The recent Commonwealth Court case of Blair v. Board of Nursing, 2013 Pa. Commw. Unpub. LEXIS 388 (May 28, 2013), reviews a Pennsylvania Nursing Board decision affirming the substantial and egregious hurdles PNAP places on reinstatement of nursing licenses. Blair, unfortunately, plead guilty to a misdemeanor drug possession charge in 2006 and admitted to heroin…

Evidence secured through a hidden camera inside a house is in admissible in court. Really! In Mercer County, Pa the narcotics task force utilized a confidential informant to gain access to an alleged drug dealer’s house. During the coordinated drug purchase in the defendant’s house, the confidential informant wore a police provided, small video camera…

The recent case of Commonwealth v Toritto, provides a good chance to review ACCOMPLICE LIABILITY IN PENNSYLVANIA. In this case, Toritto was charged with conspiracy based on tangential evidence of involvement in a drug deal. The Commonwealth argued his liability was based upon either conspiracy or accomplice liability.  The jury found him not guilty of…

A recent Common Please Court cased presents an opportunity to discuss the importance of timely renewal of all professional licenses and your registered address with the State Board of Occupational Affairs. In the case of Joel Poskin v State Board of Nursing, Poskin sued the State Board of Nursing seeking to have the Court compel…

This blog shall review the legality of body cavity searches in light of a recent case discussing the issue. Typically employed as a result of either highway traffic investigations or specific, fact-based search warrants, the courts are approving of this search mechanism more and more.The recent case of Commonwealth v Martinez, 2013 Pa. Super 102…