Blog | Shuttleworth Law | Criminal Defense & Personal Injury Law

Criminal Lawyer Update: Superior Court Upholds District Attorney’s Discretion to Withdraw Criminal Charges from Private Criminal Complaint

Published on May 5, 2008

On April 23, 2008, the Pennsylvania Superior Court issued a decision in Commonwealth v. Michaliga, 2008 Pa. Super 78 (2008), which reaffirms that the District Attorney’s Office’s has the sound discretion to approve or disapprove criminal charges commenced by private criminal complaint. What is interesting about this case, is that the District Attorney (“DA”) of […]

Phil. Prison Overcrowding Leads to Another Lawsuit

Published on Apr 30, 2008

Another lawsuit has been filed against the Philadelphia Prison System for its failure to get its act together and fix deplorable conditions. As reported on philly.com yesterday, the suit was filed in federal court on Monday on behalf of 11 inmates, and the attorneys are seeking to certify the lawsuit as a class action on […]

U.S. Supreme Court Holds that Search Incident to Arrest Not Unreasonable Under the Fourth Amendment Just Because Arrest Violates State Law

Published on Apr 25, 2008

On Wednesday, April 23, 2008, the United States Supreme Court in Virginia v. Moore (06-1082) unanimously reversed the Supreme Court of Virginia, which held that the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures warranted suppression of evidence seized as the result of a search incident to arrest where the police officer did not have […]

Judge Issues TRO, Enjoining Enforcement

Published on Apr 17, 2008

No sooner do I make a post about Lynne Abraham, Esq.’s view on Philadelphia’s newly enacted gun laws do I learn that the Hon. Jane Cutler Greenspan issued a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) to block enforcement in National Rifle Association, et al. v. City of Philadelphia, et al. A TRO is issued pending a permanent […]

Phil. DA Abraham at Odds with New Gun Laws

Published on Apr 17, 2008

Philadelphia enacted five new gun laws last week, which require owners of firearms to report lost or stolen firearms, ban assault weapons, restrict purchases to one per month, permits petitions to search premises for seizure of weapons and prohibits those subject to certain restraining orders to possess or receive a firearm during the term of […]