Written by Jim Martin, Lehigh County District Attorney and Julia Kocis, Director of the Lehigh County Regional Intelligence and Investigation Center (RIIC) The difficult and overwhelming realities of the opioid/heroin crisis are the subject of intense focus and concern for citizens and law enforcement. Unfortunately, it is not the first crisis situation to impact the safety and security of our communities
Read full post hereMy name is John Adams, and I am the President of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association and the District Attorney in Berks County. I appreciate the opportunity to appear before the Sentencing Commission today to discuss the proposed change to the Guidelines to increase the Offense Gravity Scores for drug delivery crimes involving fentanyl, an extraordinarily dangerous and deadly synthetic
Read full post hereHarrisburg, PA – Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association President and Berks County District Attorney John Adams today released the statement below after a bill to fix the state’s sex offender registry (Megan’s Law) was unanimously approved by the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee: “PDAA thanks members of the House Judiciary Committee for passing HB 1952, which will ensure that tens of thousands of
Read full post hereAmong the candidates on the November 7, 2017 ballot were District Attorney offices in 18 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. Additionally, four current District Attorneys were elected to the Court of Common Please in their respective counties. The following are the unofficial results of those elections. District Attorneys and county elections offices and/or websites provided this information. New District Attorneys are
Read full post hereNo racial bias in prosecutor decisions or defendants who receive death penalties found by Penn State Study Harrisburg, PA – A study on capital punishment decisions in Pennsylvania found there is no racial bias in prosecutors’ decisions or in defendants who receive death penalty sentences. The findings of the report are in direct contrast to the racial-bias narrative pushed for years
Read full post hereHarrisburg, PA – The annual Crime in the United States report released on Sept. 25 raises more questions than answers and demonstrates some troubling trends about public safety in Pennsylvania and across the country. The report, written by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program, and its findings offer important guidance to criminal justice policy experts and practitioners on the need
Read full post hereWithout legislative fix approximately 10,000 sex offenders could avoid prosecution for failing to register and may be removed from list meant to protect adults and children from sexual predators HARRISBURG, PA – Unless the Commonwealth reenacts a version of Megan’s Law in response to a state Supreme Court ruling earlier this year, approximately 10,000 sex offenders would escape prosecution for failing
Read full post hereMy name is Dave Freed, and I am the Cumberland County District Attorney and Communications Chair for the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association. I am pleased to speak with you today about our sex offender registration statute, recent case law that struck certain parts of the statute, and the need for a statutory fix in order to ensure that we have
Read full post hereHarrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania District Attorneys Institute (PDAI) announced today that Union County District Attorney D. Peter Johnson has been elected president to lead the organization during the 2017–2018 business year. The election took place during the institution’s annual business meeting. The new officers are: President: Hon. D. Peter Johnson, Union County District Attorney Vice President: Hon. David J.
Read full post hereHarrisburg, PA – Today, the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association (PDAA) announced its newly elected officers for the 2017–2018 business year. The election took place during the association’s annual business meeting. The new officers are: President: Hon. John T. Adams, Berks County District Attorney Vice President: Hon. Richard A. Goldinger, Butler County District Attorney Secretary Treasurer: Hon. Raymond J. Tonkin, Pike
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