July 11, 2026

Learn what the Pennsylvania Superior Court decided in Commonwealth v. Flanders and when a defendant’s refusal to speak with police may—or may not—be mentioned at trial.

July 3, 2026

In Commonwealth v. Lloyd, the Pennsylvania Superior Court held that dismissed charges do not automatically require expungement. Learn how Pennsylvania courts review expungement petitions after charges are dismissed.

June 27, 2026

In Commonwealth v. Stoney, the Pennsylvania Superior Court addressed reasonable suspicion, waistband “security checks,” police pursuit, probation officers, and a firearm tossed onto a roof.

June 24, 2026

In Commonwealth v. Lewis, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court addressed high-crime areas, flight from police, reasonable suspicion, abandoned property, and a gun recovered in Philadelphia. Learn what this means for firearm suppression cases in Pennsylvania.

June 23, 2026

The case began on September 8, 2022, when an Allegheny County police officer stopped a vehicle because the registration was expired. Graham was driving. His girlfriend, Tiara Pannell, was in the front passenger seat. She was also the owner of the vehicle. When the officer approached, Graham opened the driver’s window. The officer smelled a faint odor of unburnt marijuana coming from the vehicle.

June 20, 2026

After the rear passenger was detained, the deputy asked the driver and Washington whether there was contraband in the vehicle. The driver said there was marijuana in the vehicle and consented to a search of the SUV. During the vehicle search, the deputy recovered a black bag containing suspected marijuana and a digital scale from the driver’s side of the vehicle.

June 13, 2026

The Court found: Pearsall was a lawful passenger. The driver lawfully possessed the rental vehicle. The vehicle was not stolen. The bag was under Pearsall’s seat. Pearsall’s identification was under the same seat. The bag was not out in the open and accessible to all occupants. The Commonwealth waived its abandonment theory. The Commonwealth preserved no other valid basis to justify the warrantless search. The Commonwealth did not dispute that the search was warrantless and lacked exigent circumstances. Based on those facts, the Court held that Pearsall had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the bag under his seat and affirmed the order granting suppression.

June 12, 2026

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that ordinary Google search records may not carry a reasonable expectation of privacy. Learn what Commonwealth v. Kurtz means for digital evidence and criminal defense in Pennsylvania.

June 11, 2026

The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed a gun conviction after a vehicle search in Commonwealth v. Anderson. Learn how reasonable expectation of privacy, traffic stops, protective sweeps, and inventory searches affected the ruling.

May 31, 2026

Police may find drugs, but that does not automatically prove a person intended to sell them. The defense may argue that the drugs were for personal use, that the person did not know the drugs were there, that the drugs belonged to someone else, or that police violated the person’s constitutional rights during the search.