Category Archives: Criminal Defense
What Happens If You Do Not Come Back To Court After Being Released On Bail?
If you get arrested and then released, you have avoided the worst-case scenario, namely being held in jail until your plea hearing or trial. The best-case scenario is that, after arresting you, the police realize that they have no grounds on which to charge you with a crime, so they simply let you go,… Read More »
Sellersville Couple Charged With Endangering The Welfare Of Children
Free range parenting has its outspoken partisans, but how little supervision can you provide for children before you get into trouble with the law? Pennsylvania does not have specific rules about the age at which children can stay home alone or the length of time they can stay at home without an adult. Likewise,… Read More »
Philadelphia Parents Face Child Endangerment Charges After Leaving Young Children Unsupervised
Young children often imagine that staying home alone will be fun and exciting; movies like Home Alone and books like The Cat in the Hat certainly make it look that way. When kids ask if they can stay home alone, though, parents explain that it is not as much fun as the kids think… Read More »
Parole Officer’s Visit Leads To Arrest Of Two Housemates On Two Different Charges
Being out of prison on parole is a big improvement over being behind bars, and we Pennsylvanians should count our blessings; 16 states do not even have parole. When you are on parole, however, you are under at least as much scrutiny as people who are on probation. Not only can the judge tell… Read More »
Is It Worthwhile To Post Bail?
It is a commonly held misconception that you are only allowed to make one phone call from jail. In fact, in an environment where everything you say can and will be used against you, it is to prosecutors’ advantage if you make multiple phone calls and go into details about the events and emotions… Read More »
An End To Sentencing Disparities Between Crack Cocaine And Powder Cocaine?
In the 1980s, politicians and the media aimed to make people afraid of crack cocaine, and they succeeded. Elementary school students in the 80s received lessons in health class about the dangers of drugs. Some of the drugs seemed perfectly harmless; most kids had seen their neighbors, if not their own parents, drinking alcohol… Read More »
New Efforts In Pennsylvania To Exonerate Wrongfully Convicted Defendants
The “no double jeopardy” clause in the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution means that, once you are acquitted of a crime, the state or the federal government can never prosecute you for it again. If you plead guilty, you can appeal your conviction but not your sentence. If you plead innocent and then are… Read More »
Washington Township Man Faces Felony Charges For Witness Intimidation
In some news stories about pending criminal cases, you hear that the defendant is in jail until the trial, but in other cases, you hear that the witness is out on bail. Letting defendants in criminal cases remain free until they are convicted at trial or plead guilty is in line with the legal… Read More »
Voting Rights In Pennsylvania After A Criminal Conviction
Loss of voting rights is one of the consequences of a felony conviction, but each state has its own laws about the procedure for restoration of voting rights for people convicted of felonies after they have completed their sentences. Pennsylvania puts up fewer obstacles than some other states with regard to restoring citizens’ right… Read More »
Two Western Pennsylvania Defendants Plead Guilty To Receiving COVID Relief Benefits For Which They Were Ineligible
Receiving unemployment benefits is just one of the ways that it is expensive to be poor. If your income from work increases by a few cents, you could risk losing hundreds of dollars in benefits, putting you in an even worse financial situation than you were in before you got the pay raise. Then… Read More »
