Pennsylvania Criminal Defense

In a recent blog post, we detailed a strange possibility in Pennsylvania’s domestic violence laws: Under the terms of the statute, “current or former sexual or intimate partners” are included in the...

An apparent hit-and-run accident in Pennsylvania killed a Vietnam veteran right before Veteran’s Day. While the media is making much of the man’s prior military record, the law in Pennsylvania – unlike in some other...

Police in Philadelphia are investigating an apparent murder and robbery that may have been committed by a prostitute. While lethal crimes cannot be crimes of domestic violence, the situation raises an interesting hypothetical...

An investigation by The New York Times found what criminal defense attorneys have known about driving under the influence (DUI) law for some time, now: Breath testing machines are not always...

The state of Pennsylvania is going to be providing nonprofits and churches with millions of dollars to enhance their security against hate crimes. The impetus provides a great way to examine what a hate crime is, and how the law...

A Philadelphia area man is facing some serious criminal charges after he was involved in a fatal collision in West Caln Township. Police who responded to the crash discovered that he showed signs of intoxication and arrested him...

A botched armed robbery led to a strange turn of events when the store clerk locked the robber inside the building until the police showed up. The unique facts of the case provide an opportunity to talk about the legal...

A Philadelphia police officer is facing criminal charges for stalking and harassing a woman he dated several years ago. He has been suspended from the force and will likely be fired if the charges go anywhere....

Police near Philadelphia conducted an impromptu and unprecedented sting operation for underage drinking and fake identifications in Bryn Mawr. A criminal charge for having a fake ID is surprisingly serious because...

An underage woman who was violently arrested on a New Jersey beach for underage possession of alcohol is filing a civil rights lawsuit against the arresting officers and the city. While the city is claiming that the...

A grand jury has indicted a New Jersey police officer and his wife over the death of their 3-month-old daughter. The indictment process actually sheds light on two national issues: the impeachment proceedings against the president...

Police in Allentown, Pennsylvania, are looking for a suspect caught on surveillance video spray-painting the side of a building in the city’s West End Theater District. Out of all of the types of vandalism, spray...

Philadelphia district attorney Larry Krasner has signaled an intention to drop the most severe murder charge against a man accused of stabbing someone in Rittenhouse Square last year. The victim’s family has come out in...

The trial, conviction, and sentence of the Dallas policewoman who shot and killed a black man after accidentally returning home to the wrong apartment have attracted its fair share of criticism. One line of criticism, though, has...

In Pennsylvania, driving under the influence (DUI) is an example of a “priorable” offense. This means the penalties get more severe for each successive time you are convicted for the crime. However, different states...

An alleged homicide in Philadelphia may have been the result of self-defense during an armed break-in. LLF’s Criminal Law Team clears up some of the most confusing terminology surrounding both homicide law and...

Police have arrested a man with a criminal background after a fire destroyed a million-dollar home and one of the occupants is missing. The media has fixated on the man’s criminal background, insinuating a presumption of...

In our last blog post, we examined a viral video of a Philadelphia police officer detaining a black teenager for standing at a bus stop and summarized some of the salient points of the difference between police...

A video of a Philadelphia police officer arresting a black teenager as he waited for a bus has gone viral. The incident is a great example of the legal distinction between a detention and an arrest, as well as the...

The trial of a New Jersey police officer who is being accused of civil rights violations and committing a hate crime after he assaulted a teen reveals the two-sided way police think about evidence and racism. Hate Crime...