PENNSYLVANIA CIVIL ASSET FORFEITURE: CAN THE POLICE DEPRIVE ME OF PROPERTY IF I AM CHARGED WITH OR SUSPECTED OF BEING INVOLVED IN CRIMINAL ACTIVITY In Pennsylvania, law enforcement has a tool that allows the government to confiscate a citizen’s personal property, including, but not limited to, money, cars, homes, jewelry, bank accounts, and other…
In the criminal law forum, a defendant’s decision to proceed to trial is often times a very difficult one, premised upon many… THE SUCCESSFUL APPEAL MYTH BY BERNARD JOHNSON In the criminal law forum, a defendant’s decision to proceed to trial is often times a very difficult one, premised upon many factors. Among those factors, is…
The crime that is done alone is the crime which the perpetrator has the best chance of getting away with. But for those who commit crimes with others, the sticky web of “accomplice liability” motivates co-defendant’s to cooperate with the prosecution in their quest for leniency. There is a powerful tool which defense attorney’s have available in…
Those who operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, undoubtedly, pose a substantial danger to themselves and other motorists. Under the “Implied Consent” laws applicable to such inebriated drivers, the 50 states impose either civil or criminal liability (or both) upon drivers suspected of driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol…
PA SUPREME COURT RULED A LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE SENTENCE FOR JUVENILES IS ONLY APPROPRIATE WHERE IMPOSSIBILITY FOR REHABILITATION Commonwealth v. Batts In Pennsylvania, juvenile offenders who have previously been sentenced to mandatory life without parole sentences have begun the process of being resentencing. This is, in part, a result of the landmark 2010 United States…
UNDERSTANDING THE AUTOMATIC COMPANION RULE In the United States, as American’s, we are afforded many rights which prevent oppressive and intrusive police conduct. One of those rights, is the right to be free from intrusive searches and seizures of one’s person and property. That right finds it’s life in the 4th Amendment of the United States Constitution, which…
THE CRIMINAL PRELIMINARY HEARING AND THE PRIMA FACIE BURDEN OF PROOF I am commonly asked, during my free consultations in respect to criminal cases, if I can assure the prospective client to get their criminal charges dismissed at the Preliminary Hearing. The prospective client, more often than not, finds distaste in my answer in the negative. Many…
CONSPIRACY THEORY A conspiracy charge in a criminal case can prove to be a pest liken to a spider and the Web which it weaves, threatening to prey upon anyone in the proximity of the crime committed. Here at the Law Office of Roy Galloway, we want you to be informed about what constitutes the offense of…
U.S. SUPREME COURT’S HOLDING IN MONTGOMERY V. LOUISIANA GRANTS RETROACTIVE RELIEF TO JUVENILE OFFENDERS SERVING MANDATORY LIFE SENTENCES FOR HOMICIDE OFFENSES On January 25, 2016, the United States Supreme Court handed down a ruling which will give many homicide offenders who were under the age of 18 at the time of their offense, an opportunity for parole, retroactively,…
SUPREME COURT RULES MANDATORY LIFE SENTENCES FOR JUVENILE HOMICIDE OFFENDERS IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL Prior to June 2012, many states, including Pennsylvania, had laws that required that all persons, including juveniles, convicted of first-degree murder be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. For instance, prior to June 2012, in Pennsylvania, all persons, even juveniles,…
