News

Guilty Plea on Immigration Proceedings

Lee v. United States, No. 16-327, 2017 U.S. LEXIS 4045 (Jun. 23, 2017).   The Supreme Court recently held in the Lee v. United States, No. 16-327, 2017 U.S. LEXIS 4045 (Jun. 23, 2017) that an attorney was ineffective when he advised his client that he would not be deported after a guilty plea to...

Pennsylvania Mandatory Minimum demise

This week the Superior Court of Pennsylvania issued an opinion in Commonwealth v. Newman that 2014 Pa Super 178 that Alleyne v. U.S. renders 42 Pa.C.S.A. sec. 9712.1 unconstitutional. § 9712.1. Sentences for certain drug offenses committed with firearms. (a) Mandatory sentence.–Any person who is convicted of a violation of section 13(a)(30) of the act...

Consenting to a Blood draw

Whenever an individual allows an officer to perform a specific action such as searching one’s car or allowing him or her to draw blood to test for toxicology there are potential criminal repercussions. While many may think this is fairly obvious, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has recently has recently addressed this in Commonwealth v. Smith (decided on...

Police Officer Lacking Probable Cause for DUI Stop

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, Appellee v. DICK H. McCANDLESS, Appellant Appellant was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and driving in excess of speed limits. Appellant sought suppression of the results of a blood alcohol test and various statements that he gave. The trial court granted the suppression on the basis that the officer’s...