defenses he hopefully has local counsel representing him.  This question is best posed to that person as they will have access to the appropriate dates and should be monitoring the Rule 600 ramifications of his pre-trial incarceration.  ... Read More

You can absolutely be charged, and realistically speaking to the police can help them charge you.  I generally recommend against speaking to the police unless you have counsel present.  Even a denial if done improperly can boost the case for the prosecution.  I am surprised the police are actually investigating something like this but they may have their reasons.  Essentially this case is going to boil down to he said you said.  It's a tough case for the prosecution under the best of circumstances be careful not to inadvertantly make it an easier case by giving them a statement that they can use against you.  Your best bet is to sit down with local counsel and go through everything.  Let them talk to the police for you or if an interview is a must let them be present with you when you make your statement.  ... Read More

You can get up to 7 years in jail for the f3 and up to five years in jail for the m1.  They are serious charges as insurance fraud is often sentenced more harshly than other crimes.  That being said the guidelines usually call for probation.  You may have defenses in your case and representing yourself, even if you believe yourself to be not guilty, can often be challenging.  Insurance fraud is a highly technical charge.  Again, based on your description of the facts you may have defenses.  Talk to local counsel, they can help you arrange to surrender on the warrant and assist you on getting bail.  Importantly, the more time they have to investigate the charges the more likely you are to have a good outcome.  ... Read More

I am not sure what rights he was supposed to be told?  Miranda is a myth propogated by TV crime shows.  The only time you have to be advised of your rights if you are being interrogated while in custody.  Most people who are arrested never hear Miranda warnings.  If he feels his civil rights were violated by the detention (and they may have been) he should contact a civil rights attorney who can do a more thorough factual intake and guide him as to what options he has.  ... Read More

Very low.  There is always a chance of jail time on a theft case depending on the particular facts.  If it was stolen from someone incredibly sympathetic, or if the laptop had state secrets it could be worse.  Sentencing is highly fact sensitive.  The guidelines call for probation.  I am surprised he wasn't offered a diversion program to keep his record clean.  ... Read More

It sounds like you are saying that your Boyfriend is under supervision by some state entity and got a DUI.  The state entity will find out and begin Violation proceedings.  The duration of these proceedings does not count against his time.  So, if it is not done by December it does not mean that he gets off, it means that he is still on probation until the matter is disposed of.  If he is found guilty there will be a direct violation and he could get additional jail time.  If he fails to report it, he could be on the hook for a technical violation, even if he is acquitted.  He needs to make sure his DUI attorney is aware of the VOP and working on that as well as usually the best outcomes in these cases involve both matters.  ... Read More

I am not sure how likely it is.  It depends on what he is out on bail for.  The harassment charge is certainly worrisome and could definitely result in a revocation.  For a traffic summary, unless he is on bail for a traffic violation, then that is not usually grounds for a revocation.  The harassment, however, is problematic.  He needs to make sure his attorney is working to get ahead of this.  Judges take any sort of violent charge by bailees very seriously.  ... Read More

Respectfully, it is against the code of professional responsibility for an attorney to comment on a question such as this when you are represented by counsel.  If your lawyer is advising you to do something and you don't agree or understand why, then you need to get he/she to explain it to you.  If you still don't agree with them, get another attorney.  Your attorney has access to your entire file including discovery and a knowledge of the court that people in this forum don't.  Asking us to second guess them is not going to help you, your making them explain is. ... Read More

Yes, they can present different evidence.  They don't have to present the same trial over and over again.  In fact, many times they don't present all of their evidence in a trial, it is up to the prosecutor to decide what evidence he needs to convict.  That being said, if that evidence was new and never turned over you have an issue.  That is to say if the evidence materialized and your attorney never had a chance to look at it or investigate it, you have an issue.  ... Read More

The allegations made against you were lies or the fact that others made allegations were lies.  It's not always good police work to tell potential witnesses what other witnesses said.  Arguably, it could lead to a tainted witness.  However, in terms of a violation of your rights?  I am not sure what you mean or if in fact you were violated.  ... Read More

These are not simple questions that you are asking, and I am sorry you are in such a dificult situation.  First, you do not have the power to reject a plea.  I think its important to understand that because the DA has to solicit your response by law but does not have to follow your wishes.  In many cases to spare a 6 year old from having to testify the DA will offer some sort of deal to end the case.  That does not mean you should not make your feelings known.   Secondly, in Juvenile cases the sentencing is very different from adult cases.  f2 vs f3 does not make that much of a difference because any conviction can put that person under supervision until they are 21.  It's kind of an interesting twist in the system.  Detention vs. Probation is up to the judge.  You can ask for it but the judge will do what they think is right based on a myriad of factors.  Finally, the judge will almost certainly order a stay away as a condition of any sentence.  These are serious questions, at some point I hope you are speaking with your victim advocate about these issues.  Most juvenile probation departments have a party assigned just to help you out.  If not you should contact the District Attorney handling the case.  If they can't help  you should contact a local attorney to make sure you and your daughters rights are being protected.  REmember the DA does not represent you, they represent the Commonwealth.  ... Read More

Maybe, a wide turn is pretty flimsy for a reason for a vehicle stop.  That does not mean that the officer can't testify that he had a reasonable suspicion of a violation of the vehicle code.  These questions are very hard to answer without a more thorough intake and review of discovery.  You have two potential points of challenge, the stop of the vehicle, and the subsequent search.  The officer must articulate probable cause to search your vehicle, which they almost always say they smell marijuana.  Its an objective standard so its tough to challenge, but it can be successful.   Your best course of action at this point is to sit down with an experienced defense attorney.  Most attorneys worth their salt routinely litigate suppression on facts such as these and would be well versed in the current state of the law.  Trying to go it alone means you won't have the benefit of that training in experience.  These are highly technical arguments that require a good understanding of the current case law.  Do yourself a favor and talk to an attorney.  ... Read More

Nolle Prossed means dismissed.  It seems like at the very least there was a clerical matter in your case.  Importantly, you cannot reopen a 17.5 year old case as the time frame for filing such challenges is usually just a year.  It does sound like you are the beneficiary of a clerical error.  I would suggest you contact a local defense attorney to look into the matter.  While you may not be able to reopen the case you may be able to apply for a pardon.  This is a lengthy process that almost always benefits from the soft touch of an experienced attorney.  ... Read More

Impossible to answer really.  I must say, none of what you are describing would be a reason most of the judges im the counties I practice in woyld continue a case for.  But, if this is the first listing, youve showed up for everything, and are likely pleading, you have a shot.  Hopefully, you have an attorney.  Especially if this is your first criminal case.  Really they would be in the beat position to answer theae types of questions.  ... Read More

The short answer is yes.  The longer answer requires much more context.  If they had reason to believe your child is under the influence they can do a beathalyzer, which is inadmissible for anything but the presence of alcohol.  There is no statutory requirement that they inform you that the test was done.  If your child has been charged with underage drinking or DUI there are a lot of facts and circumstances that could make the case triable.  If your child has been charged consult with a local attorney who can help you minimize the amount of damage such a case can do to someone's record.  ... Read More

The details on your question are a little short.  Just doing some math it appears that you have served 25.5 years of a 30 year sentence leaving you 4.5 years to serve on parole.  State parole cases are more dificult because if some of that term was served on a violation the board can take your street time away.  This has been held to be lawful on a number of occassions.  If my understanding of your facts is incorrect, forgive me, but more importantly you may want to contact a local attorney to go through all of the factors with you.  The Board is famously unlikely to shorten your sentence but you may have issues you failed to describe in your facts.  ... Read More