Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Superior Court vacated a probation revocation order, finding that the youth was deprived of their constitutional right to notice of the specific allegations and supporting evidence pertaining to the revocation. The court stated in relevant part: Based on our review, and in light of this Court’s ruling in K.G.-B., we conclude that K.W.-D. was…
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ended the use of mandatory life without parole for felony murder cases based on the state constitution’s prohibition against cruel punishment. Finding that Pennsylvania’s constitutional safeguards against cruel punishment offers greater protections than the 8th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the Court reasoned that the blanket imposition of mandatory life…
The Pennsylvania Superior Court reversed a young person’s probation revocation, finding that the state’s failure to provide defense counsel with notice and discovery violated the young person’s due process rights. The court stated in relevant part: We recognize that “[d]ue process is a flexible concept which ‘varies with the particular situation.’” Bundy v. Wetzel, 646 Pa.…
The Pennsylvania Superior Court vacated a sentence based on an objective appearance of bias where a former prosecutor against the co-defendant is now presiding as a judge over a related post conviction relief petition. The court stated in relevant part: “In reaching our conclusion, we emphasize that our standard of review is not whether Judge Reichley is…
The Pennsylvania Superior Court vacated a conviction for theft by receiving stolen property finding that the evidence was insufficient to establish that the property was stolen. The court stated in relevant part: “Viewing the record, including the habeas corpus testimony about the VIN number check, and drawing all reasonable inferences from that evidence in the light most…
“It is considered “good law” in Pennsylvania that prosecution can bring a violation of probation or parole (VOP) hearing for a direct violation of the conditions of parole even before the alleged violation’s substantive criminal trial takes place. Mrs. Kates’s name has since become synonymous with pretrial VOP hearings for direct violations. This Comment calls…
“Each year, millions of Americans rely on public defenders to fulfill their Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Despite being the linchpin of the criminal justice system, public defense remains both underfunded and understudied. This Article provides empirical analysis to contribute to a critical question: How should public defender systems be structured? Criminal justice advocates, scholars,…
“For decades, in the summertime, America has confined certain of its youth in what are essentially open-air heat camps. In city after city, camp-form is established through the enactment of warm-weather juvenile curfews which keep the youth at home or in state-sponsored centers during summer nights and, increasingly, during days as well. Local governments justify…
“This paper describes a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to evaluation used by an academic-practitioner partnership to refine the logic model for a violent crime reduction program and develop associated performance measures. Through qualitative and quantitative data collection, including semi-structured interviews, engagement with program stakeholders (e.g., program leaders and staff, peer researchers, community residents), community…
Abstract: “While there has been momentum at both the federal and state levels to curtail extreme punishments for justice-involved juveniles (The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, 2023), 22 states continue to permit the sentence of juvenile life without parole (JLWOP). Pennsylvania is among them. This essay focuses on judicial rationale in five JLWOP re-sentencing cases in…
From the introduction: “One of our goals in producing this report is to inform school administrators, board members, and parent and student stakeholders, giving details about which groups of students are disproportionately arrested and about the gaps that exist in data reporting. We also want to provide guidance on how to address these issues. We…
From the abstract: “This Article considers an approach to pretrial reform focused on improving the quality of defense counsel. In Philadelphia, a substantial fraction of people facing criminal charges are detained following rapid preliminary hearings where initial release conditions are set by bail magistrates operating with limited information. Beginning in 2017, the Defender Association of…
This report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides a review of the effectiveness of laws and policies that facilitate the transfer of youth to adult court and ultimately, recommends against transfer to prevent or reduce violence. From the Summary: “The independent, nonfederal Task Force on Community Preventive Services (Task Force), which directs…
From the introduction: “This brief tells the story of how the four Models for Change states—Pennsylvania, Illinois, Louisiana, and Washington—are already moving to reform and reshape their own state juvenile justice systems. These states have demonstrated strong leadership in juvenile justice policy, value collaboration and engagement, and because of their efforts, have changed the political…
