For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 28

Know What's Coming Next:
Criminal Cases Pending Before the
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Stephanie Noel
and Robert J. Perkins
he Supreme Court of Pennsylvania regularly issues
defense-friendly decisions. In order to ensure that
defendants on appeal can benefit from these new
decisions, trial counsel in the first instance must raise
and properly preserve the issue. Indeed, generally
speaking, a new rule of law will not apply to a case
pending on direct appeal unless the issue was first
raised in the trial court.1
What this means is that trial
counsel has a duty to be aware of cases pending before
the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (SCOPA) that may
announce a new rule that will benefit his or her client,
and a corresponding duty to raise the salient issue in
the trial court and preserve it for appeal even if success
at the trial court level is doubtful.
Consider, for example, the cascading consequences
of SCOPA's landmark decision in Commonwealth v.
Alexander,2
which overruled the Court's earlier decision
in Commonwealth v. Gary permitting warrantless car
searches based on probable cause alone. It is not an
exaggeration to say that Alexander marked a sea
change in suppression law. Trial attorneys aware that
Alexander was pending before SCOPA (but not yet
28 For The Defense l Vol. 6, Issue 3
T
decided) filed motions to suppress in cases involving
car searches based on probable cause alone - despite
the fact that Gary was controlling at the time. Though
the motions may have been denied in the trial court,
defendants who then appealed to the Superior Court
stood to benefit greatly when Alexander was decided
because Alexander would then unquestionably apply
retroactively.3
In this and regular future articles, we will identify
cases and questions currently pending before SCOPA
of significance to criminal trial attorneys. To place the
questions in context, we will also offer a brief discussion
of the relevant facts and issues. Our intention in doing
so is to help busy trial practitioners stay up to date on
'what's coming next' from SCOPA.
Important Questions Currently Pending Before SCOPA
Since January of 2021, SCOPA has accepted allowance
of appeal as to the following questions:

For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3

Contents
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 1
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 2
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - Contents
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 4
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 5
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 6
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 7
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 8
For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 9
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For the Defense - Vol. 6 Issue 3 - 42
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