Woods Law Offices PLLC

Big law firms have appellate divisions. Small to mid-size firms typically do not. If your small to mid-size firm could benefit from an appellate consult, consider scheduling a free call with us: http://ow.ly/hmyJ50CV7M7

If we actually want to improve police forces and save citizens' lives, having a national conversation about the ideas presented in this article would be a start: http://ow.ly/ZaBA30rpzC7

Our courts should not be politicized this way: http://ow.ly/wff250CW83o

When we need a good chuckle here at WLO, we revisit former PA Justice Musmanno's dissent in Commonwealth v. Robin, wherein he describes in no uncertain terms his disdain for Henry Miller's novel "The Tropic of Cancer." Gotta read it to believe it: http://ow.ly/jfaw50CV6QU

Merry Everything to Everyone

This month on SCOPABlog, the Court addresses some wide open questions about Pennsylvania's mail-in voting regime and its intersection with the state constitutional right to Free and Equal Elections, and grants review of a discovery order that, if sustained, may give medical malpractice plaintiffs attorneys a windfall by allowing them to peer into certain medical review records. Review the Court's September precedential opinions and grants of allocatur at https://www.woodslawoffices.com/scopablog

This month on SCOPABlog, the Court wades in to explain several exceptions to the time-bar provisions of the PCRA (again), and grants review in a trio of cases that could potentially expand the constitutional duties of police vis-a-vis Wi-Fi geolocation data, pat-down searches, and post-charge interrogations. Remember to like and follow Woods Law Offices PLLC for coverage of the Court's published opinions and allocatur grants.

Thanks again to Boy Scout Troop 905 Moon Township for inviting me to speak to you tonight about our constitutional rights and responsibilities as Americans. The Scouts were bright, engaged, and asked a lot of great questions. If these are our future leaders, I feel better already.

Judge Reeves’ opinion, linked in the article, is excellently written, and explains how qualified immunity is now, in practice, free reign to violate all but the most obvious of our constitutional rights, and how it leads to both petty and unspeakable, monstrous injustices perpetrated under the color of constitutional and legal authority. It spans over 70 pages, but you won’t be able to put it down. https://abovethelaw.com//judge-unleashes-rhetorical-devas/

Great interview with Professor Jessica S. Henry on her new book, Smoke But No Fire: Convicting the Innocent of Crimes that Never Happened. Professor Henry talks at length about how false reports of crime, unreliable witnesses, junk forensic science that is still regarded as gospel in court, the immense power and pressure the government exercises on people accused of crime, and just the basic inability of police, prosecutors, and defense attorneys to give enough attention to each case puts innocent people in jail. https://abovethelaw.com//the-fight-against-convictions-wh/