by Marc Neff
PA Supreme Court Rules That No Warrant Is Needed to Search Vehicles
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has recently ruled that a search warrant is no longer needed when searching a vehicle, so long as probable cause exists. The Court determined that the Pennsylvania Constitution does not provide a greater protection than the Federal Constitution and effectively brings the Pennsylvania search and seizure law in alignment with Federal law. The facts presented to the...
by Marc Neff
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Declines to Apply “Good Faith Exception”
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has issued an opinion declining to apply the “good faith exception” for an individual’s arrest. In March of 2010, a Pennsylvania State Trooper received radio communication that a vehicle was involved in a drug transaction, and then observed that the vehicle had a broken tail light. The Trooper initiated a traffic stop for the vehicle. The Trooper requested...
by Marc Neff
United States Supreme Court Says GPS Tracking Requires a Warrant
Antoine Jones was being investigated by the FBI and a local police department for narcotics violations. During the course of the investigation, the FBI placed a global positioning device on Jones’s vehicle without a warrant. This device tracked his movements 24 hours a day for about four weeks. The government used the tracking information in the criminal trial against Jones to show his...
by Marc Neff
No Warrant Needed for Inventory Search of Unresponsive Crash Victim’s Vehicle
Danielle Gatlos was involved in a motor vehicle accident in Pennsylvania. When the police arrived on the scene, she was unconscious and unresponsive. The officers went into Danielle Gatlos’ vehicle and handbag to obtain her identity and to inventory her belongings. During this investigation, the police discovered marijuana. Danielle was eventually charged with possession of marijuana and...
by Marc Neff
Attorney General Proposes Drug Sentencing Reforms
Attorney General Eric Holder has approached the Justice Department with a new initiative called “Smart On Crime.” Mr. Holder is calling for major changes to the nation’s criminal justice system that would hopefully scale back the use of harsh mandatory sentences for certain drug-related crimes. Mandatory minimum prison sentences were initiated in the 1980’s during the government’s war...
by Marc Neff
Third Circuit Grants a New Trial in Drug Distribution Case
In Unites States v. Terrell Davis, Police arrested Terrell Davis after finding him in a Jeep with nearly a kilo of cocaine in the backseat. The arrest led to a conviction for possession with intent to distribute. As evidence that Davis recognized the cocaine in the Jeep, the government proved at trial that he had two prior convictions for possessing cocaine. However, the government never...
by Marc Neff
Seventh Circuit Reiterates the Importance of a Suspect Invoking Right to Counsel
In United States v. Hunter, officers stopped a truck after they witnessed occupants apparently engaging in a drug deal. Hunter fled from the passenger seat with something resembling a gun in his hand. Officers ordered Hunter to stop, but Hunter continued to run. The officers heard a gunshot and fired at Hunter, striking him in the left buttock and in the foot. Hunter fell to the ground and was...
by Marc Neff
What You “Need to Know” to Help Make Meth
In United States v. Munguia, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 24294 (9th Cir. Nov. 27, 2012), Appellant was charged with drug conspiracy and possession. She was alleged to have purchased a significant amount of pseudoephedrine at the direction of one of her co-defendants. Pseudoephedrine is a common ingredient in many over-the-counter cold medications, including Sudafed, Claritin-D, and similar...
by Marc Neff
No Crack Reduction for Career Offenders Even if Sentence is Based On the Crack Range
In United States v. Ware, 2012 WL 4216831 (3d Cir. Sept. 21, 2012) Defendants, each designated career offenders, were ultimately sentenced based on the federal crack cocaine guidelines through a variance and a departure. Each moved for sentence reductions under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), based on the amended crack cocaine guidelines implementing the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. In the first case,...
by Marc Neff