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​PACDL Submits Amicus Briefs in Bell and in Lacaze

​​PACDL with the Defender Association of Philadelphia filed an amicus curiae brief in the case of Commonwealth v. Bell, (11 MAP 2018) on June 13 before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.  This was an appeal from the Superior Court reversing the order granting a new trial in Lycoming County.  The issue before the Court is whether 75 PA.C.S. Sec. 1547(e) that permits a refusal to consent to a blood draw to be introduced as evidence violates the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article I, Section 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. 

Additionally, PACDL along with NACDL and 32 other associations of criminal defense lawyers filed a brief of amici curiae before the United States Supreme Court (No. 17-1566) asking the Court to grant certiorari to resolve the appropriate test for determining whether a criminal defendant has been denied his right to an impartial jury. 

PACDL Testifies on Risk Assessment Proposal

PACDL testified before the Pennsylvania Sentencing Commission in Harrisburg regarding the proposed assessment instrument.  PACDL informed the commission that the instrument's objective of reducing an individual's personal history to a mathematical equation based on their luck at birth will create illogical results.