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Pennsylvania Supreme Court to decide constitutionality of mandatory life imprisonment for felony murder

JURIST

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court announced Friday that it will hear an appeal from Derek Lee, a man convicted of second-degree murder who is challenging the state’s law requiring mandatory life prison sentences for those found guilty of the offense who did not intend to kill.

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Study: Felony Convictions Impede Access to Stable Housing

The Crime Report

While nearly half of all Americans with felony convictions have never served jail time, a new study published in the Journal of Quantitative Criminology, by Rice sociology professor Brielle Bryan, shows that felony status alone can be enough to cause “housing instability” and may impact up to 12 million Americans, reports RICE News.

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Pennsylvania Enacts Legislation Overhauling Probation System, Allowing Court to Secure More Criminal Records

The Crime Report

The other bill allows courts to seal records of non-violent drug felonies with a minimum sentence of under 2 1/2 years in prison and or a maximum sentence of under five years. The bill also prohibits courts from extending someone’s probation for not paying fines or court costs if they are found to be unable to afford it.

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Police Chief Pleads Guilty After Threatening Facebook Critic with False Arrest

The Crime Report

West Hazleton, Pennsylvania Police Chief Brian Buglio has pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights violation after making threats in March 2020 to a private citizen, telling the person that he would pursue false felony charges in retaliation for several social media posts that were directed at him and the police, reports the New York Times.

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“Third Circuit panel upholds constitutionality §922(g)(1)’s felon-in-possession gun prohibition after Bruen”

HowAppealing

The opinion’s conclusion describes the basis for the defendant’s Pennsylvania law felony offense as follows: “illicitly taking welfare money through fraudulent misrepresentation of his income.”

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Off-duty Virginia police officer sentenced to 87 months for January 6 riot

JURIST

Pennsylvania Congressman Scott Perry , former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarri and William Todd Wilson , regional leader of the Oath Keepers , have also been charged in relation to the riot. Moerschel is additionally charged with destruction of government property and aiding and abetting.

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IT'S THE WORST THING THEY'VE EVER DONE

NewmanFerraraLLP

Carol Menaker's New Book Looks at Jury's Error Back in the summer of 1976, when Carol Menaker reported to a Pennsylvania courthouse for her first jury-duty assignment, she never anticipated that the next three weeks would leave a decades-long impression on her. ” After the trial, Carol’s normal routine resumed.

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