Pennsylvania Supreme Court
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  • Criminal, Direct Capital Review

    Com v. Smyrnes: Capital Appeal

    Written by

    Joel Ready

    on

    February 22, 2017

    The facts in this case are a repeat of those in Com v. Knight, and they are horrific enough not to bear repeating. Smyrnes appears to have been the ringleader…

  • Uncategorized

    City of Philadelphia v. Lerner—Ignoring the Government’s Requests for Information Only Works if You’re With the Government

    Written by

    Joel Ready

    on

    November 23, 2016

    Remember Lois Lerner? Remember her pleading the Fifth, and refusing to answer questions about alleged IRS wrongdoing?  In City of Phila. v. Lerner, we learn that this doesn’t work out…

  • Uncategorized

    Com v. Martinez: Plea Deals are Contracts

    Written by

    Joel Ready

    on

    September 29, 2016

    The right to trial by jury is so valuable that giving it up binds the prosecution to whatever was promised the defendant–even in the face of a subsequent statutory change.…

  • Uncategorized

    Com. v. Kindler: Escaping SCOPA Jurisdiction…For Now

    Written by

    Joel Ready

    on

    September 28, 2016

    This case is short and simple, but the backstory is fascinating. Arrested for burglary in 1982, Joseph Kindler managed to escape from jail, although he was recaptured quickly. Shortly thereafter,…

  • Rule-Making Powers

    Rule 1.17 Amended: You may sell a practice area without selling your whole practice

    Written by

    Joel Ready

    on

    September 24, 2016

    On Friday, the Court released an amendment to Rule of Professional Conduct 1.17 (Relating to Sale of Law Practice), allowing for the purchase of a practice area, rather than of…

  • Civil, Constitutional Provisions, Family Law

    D.P. v. G.J.P.: Mere separation of parents is insufficient grounds to give grandparents standing to force custody dispute

    Written by

    Joel Ready

    on

    September 10, 2016

    The fourteenth amendment’s due process clause requires “that the custody, care and nurture of the child reside first in the parents,” (quoting Prince v. Mass, 321 U.S. 158, 166 (1944)),…

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