Category Archives: Criminal Defense
Contributing To The Delinquency Of Minors
When determining the consequences of illegal actions by minors, the law considers whether the negligence, or even the intentional actions, of adults may have enabled or even caused the minors to break the law. Consider that, no matter your age, duress is a valid defense if someone coerced you into an illegal activity such… Read More »
How Much Information Can The Police Require You To Give Them When They Stop You?
It is obvious to anyone who has ever seen a movie or taken a civics class that you have the right to remain silent if police arrest you. What about if, as far as you know, you are not doing anything wrong, but an officer comes up to you and asks you for your… Read More »
Extradition And Interstate Rendition
Some criminal cases that stay in the news headlines for weeks or months at a time involve extradition. A defendant might be wanted for a crime in one country but be staying in another to avoid the criminal case, and it might take a while for the two countries to reach an agreement about… Read More »
Can The Scientific Method Make Or Break Your Criminal Case?
When you are a child, science experiments seem like just another game. The experiments in elementary school where you mix substances together and observe the appearance and physical properties of the results are the most fun parts of science class, certainly more fun than the classroom activities where the only materials are pencil and… Read More »
Tampering With Consumer Products
Legal protections for consumers include laws against dangerous consumer products. When a product causes harm because of a flaw in its design or a mistake at the factory that produced it, customers have the right to seek damages through product liability lawsuits. Each year, product manufacturers issue recalls for many products when they become… Read More »
If You Go To Mental Health Court, Be Careful What You Wish For
Being found not guilty by reason of insanity has always been cold comfort, in the rare instances in which courts have issued this verdict. Undergoing inpatient treatment for mental illness is not a pleasant experience, even if the event that precipitates your admission to the psychiatric hospital is only a doctor’s appointment where your… Read More »
Nolle Prosequi And Pennsylvania Criminal Cases
You have probably heard the depressing statistic that many more criminal cases end with guilty pleas than with acquittals, but these are not the only ways that your case can go. Prosecutors have the right to cancel the criminal proceedings at any time between the arrest and the trial, for any reason they choose. … Read More »
Keyword Search Warrants Are As Kafkaesque As They Sound
Children learn early that they should not accept candy from strangers, but it takes people longer to learn not to accept cookies on websites they visit. More recently, Internet users have become more cautious about privacy, and with good reason. Even with privacy settings, web browsers still store more data than consumers are comfortable… Read More »
Judge Sentences Probationer To Prison For Theft And Home Contractor Fraud
Part of being an adult is realizing that you are not perfect. Sure, there are plenty of social media influencers who tell you that they start every morning with a homemade smoothie made of organic fruits, almond milk, and protein powder. You used to do that, but now you are too broke to replenish… Read More »
Bench Trials In Pennsylvania Criminal Cases
Criminal defense lawyers often try to reassure defendants during their initial meetings that prosecutors face a difficult task. The jury cannot convict the defendant unless all 12 jurors are completely sure that the defendant is guilty. Therefore, your defense strategy can be anything that would cause the jurors to doubt your guilt. In some… Read More »
