Category: Criminal Defense

If you face criminal charges in Pennsylvania, you may be ordered to receive certain psychological or IQ tests. These tests may be used to assess your eligibility for bail before trial, adjust your sentence or evaluate your likelihood to commit another crime. While you may expect that any tests used...

Oftentimes, when individuals are accused of committing a crime, their defense is to show that they were not involved in the alleged criminal wrongdoing in any way. An individual accused of robbery or murder, for example, may present an alibi to demonstrate that he or she was somewhere else when...

Being accused of a crime can fill an individual with anxiety. This is understandable. After all, a conviction on criminal charges can result in harsh penalties that can have long-lasting consequences. For example, an individual may wind up facing the possibility of months or even years behind bars. He or...

Forgery is a serious criminal offense in Pennsylvania. Those who are convicted of this crime can face significant penalties, including jail time, fines, and damage to their reputation, and one of these convictions can also be used against an individual in future legal matters to show that he or she...

A sudden arrest for alleged criminal wrongdoing can turn your world upside-down. At one moment you might be going about your business as usual, and then you’re being threatened with years of imprisonment and financially ruinous fines. Your reputation can also be irreparably damaged. This is the case for many...

The unexpected death of an individual usually raises eyebrows. In many of these instances, people who are close to the deceased individual, as well as the police, often look to place blame on someone else. This can cause Pennsylvania residents to be charged with serious criminal offenses. Amongst those offenses...

It’s an unfortunate reality that many Pennsylvanians fail to recognize the magnitude of being charged with a crime, even those that seem relatively minor. These individuals neglect to see that a conviction for just about any criminal offense has the potential to carry penalties that include jail time, fines, and...

The police are supposed to work to serve and protect the public. This means patrolling neighborhoods, upholding the law, and stopping crime in progress. As is the nature of their profession, officers sometimes become confrontation with individuals. While this is expected from time-to-time, in some instances it leads to scuffles...

It’s not uncommon for relationships to sour, even familial ones. Most of the time, these relationships can be repaired after harsh words are exchanged. In other instances, though, these spats turn into allegations of criminal wrongdoing. Physical violence, theft, sexual assault and even murder can all be alleged against an...

There’s no denying the fact that car accidents continue to impose extensive physical, emotional and financial devastation of Pittsburgh residents. Although there are a number of reasons for these wrecks, including wrongdoing on a victim’s part, it oftentimes results in a driver facing criminal charges. Sometimes such charges are relatively...

Criminal prosecutions are often based on evidence that is collected during the execution of a search warrant. Although the police certainly have the right to request a search warrant, certain requirements must be met before it can be determined that a search warrant can be legally issued. After all, the...

Drunk driving is aggressively policed across Pennsylvania. Therefore, many individuals who are subjected to a traffic stop are also subjected to field sobriety tests. Others are forced to take these tests, in addition to a breathalyzer test, after being chosen for closer inspection at a DUI checkpoint. Regardless of how...

The war on drugs has been raging across the U.S. for a number of decades now. The only difference is that the drugs receiving the most attention now and those accused of violating the state’s drug laws are different than they were in the 1980s and 90s. Today, the focus...

Some criminal offense may seem relatively minor to Pittsburgh residents. Some may not even seem like crimes at all. This is particularly true when young adults vandalize the property of another. It can be easy to write these instances off as young people making mistakes, but Pennsylvania law views it...

With the opioid epidemic seeming to take the country by storm, local law enforcement agencies are cracking down hard on both those they believe are selling illegal narcotics as well as those who use them. The penalties for even the most minor drug conviction can leave individuals in a difficult...

Being charged with a criminal offense can be frightening. Prosecutors who are convinced of your guilt can threaten to put you behind bars for longer than you ever imagined. This can rip you away from your job, your family and everything else you have worked hard for in your life....

Regardless of what you may have heard about states relaxing their drug laws, the fact of the matter is that the war on drugs rages on. Local law enforcement and prosecutors are aggressive in their investigation and prosecution of those they feel have broken the state’s drug laws. Those on...

There are a number of sex-related criminal offenses recognized by Pennsylvania law. One subset of these offenses are those crimes related to prostitution. Those who are accused of prostitution or solicitation can find themselves embarrassed, but there is often much more at stake than just their feelings. And if convicted,...

Previously, this blog discussed how Pennsylvania law defines the criminal offense of theft. Knowing how the law defines these offenses is critical, as oftentimes the statutory language can give rise to criminal defense options. For example, with many kinds of theft, prosecutors must show some sort of intent before a...

As drunk driving accidents continue to be prevalent in today’s society, the authorities are always looking for a reason to stop drivers. Once a stop occurs, police officers rely on a multitude of tests in order to determine, in their opinion, whether a motorist is intoxicated. The results of these...

When property goes missing, many individuals are quick point the finger and blame others for their loss. Although sometimes others are responsible for missing property, other times allegations are falsely made or falsely levied against an individual. Yet, when accusations are made, a Pennsylvania resident can wind up facing criminal...

You need to consider all of your options to protect your identity, credit scores, bank accounts, etc. If you are a victim of the Equifax Security Breach, contact our law firm, Gusty A. E. Sunseri & Associates, P.C., for a free legal consultation regarding how to protect yourself. To determine...

Law enforcement officers and prosecutors are constantly looking for ways to build cases that leave them well positioned to obtain a conviction against an individual they believe has committed a crime. Although the law tries to strike a balance between protecting personal liberty and public safety, far too often overzealous...

Pittsburgh residents who are slapped with criminal charges can find themselves afraid on many levels. They might be concerned about how the allegations will affect their reputation, but their primary concern may revolve around the potential penalties they could face if convicted. Depending on the crime at hand, a criminal...

It’s not uncommon for relationships to sour. When they do, negative animosity towards one another can leave individuals amidst heated arguments and false accusations. In some instances, these allegations take on a criminal nature, which, in turn, can lead to criminal charges and the potential for the imposition of serious...

We’ve been looking in recent posts at the two bases on which the government can build a drunken driving case, and some of the issues that need to be considered when building a strong defense against DUI charges. As we’ve noted, meeting or exceeding the legal blood alcohol limit and...

In our last post, we mentioned several important factors that need to be considered when scrutinizing the reliability of alcohol tests in drunken driving cases. As we mentioned, the scientific acceptability of breath testing software; proper calibration, use and maintenance of breath testing devices; proper performance of blood testing and...

Most people understand that it is important to work with an experienced criminal defense attorney when facing drunken driving charges, if for no other reason than they do not understand the legal process and how to build a strong defense case. While in every drunken driving case, the goal is...

We’ve been looking in recent posts at the topic of searches and seizures, the warrant requirement, and some recent cases involving jurisdictional issues surrounding warrants. Another warrant-related issue that is a hot-button issue at present is to what extent cell phones and other mobile digital devices should be treated as...

In our last post, we began looking at the important issue of the Fourth Amendment in criminal defense, particularly in the context of investigation of suspected Internet crimes. As we noted, the federal government’s ability to search data stored on overseas servers is part of this discussion. Although the FBI’s...

In an age of technology, the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures is increasingly being tested in new contexts. One of the issues currently being played out in the courts is that of the government’s ability to access electronic data located outside a court’s jurisdiction. Last year, the...

On April 29th, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that police officers in the Commonwealth no longer need a warrant to search a citizens’ vehicle. Prior to the Court’s decision, an individual could refuse an officer’s request to search their vehicle. If the citizen refused, the police would typically need a...

When a client comes to me regarding a minor criminal defense matter, one of the greatest concerns they have is what impact a possible conviction can have on their criminal record and if the incident can be expunged. A person’s criminal record can be expunged under a number of circumstances...

When I recently wrote a post about the circumstances surrounding and consequences of possessing a fake ID as a minor, it got me thinking about the other side of the fake ID process, the provider. Under Pennsylvania law, making, altering, selling or attempting to sell identification that represents the identity,...

When a client comes to me with a child that was caught and cited with underage drinking, that child often possessed a fake ID when he or she was arrested or cited. Regardless of whether or not the minor used the ID to purchase alcohol, it is illegal in the...

It seems as though it has become increasingly common to hear about college students getting busted for marijuana possession. Each year, there seem to be more and more college athletes being suspended by their university or questioned by professional teams when entering the draft regarding “character issues” following a failed...

There has been no bigger legal issue placed under the microscope in the previous months than Florida’s new “stand your ground” law. Unless you live under a rock, you’ve probably heard the name Trayvon Martin. He was killed by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watchman, after the two encountered each other...