Pennsylvania Megan’s Law can be confusing. Check out our Top 10 Facts about SORNA in PA.
Read More10 Important and Surprising Facts about Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law
Category: Legal/Court
Judge says PA SORNA Overbroad & Unconstitutional in Chester County
Learn about Chester County Court Judge Allison Bell Royer’s ruling that Pennsylvania’s Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is unconstitutional.
Read MoreDOJ releases SORNA Case Law Summary
[8/20/2022] The Dept. of Justice has released its Sex Offender Registration and Notification in the United States: Case Law Summary report: “[t]his summary is current through July 2022 and addresses the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), including SORNA’s requirements, and provides information about case law impacting state and federal sex offender registration and notification laws across the country.…
Read MoreUpdate on Commonwealth v. Aumick
As you may recall, I posted an article on February 26th about the Superior Court opinion of Commonwealth v. John Aumick where the Court found that SVP determinations cannot be based simply on allegations and hearsay. Normally I don’t write articles on Superior Court cases for two reasons: 1) an application for en banc (full court) reargument can be filed…
Read MoreSexually Violent Predator (SVP) Determination be Based on FACTS
The PA Superior Court found that SVP determinations cannot be based simply on allegations and hearsay in the case of Commonwealth v. John Aumick, 2022 PA Super. 33 (Aumick). Mr. Aumick plead guilty to a Corruption of Minors charge against his stepdaughter in exchange for having the many other charges dismissed. He was sentenced to incarceration and placed on SORNA. As…
Read MoreAnother Blow to SORNA I with Failure to Register Conviction Relief
December 22, 2021 has seen the release of many case opinions from the PA Supreme Court (SCOPA) with Commonwealth v. David Santana being the biggest win for our advocacy efforts. In a 5-2 decision, SCOPA affirmed the Superior Court’s opinion that “Mr. Santana’s registration requirement under SORNA was an after-the-fact punishment, and therefore unconstitutional. Accordingly, he had no duty to…
Read MoreSeparation of Powers in Pennsylvania: The Judiciary’s Prevention of Legislative Encroachment
Duquesne Law Review Vol 32, No. 3, Article 6 1994 John M. Mulchey By JB The following article from the Duke University Law Review explains how and why our Pennsylvania Supreme Court is more powerful than most other states’ supreme courts. The cases and the way our Supreme Court has interpreted its powers are explained through the Court’s interpretation of…
Read MorePSP Denied Power to Intervene Article
The Superior Court QUASHED the appeal of PSP in Commonwealth v. Kale on May 5, 2020 when the Trial Court denied their “Emergency Motion to Intervene and Vacate Order Nunc Pro Tunc” arguing that the Defendant should not be removed from the registry. PSP argued they have “standing to appear and contest a filing in a court of this Commonwealth…
Read MoreA legal argument against PA’s registry explained
Irrebuttable Presumption in Pennsylvania In Pennsylvania, there are two types of constitutional challenges to a statute: facial and as applied. An as-applied attack on a statute is a limited attack. “It does not contend that a law is unconstitutional as written, but that its application to a particular person under particular circumstances deprives that person of a constitutional right” (Com.…
Read MoreLegal challenge to strike down PA’s Registry given a green light
Commonwealth v. Torsilieri Update 1/15/21 The fate of the public sex offender registry in PA will be determined sometime this year or next. Either defendant Torsilieri’s challenge will again reach the Supreme Court of PA, or the Commonwealth will be able to convince lower judges of their argument. (For a history of this momentous case and its significant delay, please…
Read More