Category Archives: Criminal Defense
PA Crimes That Can Lead to Suspension of Privileges
In many cases, a first-time offender can expect to receive a fairly lenient sentence for a misdemeanor conviction — often little more than a fine or probation. However, the conviction may lead to unanticipated consequences. Certain crimes can result in the suspension of various privileges granted under the laws of Pennsylvania, including your license to […]
Seeking a Pardon in Pennsylvania
A serious criminal conviction can follow you for the rest of your life. Moreover, expungement for adult convictions in Pennsylvania is generally limited to summary convictions. As a result, most people have few options for removing a blemish from their records. If you are committed to removing a conviction from your record that does not […]
Sentencing and State Parole Violations
Many people misunderstand how criminal sentences work. As a result, defendants often struggle during plea bargain negotiations to realize what a particular sentencing range actually means in terms of time in prison. Typically, Pennsylvania state court prison sentences are handed down in terms of a range. Whether you serve the top end, bottom end or […]
Employment Opportunities for People with Criminal Histories
The American criminal justice system has often been criticized as little more than a revolving door through which disadvantaged people spend the bulk of their lives in prison with brief interludes of freedom interspersed. Unfortunately, such a view is not completely unjustified. Even ex-convicts with an earnest desire to turn their lives around after release […]
PA Supreme Court Redefines Vehicle Search Exception
The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects people from being subjected to unreasonable searches of their persons and possessions unless police first obtain a warrant. However, federal court precedent has long recognized an exception for vehicles and has permitted warrantless searches as long as they were supported by probable cause. The Pennsylvania Constitution provided […]
White Collar Crime in Schools
When most people think of white collar crime, they imagine corporate boardrooms and national corporations. However, white collar crime can occur in the public sector as well — even the school system. While it may be difficult to imagine what type of white collar corruption could involve school administrators and teachers, recent news in the […]
Expunging Your Juvenile Record in PA
Many people believe incorrectly that juvenile arrest and delinquency records are sealed either at a certain time after the resolution of the case or when the juvenile reaches the age of 18. In fact, while juvenile records may not be as publically available as adult records, they can be accessed by certain parties and remain […]
U.S. Supreme Court Considers Cell Phone Searches
It is difficult to imagine a more concentrated store of information than a modern cell phone. It seems doubtful that the framers of the Constitution — or even the justices of the Supreme Court several decades ago — could have imagined that a warehouse full of personal information could be stored on a device smaller […]
Record Number of Wrongful Convictions Overturned
The bedrock of the U.S. judicial system is the presumption of innocence. Still, there is a pervasive belief that anyone who is arrested must be guilty of something. Some people even implicate themselves by falsely confessing to a crime they did not commit. A recent report on exonerations — the dismissal of criminal charges — […]
