Last week, the Connecticut House of Representatives voted 86-63 to repeal its state’s death penalty law. The state Senate passed the bill earlier in the week. Governor Dannel Malloy has promised to sign the bill making Connecticut the 17th state, and the 5thin the past 5 years, to repeal capital punishment. The bill is prospective […]
Drug Delivery Gun Possession Triggers Mandatory Sentence
Criminal defense work constantly presents criminal lawyers with bad facts coupled with bad law. A new case handed down by the Pennsylvania Superior Court is a prime example of this. The case is Commonwealth v. Stein, 2012 PA Super. 26 (Feb. 7, 2012). The defendant is now serving a five-year mandatory-minimum prison sentence because he […]
Superior Court of Pennsylvania Holds Probation Violation Illegal When Original Sentence Illegal
In the recent case of Commonwealth v. Milhomme, 2011 PA Super. 149 (July 21, 2011), the Superior Court of Pennsylvania held that a sentence stemming from a violation of probation was illegal where the original sentence was illegal. After checking out the ruling, you might enjoy this article about mandatory minimum sentences on firearms. Were […]
Governor Rendell Attempts a Parole Overhaul
Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell is attempting to put a plan into motion that would take away violent offenders’ ability to be paroled. Rather than sentencing pursuant to Pennsylvania’s indeterminate sentencing scheme in criminal court (that is, a maximum and minimum sentence, with the maximum at least double the minimum), Governor Rendell wants judges to sentence […]
What to Know About Pre-Arrest Silence
You have the right to remain silent at any time. In a recent opinion by the Pennsylvania Superior Court, Commonwealth v. Lettau, 2008 Pa. Super. 152 (2008), the Court held that a prosecutor’s repeated references during direct examination of an investigating officer and during cross-examination of defendant’s pre-arrest silence violates his 5th Amendment right to […]