Pennsylvania Criminal Defense

A Protection From Abuse order is a civil order, and that word “civil” misleads people every day. Violate a PFA in Pennsylvania in any way, and you are not facing a civil problem anymore. You are facing a criminal...

One Williamsport father recently learned how quickly child custody disputes can escalate and lead to serious criminal charges. Police quickly apprehended 35-year-old Douglas Goodwin after allegations that he lured his...

One morning, when Porcha Woodruff was getting her daughters ready for school, she was informed by law enforcement officers that she was being placed under arrest for carjacking. Woodruff, a nursing student who was eight months...

Pennsylvania has the second-highest percentage of its people on probation and parole in the country, after Georgia. The state also has the highest incarceration rate in the Northeast, supervising its citizens at one of the highest...

AI-powered smart glasses are no longer a futuristic novelty. They are becoming a real-world source of criminal investigations, arrests, and legal disputes. As wearable technology makes recording, photographing, and collecting...

The TAKE IT DOWN Act is federal law now — and the FTC started enforcing it in spring 2026. If you’re in Pennsylvania and facing charges tied to sharing intimate images without consent, the legal environment just got more...

A bill currently before the Pennsylvania Senate’s Judiciary Committee would increase the penalties for a number of crimes committed in violation of a protective order (PFA). For most crimes affected by the bill, the criminal...

Anyone can be accused of domestic violence. An argument can spiral out of control. Tempers can flare. And in some cases, police are called. Domestic violence cases are notoriously difficult. Victims should be safe. Those accused,...

Juvenile arrest rates often climb during the summer. If your child has been arrested, what happens in the next few days will matter for the rest of their life. Don’t wait to get legal help. Contact the Criminal Defense Team...

Beginning in November 2026, some individuals convicted of federal crimes will face new sentencing guidelines. The goal with these changes is to streamline the recommendations that judges use when sentencing defendants. For...

Criminal charges are not guilt. That someone has been accused of a crime doesn’t mean they committed that crime. A teenage Penn State hockey player was recently charged with a felony. While he’s still facing misdemeanor...

A recent New York divorce case made national attention for raising a new legal question: if a partner knowingly transmits a sexually transmitted infection, can that conduct rise to the level of assault or domestic violence? In...

Nathan Chasing Horse, best known for portraying the Lakota character Smiles a Lot in the 1990 movie “Dances With Wolves,” was sentenced to 37 years to life in prison in Nevada after being convicted of 13 counts of sexual...

When Cole Tomas Allen allegedly rushed through a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 26, 2026, carrying a shotgun and a pistol, it became one of the most serious security incidents...

A Philadelphia man is behind bars without bail after authorities say he repeatedly sexually assaulted a child over the course of four years — and it took the U.S. Marshals Service to bring him in. Williams had been sought as...

Protecting children is a worthy rallying cry, but a proposed Pennsylvania law raises questions about the wisdom of imposing permanent penalties on those convicted of certain offenses. In this case, that permanent penalty has a...

Technology moves fast. The police move even faster. As AI has continued to evolve at a lightning-quick pace, prosecutors have been quick to charge anybody who might use AI-powered tools to create child sex abuse (CSA) materials....

The Constitution gives the President plenary powers to grant clemency and pardons for those who commit “offenses against the United States.” The quoted language is key, as this power does not apply to charges brought by state...

In March 2026, golfer Tiger Woods was arrested on suspicion of a DUI following a one-car accident. The accident highlights that driving under the influence of substances other than alcohol can potentially result in a DUI charge....

A Spotlight PA investigation found that the State College Police Department underreported hundreds of rape cases over nearly a decade, creating a significant gap between reported crime statistics and actual incidents. From 2013 to...