Pennsylvania drug trafficking penalties depend on the type, amount sold, prior convictions, and other factors. Maximum penalties could involve up to thirty years in prison, $500,000 in fines, lost driving privileges, and probation. In this post, a Philadelphia drug trafficking defense lawyer at Shuttleworth Law P.C. explains possible sentences and penalties and what you might […]
PA Sup. Ct. Addresses Drug Dealing with a Firearm Sentences
The case is Commonwealth v. Hanson, _ A.3d _ (2013), 2013 WL 6831854 (Pa. Supreme Ct., Dec. 27, 2013). The opinion is written by Justice Saylor. And, the application of a gun plus drug dealing mandatory minimum is overruled, because a defendant must be in knowing, physical possession or control, which is constructive control, an […]
Philadelphia Criminal Lawyer Update: Pennsylvania Superior Court Weighs In on GPS Tracking Devices Under the Wiretap Act in Two Recent Cases
The Pennsylvania Superior Court rules that defendants must have a reasonable expectation of privacy to enjoy the evidentiary exclusionary rule provided in the Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act (“WESCA”) and that authorization orders issued pursuant to WESCA serve as the functional equivalent of traditional search warrants. In two recent opinions on the Pennsylvania Wiretapping […]
Drug Offense Committed with Firearm Sentences Affirmed
In Commonwealth v. Hawkins, _ A.3d _ (2012), 2012 Pa. Super. 85 (Apr. 12, 2012), the Superior Court of Pennsylvania affirmed a mandatory-minimum sentence of five years imprisonment for certain drug offenses committed with a firearm under 42 Pa.C.S. Sec. 9712.1. Hawkins’ criminal lawyer argued in this case that the sentencing court should had not […]