header image
Home arrow Recent Successes arrow Successes - 2005 arrow Burglary conviction overturned on appeal
Burglary conviction overturned on appeal PDF Print E-mail

Client was charged, tried, and convicted of burglary and conspiracy to commit burglary. The trial court ruled that the stop of client's vehicle was legal. On appeal, the Superior Court ruled that the stop was illegal and that all evidence gained from the stop, including statements by client and co-conspirators that were incriminating, should have been suppressed. Client remained free on bail during the appeal. There was no retrial on the charges, and client avoided the sentence originally imposed by the trial court of 11.5 - 23 months imprisonment.

Reference number: 2037 M.D.A. 2004 (decided October 26, 2005). 



Share this page:
Digg!Reddit!Del.icio.us!Google!Facebook!Furl!Yahoo!Free social bookmarking plugins and extensions for Joomla! websites!
Back
Newsflash
In a decision issued on April 25, 2008, a panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled that an investigatory stop of a car with a loud muffler was permitted where the investigating officer did not have any of the required, specialized training necessary to issue a noise citation for faulty exhaust. During the stop, the driver was arrested for DUI. No muffler violation was ever filed. This decision essentially validates a form of pretext stops in Pennsylvania. The full text of the case can be found here. The dissent raises serious and legitimate concerns about the potential for abuse that this decision permits.