Pennsylvania Criminal Defense

A fire in the Philadelphia area shows how much criminal law in Pennsylvania focuses on your intentions. Depending on whether the fire was accidental or intentional will determine whether the suspect could be charged...

News outlets frequently fail to comprehend legal issues. In most cases, news stations treat people who have been arrested for a crime like they would treat a convicted criminal. In Arizona, a recent news story completely botched a...

A bizarre chain of events in Florida brings an often overlooked aspect of domestic violence law into the limelight: The so-called “Relinquishment Gap” that can allow people to keep their guns after they have had...

A crazy scene unfolded in South Philadelphia in the early morning hours of July 20, 2019. According to one of the alleged victims, she was robbed and beaten after filming a street race that ended with a crash that damaged her car...

A recent news story covered an ongoing focus of law enforcement in Philadelphia – ticketing people for littering. While the practice has definite benefits like clean streets, there are problems with enforcing the tickets and...

In our last blog post, we detailed Pennsylvania’s heat of passion defense and how it would likely come up if charges were filed over a thwarted kidnapping. Here, we’ll explain the differences between...

An attempted kidnapping in Philadelphia led to a string of events that perfectly illustrates one of the defenses to a serious violent crime: that the defendant acted in the “heat of passion.” Kidnapping Thwarted...

In a clear attempt to undermine the progress of criminal justice reform, Pennsylvania lawmakers have passed a bill that singles out Philadelphia’s progressive district attorney in all but name and strips him of significant...

Even though the person who accused Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera of assault has stopped cooperating with prosecutors, Major League Baseball (MLB) still decided to suspend him without pay for the rest of...

The criminal charges against Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera have been dropped after the alleged victim refused to pursue the case. Developments like these are especially common in alleged domestic...

Burglary is a very specific criminal offense with several important elements that can be difficult for prosecutors to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Challenging the evidence that prosecutors use to prove those elements of...

News reports in Philadelphia covered an apparent arson in Pine Hill, New Jersey: a playground had caught fire, and the flames spread to a nearby concession stand. While police have not yet ruled it arson and the incident happened...

A motorcyclist is likely going to be charged with several offenses after allegedly fleeing from a traffic stop. The incident could lead to especially steep charges if there was evidence that the motorcyclist was driving under...

Conspiracy charges are some of the least understood criminal offenses on the books in Pennsylvania. Some people are shocked to learn that they could face criminal penalties for conspiracy when they did not even participate in the...

Federal law enforcement recently made one of the biggest cocaine busts in the history of the Eastern Seaboard when they seized a cargo ship at a Philadelphia port. The criminal charges for drug trafficking that are...

A mother in the Philadelphia area has been charged with child endangerment after police claim she left her two-year-old daughter in a car for over two hours. The girl died from the incident. Details surrounding the...

Police in Philadelphia are investigating a situation where a 60-year-old man was apparently killed by his roommate in South Philadelphia. Unlike in many other states, both the relationship between the two roommates and the...

Philadelphia police are looking for a group of teenagers who allegedly assaulted a man in Old City. The situation illustrates an important lesson about the criminal law in Pennsylvania: you can face a charge for...

A local woman was arrested in Nashville for allegedly trashing an Airbnb during a bachelorette party, raising the issue of whether intoxication can be a valid or a strong defense to a criminal charge. Woman Admits to Trashing...

Protesters in Philadelphia are calling for hundreds of the city’s police officers to be pulled from the streets and assigned to desk duty after their racist and inflammatory posts on social media were posted for all to see....