Pennsylvania court considers intervention in Philadelpia DA impeachment
In a virtual hearing Thursday, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court considered whether to intervene in the impeachment of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner. Lawyers for Krasner urged the court to declare the proceedings legally baseless. A four judge panel, evenly split between democrats and republicans, is hearing the case. The panel did not say when they [...]
Philadelphia election board reinstates process expected to slow election results
During an emergency meeting Tuesday, Philadelphia City Commissioners voted 2-1 to reinstate the time-consuming and labor-intensive process of poll book reconciliation, reversing a decision made less than a week ago to waive the onerous procedure. In poll book reconciliation, poll books are amended to indicate whether a voter has voted twice. While every county carries [...]
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has upheld a law expanding the state’s vote-by-mail measures, finding the law does not violate the state constitution. The case was originally brought by state Republican representatives who voted in favor of the law back in 2019. At the center of the case is a 2019 law known as Act 77, which [...]
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled Tuesday that Allegheny County DA Stephen Zappala violated his duty when he failed to review private criminal complaints against Pittsburgh’s assault weapons ban and compelled Zappala to do so. In response to the Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting in 2019, firearm ordinances were passed that outlawed certain firearms and [...]
The US Supreme Court Tuesday issued an order temporarily blocking the counting of some Pennsylvania mail-in ballots that do not have a handwritten date on their declaration forms. This US Supreme Court ruling, which did not include the Court’s reasoning, could affect the close Republican US Senate primary election in Pennsylvania between David McCormick and [...]
Lauren Ban is a rising 2L at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and JURIST’s US Bureau Chief. Pennsylvania’s primary elections took place May 17, some nine days ago now. Here’s what we know so far: the Democratic and Republican candidates for the gubernatorial race are decided, as is the Democratic candidate for the [...]
Republican US Senate candidate David McCormick Monday brought a lawsuit asking a Pennsylvania court to order counties to count undated mail-in ballots from the state’s May 17 primary. The ballots could impact the outcome of McCormick’s primary race against celebrity physician Dr. Mehmet Oz. McCormick is less than 1,000 votes behind Oz. McCormick, a former [...]
Pennsylvania court declares state mail-in voting law unconstitutional
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania Friday declared unconstitutional Pennsylvania’s “no-excuse mail-in voting law,” which permits voters to cast their ballots by mail without providing an excuse for their absence. Doug McLinko filed suit against Pennsylvania’s Acting Secretary Veronica Degraffenreid, seeking an order declaring that Article XIII-D of the Pennsylvania Election Code violates the Pennsylvania Constitution. [...]
Pennsylvania Supreme Court strikes down victims' rights constitutional amendment
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down “Marsy’s Law,” a victims’ rights amendment that would have added a new provision to Article I of the Pennsylvania Constitution. The amendment includes provisions for the right to be notified about and present at proceedings against the perpetrator, the right to be involved in release and sentencing of [...]
Pennsylvania voters file suit asking state court to redraw congressional districts
Registered voters filed suit Friday, asking the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania to intervene in the state’s 2021 redistricting process. In the last decade, Pennsylvania’s population has grown more slowly than other states. These changes are reflected in the 2020 census data. The Pennsylvania legislature is required to construct a new congressional map based on that [...]
