The Pennsylvania Superior Court handed down a new case this month about warrantless searches of automobiles in In re O.J., 2008 Pa. Super. 234 (Oct. 1, 2008) (No, this case is not about O.J. Simpson, but it sure would be more fun if it were. It’s a juvenile case, so the minor’s name is protected […]
Safe Surrender Begins in Philadelphia Today
Fugitive Safe Surrender began this morning at the True Gospel Tabernacle Church at 16th & Mifflin Streets. The program is set to run from Wednesday, September 17, 2008 to Sunday, September 20, 2008. Individuals with arrest and bench warrants can turn themselves in from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. on those days. The program is […]
Court Finds Exceptions to Search Warrants
Under Pennsylvania jurisprudence, the searches and seizures clause of Article 1, Section 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution requires a search warrant for the search and seizure of an automobile unless the police have probable cause and exigent circumstances. In Commonwealth v. Copeland, 2008 Pa. Super. 180 (2008), decided this month, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania […]
Commonwealth v. Wallace, 2008: Anticipatory Search Warrants
A new case has come down from the Pennsylvania Superior Court, reversing a trial courts suppression of evidence obtained by an anticipatory search warrant. The decision, Commonwealth v. Wallace, 2008 Pa. Super. 144 (Pa. Super. 2008), finds that a warrant issued pursuant to Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 203 (F) was sufficient where the affiant […]