Commonwealth v. Santos (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-123-13)
Warrantless police entry into defendant's home based on apparent authority; voluntariness of DNA consent; admissibility of victim's demeanor testimony.
Lawyers
Commonwealth v. Sullivan (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-090-13)
Affirmed attempted kidnapping conviction; reversed annoying or accosting conviction due to lack of sexually explicit conduct required by statute.
Central Mutual Insurance Company v. True Plastics, Inc., et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-091-13)
CGL policy "temporary worker" exception applies when insured reasonably expected worker furnished to meet short-term workload condition at time of assignment.
Commonwealth v. Gonzalez (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-120-13)
Murder conviction affirmed where defendant stabbed victim; statements to police admissible despite lack of Miranda warnings; self-defense instruction properly denied.
Commonwealth v. Morgan RV Resorts, LLC, et al. (and five companion cases) (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-089-13)
Judge must recuse herself from cases involving former firm despite no actual bias when appearance of impartiality might reasonably be questioned.
McGuinness, et al. v. Department of Correction, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-117-13)
Tie vote on Civil Service Commission appeal constitutes agency failure to act, making hearing officer's decision affirming termination the final reviewable decision.
Nordberg v. Department of Education, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-118-13)
Litigant denied extraordinary relief where ordinary appellate remedies remained adequate and alternative statutory relief had already been pursued.
Commonwealth v. Letkowski (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-088-13)
Defendant convicted of kidnapping, robbery, and rape challenges seizure of ski mask and knife from car stop, invocation of Miranda rights, and references to his silence at trial.
Limbaugh v. Commonwealth (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-119-13)
Defendant cannot use emergency relief to challenge pretrial dismissal denial; direct appeal after conviction provides adequate remedy.
Harmon Law Offices, P.C. v. Attorney General (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-085-13)
Attorney General's civil investigative demands to foreclosure law firm upheld; firm's claims of attorney-client privilege and litigation privilege rejected as insufficiently related to contemplated litigation.