Pennsylvania

New York AG issues subpoenas to state’s 8 Catholic dioceses in sex abuse investigation

The New York attorney general’s office on Thursday issued subpoenas to the states’ eight Catholic dioceses less than a month after the release of a Pennsylvania grand jury report that stated more than 1,000 children identified through the church’s own records were sexually abused by priests for decades. The Wall…

Sep 7, 2018 6:05 AM CDT

Rap song that threatened police officers is not protected speech, Pennsylvania’s top court rules

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has rejected a free speech claim by a rapper who threatened to kill two Pittsburgh police officers he identified by name in a video titled “F— the Police.” The court upheld the conviction of Jamal Knox on charges of witness intimidation and terroristic threats, report the…

Aug 23, 2018 10:29 AM CDT

Grand jury says dioceses in Pennsylvania covered up sex abuse for more than 70 years

A grand jury that investigated child sex abuse in six of Pennsylvania’s eight dioceses has reported credible allegations of abuse against more than 300 priests affecting more than a thousand child victims who were identifiable from church records.

Aug 14, 2018 4:31 PM CDT

Holland & Knight again looks to Reed Smith in Philadelphia office expansion

Holland & Knight’s new Philadelphia office has doubled its headcount after siphoning another 12 lawyers from Reed Smith. The office launched with 11 former Reed Smith partners and one of counsel on July 10, the Legal Intelligencer reported. The expansion includes 11 direct transfers and one attorney who had worked…

Jul 30, 2018 10:03 AM CDT

Assessment board says Bill Cosby is a sexually violent predator; DA asks judge to decide

A district attorney in Pennsylvania has asked the judge who presided at Bill Cosby’s sexual assault trial to decide whether the comedian is a “sexually violent predator.” Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele made the request Tuesday after the Pennsylvania Sexual Offenders Assessment Board evaluated Cosby and determined he is…

Jul 25, 2018 9:52 AM CDT

Nonlawyer with a multistate law practice gets 12-year sentence

A New Jersey man convicted of posing as a lawyer while running a multistate law practice has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Jul 13, 2018 7:00 AM CDT

Officer who shot and killed unarmed teen is charged with homicide

A suburban Pittsburgh police officer has been charged with homicide for shooting and killing an unarmed black teen while investigating a drive-by shooting.

Jun 27, 2018 5:35 PM CDT

Lawyer is suspended after using ex-client’s information in complaint about ‘angry feminist cabal’

A Pennsylvania lawyer who claimed in a lawsuit that his client had been victimized by “vigilante justice from student activists” had used information provided by one of the activists in a previous representation, according to a joint petition for discipline. Lawyer Raul Jauregui was suspended for one year based partly…

Jun 19, 2018 7:06 AM CDT

Another ruling by controversial Philadelphia family court judge is overturned

Updated: A Philadelphia family court judge who repeatedly interrupted a lawyer and frequently noted the late hour violated the due process rights of three children when she removed them from the home of their mother, a Pennsylvania appeals court has ruled.

Jun 12, 2018 7:10 AM CDT

Law firms hire company to send ads to ER patients’ cellphones; is it a HIPAA violation?

Some personal injury law firms plan to use a technology called “geofencing” to send ads to cellphones of patients in emergency rooms, pain clinics and chiropractor offices.

May 30, 2018 1:37 PM CDT

San Francisco district attorney to use algorithm to aid marijuana expungements

The San Francisco district attorney’s office announced it will use an algorithm to help determine expungement eligibility for those with some marijuana convictions going back to the mid-1970s. “When the government uses 20th-century tools to tackle 21st-century problems, it’s the public that pays the price,” says District Attorney George Gascón…

May 21, 2018 2:03 PM CDT

Appeals court criticizes ‘judicially created parental alienation’ in case of baby with broken ribs

A state appeals court has accused a Pennsylvania judge of “judicially created parental alienation” and a failure to provide due process when she kept a baby in “protracted foster care” after receiving no explanation for broken ribs and then terminated parental rights.

May 8, 2018 8:00 AM CDT

Judge’s mass contempt trial and ‘high-speed sentencing’ violated due process, appeals court rules

A Pennsylvania judge who sent 54 people to jail for failing to pay fines after holding a mass contempt trial violated the defendants’ due process rights, a state appeals court has ruled. Cambria County Judge Tamara Bernstein didn’t allow any of the defendants to be heard and didn’t allow any…

May 4, 2018 11:40 AM CDT

Black men arrested at Starbucks settle with Philadelphia for $1 each and $200K donation

Two black men arrested last month at a Starbucks in Philadelphia while waiting for a business associate have agreed to release the city from any legal claims in exchange for the payment of $1 each and a promise to donate $200,000 to a program for aspiring entrepreneurs. The agreement between…

May 2, 2018 1:09 PM CDT

Bill Cosby is found guilty of sexual assault in retrial with additional witnesses

Bill Cosby has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a Temple University employee at his home in 2004. Jurors in Norristown, Pennsylvania, found Cosby guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault on Thursday, report the New York Times and the Washington Post. It was the second trial for the…

Apr 26, 2018 1:19 PM CDT