Commonwealth v, Davis (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-072-17)
Defendant's rule 36 speedy trial motion granted where court congestion delays occurred despite his objections and Commonwealth's readiness for trial.
Commonwealth
Commonwealth v. Cordero (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-097-17)
Traffic stop unlawfully extended beyond time needed to investigate traffic violations when officer lacked reasonable suspicion of criminal drug activity.
Commonwealth v. Denton (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-099-17)
Conviction reversed where prosecution introduced prior drug convictions nineteen years old to rebut entrapment defense; staleness rendered evidence more prejudicial than probative.
Commonwealth v. Dayton (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-100-17)
Section 58A permits pretrial detention only when defendant has three prior OUI convictions, not two, under rule of lenity.
Commonwealth v. Pacheco (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-091-17)
Defendant's double jeopardy rights violated when court attempted to impose consecutive probation years after original sentence completion.
Commonwealth v. Laureus (Lawyers Weekly No. 12-055-17)
Habitual criminal indictments dismissed where grand jury lacked evidence that two prior cocaine convictions from separate dates constituted separate episodes rather than a single criminal spree.
Commonwealth v. Suriel (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-068-17)
Police had reasonable suspicion to stop vehicle based on observed secretive gun transfer in driveway, not mere possession of firearm.
Commonwealth v. Lydon (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-089-17)
Judge may impose concurrent state prison sentence retroactively to credit time served on unrelated offense; judge must consider discretionary authority on remand.
Commonwealth v. Connolly (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-066-17)
Conviction vacated where prosecution's sole evidence was officer's testimony about destroyed surveillance video. Authentication and lay opinion identification foundations were inadequate.
Commonwealth v. Cooper (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-067-17)
Affirmed distribution conviction based on sufficient circumstantial evidence of drug identity; reversed school zone conviction, finding licensure insufficient to satisfy statute's accreditation requirement.