Harrisburg, 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
Read full post hereHARRISBURG -- The Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association said today that bipartisanship and cooperation led to the balanced and meaningful reforms to Pennsylvania’s civil asset forfeiture laws signed into law today and thanked Governor Tom Wolf and Senators Joe Scarnati, Stewart Greenleaf, Mike Folmer, and Jay Costa, as well as Representatives Dave Reed and Frank Dermody for their support. “SB 8 makes
Read full post hereHARRISBURG -- Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association (PDAA) President and Lebanon County District Attorney David J. Arnold Jr. released the following statement today after the announcement that Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams pled guilty to a corruption charge and has resigned from office: “It’s a difficult day for Philadelphia, but it is also a day that demonstrates no one is above the
Read full post here