lawyer

#Criminal defense lawyer

Board of Directors’ Meeting at 12:15 p.m.

Friday, September 25, 2015

Hotel Monaco

620 William Penn Place

Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Trial Skills

6 credit hours

Friday, October 23, 2015

Board of Directors’ Meeting at 12:15 p.m.

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Current PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Philip Gelso elected President of PACDL

PHILIP GELSO was elected the 20th President of the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (PACDL) on April 24, 2015 at the Association’s Annual Meeting in Harrisburg, Pa. Mr. Gelso’s office is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Mr. Gelso concentrates his practice primarily in the area of criminal defense litigation and has handled many high-profile cases throughout his career. He is admitted to practice before the state and federal courts in Pennsylvania as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. He graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Scranton. He received his Juris Doctorate from Villanova University School of Law where he served as Chairperson of the Moot Court Board and received the Moot Court Board Distinguished Service Award. In addition to his long-time membership with PACDL, where he has served previously as a member of the Board of Directors, Vice-President for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and Chairperson of the Continuing Legal Education Committee, Mr. Gelso is an active member of the American Bar Association, Federal Bar Association, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), Pennsylvania Bar Association, the PBA Federal Practice Committee and the Wilkes-Barre Law & Library Association. He has been an active member of the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) Panel for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania from 2002 through 2009 and for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit since 2006. He has also lectured at Continuing Legal Education Seminars sponsored by PACDL and Pennsylvania Bar Institute.

TRIAL DEFENSE GUIDELINES: REPRESENTING A CHILD CLIENT FACING A POSSIBLE LIFE SENTENCE

The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth has issue a national standard to ensure constitutionally effective representation for all juveniles facing a possible life sentence consistent with Miller v. Alabama. 132 S.Ct. 2455 (2012). Click here for a copy of these guidelines.

TIME SENSITIVE REQUEST CONCERNING MICROSCOPTIC HAIR ANALYSIS

PACDL ISSUES NEWS RELEASE ON GOVERNOR WOLF'S MORATORIUM ON THE DEATH PENALTY

PACDL President James A. Swetz has issued a news release on Governor Wolf's declaration of a moratorium of the death penalty in Pennsylvania. Read the news release by clicking here.

Amicus Committee

The PACDL Amicus Committee, co-chaired by Barbara Zemlock and Suzanne Swann, filed amici briefs in the cases of Commonwealth v. Spanier, Commonwealth v. Schultz and Commonwealth v. Curley. The briefs, authored by Arthur T. Donato and Michael J. Engle, argue that, if counsel represented only PSU in these cases, no adequate advice of rights was given to any of these witnesses by their lawyer, by the lawyer for the Commonwealth, or by the supervising judge. Consequently, none of the appellants knowingly, intelligently, or voluntarily waived his right to individual counsel.

PACDL s Amicus Committee spent a busy December, 2014 and filed one Amicus brief with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and joined in a Superior Court Amici filing. Our Amicus Chair, Barbara Zemlock, deserves our thanks and praise for all the 2014 filings. Barb, without you, this would never have been achieved.

In Commonwealth v. Barnes. filed December 23, 2014 in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Middle District, PACDL argued that the activation of police dome lights after pulling up behind a parked car constituted a seizure as a reasonable person would not feel free to leave.  Our thanks go out to David Rudovsky and Jules Epstein for writing this brief. Read the brief by clicking here.

In Commonwealth v. Batts. filed December 26, 2014 in the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, Eastern District, PACDL joined with the Juvenile Law Center, the Defender Association of Philadelphia and the Youth Sentencing and Reentry Project in arguing that the imposition of life without parole upon a juvenile is inconsistent with Miller v. Alabama and is unconstitutionally arbitrary and capricious. Thank you to Bradley Bridge, Marsha Levick and Emily Keller.  If you d like a copy of this brief and are a PACDL Member, send a note to the office at PACDL@aol.com.

The MEMBERS-ONLY section is password-protected and limited to members of PACDL. If you are a member of PACDL and would like to obtain a password, please contact us.

The PACDL Listserv is a private email-based discussion group for members of the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.