Criminal Lawyer Update: Pennsylvania Superior Court Rules Most Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Statutes Unconstitutional in Commonwealth v. Newman, 2014 Pa. Super. 178 (Aug. 20, 2014)

In Commonwealth v. Newman, the Pennsylvania Superior Court, ruling unanimously, en banc, holds most mandatory minimums in Pennsylvania unconstitutional as a result of Alleyene v. United States. Defendants in criminal court will no longer have to endure the overwhelming leverage of the Commonwealth’s threat of the imposition of a mandatory-minimum sentence.

It’s too early to tell if the Commonwealth will seek allocatur from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Enjoy…

Download a PDF of the opinion, authored by Ford Elliot, P.J.E. here.

Download a PDF of the concurrence, authored by Mundy, J. here.

If you enjoyed this article, check out my post on Commonwealth v. George.

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