Harrisburg Criminal Defense And Family Law Blog

The Pennsylvania Superior Court in Commonwealth v. Price, 2018 Pa. Super. 105, ___ A.3d ___ (May 2, 2018), recently vacated the judgment of sentence of the York County Court of Common Pleas. The issue before the panel was whether habeas corpus relief was appropriate for two identical twin defendants charged with statutory sexual assault, 18 Pa.C.S. Section 3122.1(a)(1), where the defendants were not four (4) or more years older than the victim, but precisely 1460 days and 14 hours older. There are 1461 days in a four (4) year period based upon simple arithmetic, which includes an extra day for a leap year. The Trial Court determined that since the Appellants were exactly four years older than the victim, the Appellants were guilty beyond a reasonable doubt where they readily admitted to sexual intercourse. The exact ages, including date and times of birth, of all parties was stipulated to by Counsel for Appellants and the Commonwealth. The Appellants appealed this adjudication and remained free on bail pending appeal. 

Like many custodial parents in Pennsylvania, you rely on child support to help you raise your children. You might have heard conflicting but well-meaning advice from your friends and family members about how you are allowed to spend your child support. Your ex-spouse may criticize your spending and threaten to report you to family law court if he or she disagrees on where the money is going. Understandably, this could have you worried about the consequences of misspending child support or whether your spending will be monitored.

Fortunately, you can stop worrying. According to FindLaw, the courts intend child support to benefit your children, but you have a wide range of freedom in how you can spend the funds. The following examples show how you might spend your child support check:

• Housing and utility expenses, including rent, mortgage, electrical, water and gas
• Education-related fees and expenses, including tuition, books, extracurricular activities, school uniforms, musical instrument rental and internet
• Clothing, shoes and necessities, such as toothpaste and hygienic products
• Health care co-pays and medicine
• Food and drinks
• Movie tickets, restaurant meals, Christmas presents, a family vacation and other entertainment expenses

Professionals who require a license to work, such as doctors, nurses and real estate agents, could risk losing their license if charged with a crime. It is important to understand the effects of criminal charges on a professional license.

If you are facing criminal charges and must maintain a professional license to work, you should understand your rights and responsibilities under the law and with your profession's governing board. Each situation is unique, so make sure you are clear about how your particular professional licensing board views criminal charges and convictions.

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's denial of certiorari to the Commonwealth of PA in Commonwealth v Muniz on January 22, 2018, the Senate Judiciary Committee is meeting to consider HB 1952. Senator Greenleaf expresses concern over the legislation's breadth.