In Commonwealth v. Diego, 2015 PA Super 143 (Pa. Super. June 23, 2015), the Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled that text messages sent by the defendant to an informant’s iPad were not intercepted under the Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act. To read a PDF of Diego, click here. If you enjoyed this post, check […]
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules That Spouse’s Testimony of Defendant’s Conduct is not Protected by the Spousal-Communication Privilege
The following story was originally published in the December 2013 edition of Upon Further Review, a publication of the Philadelphia Bar Association. Re-printed here with permission of the Philadelphia Bar Association. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules Spouse’s Testimony of Defendant’s Conduct is Not Privileged Spousal Communication Brad V. Shuttleworth, Esq. on 12/17/2013 The Pennsylvania Supreme Court […]
Commonwealth Must Prove Causation Was “Direct and Substantial”
In a new opinion in Commonwealth v. Spotti, 2013 WL 1490996, — A.3d — (April 12, 2013), the Pennsylvania Superior Court reversed defendant’s conviction for aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI because the defendant’s reckless driving was not a direct and substantial factor in victim’s injuries.The defendant in Spotti was driving under the influence of alcohol, […]
A Call for Standards in Maintaining Physical Evidence
With the advent of modern forensic technology, hundreds of innocent individuals have been exonerated and released from prison. However, good technology to test physical evidence is useless if the evidence has been destroyed, discarded or is otherwise unavailable. In New Jersey, there has been an increased interest in preserving physical evidence. To read more, click […]