For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 1 - 29

Discuss this waiver with your client with the same
seriousness you would discuss the waiver of any
constitutional right.30
* Request discovery early and in writing. That way,
if the Commonwealth fails to provide requested
discovery, any required continuance will be on
the prosecution. If you have to follow-up with the
Commonwealth about discovery they have failed to
hand over, be sure to memorialize such requests in
a writing such as an email.
* If a continuance is required due to the
Commonwealth's failure of diligence, be sure to
put that on the record at the time the continuance
is requested. Even if the judge does not rule in
your favor, you have at least preserved the issue for
appeal.
* All motions to dismiss pursuant to Rule 600 must be
made in writing.31
365-day period has elapsed. If the trial judge rules
against you and subsequently the Commonwealth
causes another substantial period of delay, file
a new Rule 600 motion based on this additional
time and litigate it prior to any trial to preserve an
objection to the additional time period.
If a Lawyer Blogs And No One Reads It, Is It Still a Blog?
If you blog but no one knows where to find it, then you have
wasted a lot of time, energy, and content. You'll need to figure out
how to get your target audience to read your blog not just once,
but consistently.
* At the Rule 600 hearing, after the defense has
made a prima facie showing that the defendant
has not been brought to trial within 365 days,
the Commonwealth bears the burden of proving
that they have nonetheless acted with diligence.
This means that after the defense has made such
a prima facie showing, it is the Commonwealth
who should be required to put on its evidence
and the defense should only argue after the
Commonwealth has done so. Essentially, a Rule 600
hearing should proceed in form almost identically
to a suppression hearing. If the judge asks you
to argue prior to the Commonwealth's evidence,
make it clear that you could not possibly argue
on behalf of your client until you know what the
Commonwealth's evidence of diligence is.
The key to this type of inbound marketing is to creating content
around what your target audience wants to know, not what you
want to tell them. Writing to meet the informational needs of your
clients and referral sources will bring traffic to your blog, but it
won't happen overnight. It is a long-term play that requires-you
guessed it-a steady flow of fresh content that addresses the issues
your clients and prospects care about and the challenges they face.
Many lawyers and firms look to SEO (search engine optimization)
to maximize traffic to their websites and blogs. Very basically, SEO
means orienting your content to rank higher on the results pages
of a search engine like Google or Bing (ideally on the first page
and ideally as high up as possible in the results on that page) so
that you get more traffic to your site. There are many techniques
designed to improve SEO of your content, and many of them merit
investigation.
* If the Commonwealth appears at the Rule 600
hearing and does not present any evidence that
it acted with diligence-for instance, they did not
bring in the officer to testify to the attempts made
to find and apprehend the defendant-argue that
they have not met their burden because the burden
of proof includes the burden of production and
arguments of counsel are not evidence.
One of the easiest and most effective SEO techniques (for those
of us not steeped in the technology of search engine algorithms)
is to write blog content that includes the keywords (the words or
terms) that folks in your target audience are likely to use in their
search engine requests. It is likely that you already know many of
the important keywords and concepts for your clients, prospects,
and referral sources, but it doesn't hurt to take some time to make
a list of keywords. If you are curious and want to dive a little deeper,
there are online tools you can use to do keyword research. The key
to keywords is to use them naturally and appropriately in your
content. Overusing terms or " keyword stuffing " won't help and
it might negatively impact your efforts generate organic traffic to
your blog.
File your client's motion after the
Using the strategy above, people both in and
outside my office have had tremendous success with
Rule 600 motions. Oftentimes, just making it plain
to the Commonwealth that you intend to seriously
litigate this issue can get you results. It is only one
weapon in your arsenal, but because a win means
discharge, it is a potent weapon that should never
be overlooked.
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NOTES:
1
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Commonwealth v. Mills, 162 A.3d 323 (Pa. 2017).
2 U.S. ConSt. Amend. VI; PA. CONST. art. 1, § 9.
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3 Commonwealth v. DeBlase, 665 A.2d 427, 431 (Pa. 1995).
4
Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 530 (1972) (articulating the
constitutional test); Commonwealth v. Preston, 904 A.2d
1, 10 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2006) (the Barker test is an entirely
separate analysis from Rule 600 and therefore needs to be
raised separately).
Pa.R.Crim.P. Rule 600(2)(a); see also Commonwealth
v. Kearse, 890 A.2d 388, 395 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2005) (no
" prejudice " need be shown to obtain Rule 600 dismissal).
While Rule 600 has a more definitive time period, the sole
focus of Rule 600 is on the action of the Commonwealth.
Thus, a constitutional argument should be forwarded
when a delay prejudices a defendant and that delay was
primarily caused by the courts.
6 Pa.R.Crim.P. Rule 600(D)(1).
5
About the Author
Click here to view and/or print the
full notes section for this article.
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There are other ways to drive readership, including building some
outbound marketing around your blog. Do you have an existing
mailing list or a way to build one easily? Does your firm have a CRM
system, publications preference manager, or mailing list for other
content that you can use to direct potential readers to your blog?
Hosting your blog on your firm website may help generate traffic
from visitors who are there for other reasons.
Other simple ways to build awareness about your blog include
adding a link to your website bio and your email signature. You
should also be using social media, in particular LinkedIn, to leverage
your blog content and expand your potential readership.
So, to blog or not to blog? Blogging can be an excellent visibility
and engagement tool. It can also be a heavy lift for lawyers, practice
groups, and firms.
About the Author
#153A5B
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Katherine Ernst is an
appellate attorney with the
Montgomery County Public
Defender's Office. She
handles appeals from all
units, juvenile to homicide,
and she also formulates
legal strategy for pre-trial
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and trial units. Katherine graduated Magna Cum
Laude from Loyola Law School, New Orleans
in 2007 and was on law review. She practiced
at Kaufman, Coren & Ress in Philadelphia out
of law school, and thereafter did work in the
intersection of horseracing law and §1983 for a
number of years before following her passion
for indigent criminal defense.
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Vol. 8, Issue 1 l For The Defense 29
Meg Pritchard, the principal of
CREATE: Communication, is a
lawyer, writer and marketing
professional who works with
law firms and lawyers to
develop powerful content for
their marketing and business
development. Connect with her
at 215-514-3206 or visit CREATE's
LinkedIn page.
https://www.linkedin.com/authwall?trk=bf&trkInfo=AQEapHm-UAtShgAAAYaAAxDQyGvXG2URrXG8m6dbyeXfwhrEojJ3odq0TtFwSVhS1EILHM-6SE8nmP1kJTq5nQAWgOlP48Mayvd5LNI1S-dNR0r1if30ki9eWw2ouobaBnUSkZo=&original_referer=&sessionRedirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fcompany%2Fcreate-communications-llc
For the Defense - Vol. 8, Issue 1

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