Category: Constitutional Provisions
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League of Women Voters v. Commonwealth: The “Free and Equal Elections” Clause Prohibits Gerrymandering
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EDIT: The map has been released as promised by the Court, along with a brief opinion on February 19, re-outlining the views of the Court. We have included it here…
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League of Women Voters v. Com: Congressional Map Violates PA Constitution
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The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania decided today in a 4-3 per curiam decision that the congressional map drawn by the General Assembly is too partisan, and must be stricken because…
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Scarnati v. Wolf: Press Releases aren’t “Proclamations”
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In Scarnati v. Wolf, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania rules 6-1 that a press release does not satisfy the Pennsylvania Constitution’s requirement of veto by proclamation under Article IV, Section…
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In re Roca, In re Segal: No, we can’t just ignore the Constitution
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The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is, perhaps, the most powerful state Supreme Court within its own jurisdiction. Given comprehensive power over all attorney discipline matters by the state Constitution, our…
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Nextel v. Commonwealth: Uniformity Clause Bars Flat Cap for Taxes, but Statute is Severable
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When paying corporate income tax in Pennsylvania, a corporation is permitted to carry over a net loss from the previous year to reduce the current tax year’s taxable income. However,…
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Com v. Shabezz: Automatic standing in Pennsylvania to challenge unconstitutional searches
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Saleem Shabezz was observed by a policeman in a McDonald’s Parking Lot—a “hot zone,” known for drug deals by the police in Philadelphia (always a great place to find hot ‘zones).…
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Villani v. Seibert: Dragonetti Statute Does Not Violate Separation of Powers; But We’re Leaving the Door Open
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Civil lawyers know—and may even fear—the threat of a Dragonetti action. The draconian name accurately depicts one of the few times in law that a lawyer can subsequently be…
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Pittman v. Pa. Bd. of Probation and Parole: Board Abused its Discretion by Failing to Use Discretion
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The Parole Violation statute requires the Board of Probation and Parole to use its discretion when considering whether to credit “time at liberty on parole” to a convicted parole violator’s…
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D.P. v. G.J.P.: Mere separation of parents is insufficient grounds to give grandparents standing to force custody dispute
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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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Cortes v. Sprague: Ambiguous Ballot Question Splits the Court
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Sprague v. Cortes lined up some of the most notable names in Pennsylvania law against the Secretary of State over a question fundamental to the current and future composition of…