Lycoming County Court Opinions
The database contains over 6400 opinions issued by the Lycoming County Court of Common Pleas since 1999.
Browse all the opinions from the list below, with the most recently posted opinions at the top.
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Criminal:
Commonwealth motion in limine seeking to introduce evidence of gang membership, statements made while incarcerated, evidence that defendant was involved with selling drugs, and admission of defendant that he uses marijuana; possible prejudice; use of evidence for limited purpose
(Coleman010311L)
(Posted: January 28th 2011)
Criminal:
Motion for reconsideration of sentence; resentencing due to defendant absconding while on probation; separate federal court drug offenses; ineligibility for "safety valve" reduction in mandatory federal sentence due to state court sentence length; refusal to engage in result oriented justice; consideration of collateral consequences of sentence where sentence is proper
(johnson010411L)
(Posted: January 28th 2011)
Criminal:
Motion to terminate ARD due to arrest for drug offense; jurisdiction to reconsider a non-final order; termination of ARD before conviction of collateral crime; suspension of ARD participation pending resolution of appeal of decision in collateral drug case against defendant
(BRISTER010311L)
(Posted: January 28th 2011)
Criminal:
Appeal
(Graves010411L)
(Posted: January 28th 2011)
Criminal:
Commonwealth appeal; waiver of issue for failure to raise in the hearing; scope of pat down
(Hickman011011L)
(Posted: January 28th 2011)
Criminal:
Motion to dismiss; rule 600; excludable time; defendant's filing of a pre-trial motion
(Bryant011111L)
(Posted: January 28th 2011)
Adoption:
Agency petition to involuntarily terminate parental rights; dependent child; incarcerated father who has attempted to maintain contact with the child; no settled purpose to relinquish parental claim; father's lack of employment skills; mother's failure to comply with agency goals for reunification and inability to provide for child's essential needs; mother's lack of job or permanent address; capability of meeting the essential needs of the child; termination best serving the child's needs and welfare
(SM011311L)
(Posted: January 28th 2011)
Criminal:
Commonwealth motion to preclude evidence; cross-examination of victim on specific acts of theft, disorderly conduct and other bad acts; relevance to credibility; motive to fabricate
(segraves011811L)
(Posted: January 28th 2011)
Criminal:
Motion to admit certain statements; out-of-court statements made by 4 year old victim of sexual abuse; admissibility under 42 Pa.C.S. §5985.1.
(Hayduk011411L)
(Posted: January 28th 2011)
Criminal:
Appeal of suppression and trial issues; failure to raise issues by motion or objection; waiver; sufficiency of evidence of possession of child pornography; admissions of the defendant; expert testimony of the age of children depicted in photographs; waiver of weight of the evidence issues; failure to object to prosecutor's reference in opening remarks to defendant as child predator; mistrial request due to presence of assistant district attorney on jury panel; corruption of minors conviction for swearing and off-color jokes; playing recorded statement as part of questioning of witness; constitutionality of sexually violent predator finding
(Bodle012111L)
(Posted: January 28th 2011)
Criminal:
Motion to vacate order of contempt; Commonwealth's inadvertent motion for contempt for conduct that should have been prosecuted as a crime; double jeopardy considerations; role of court in correcting errors of counsel; discretion of the court to enter orders that are fair and just under all of the circumstances.
(Weeks012611L)
(Posted: January 28th 2011)
Criminal:
Appeal; Brady violation; factual insufficiency of the claimed violation
(Clark012711bt)
(Posted: January 28th 2011)
Civil:
Non-jury verdict; plaintiff struck on head with beer mug; minimal scar; $2500 awarded
(Shay012811g)
(Posted: January 28th 2011)
Criminal:
Appeal; post conviction relief act petition; jurisdiction; timeliness; deportation proceedings; detention by Homeland Security as related to sentence of the court
(McKenzie012811bt)
(Posted: January 28th 2011)
Civil:
Appeal; legal malpractice claim; statute of limitations; strict application; lack of factual basis for claim that defendant advised plaintiff on a stock sale agreement
(Doebler012711g)
(Posted: January 27th 2011)
Criminal:
Omnibus pre-trial motion; timely filing; suppression issue; probable cause to stop vehicle; information that driver of vehicle had suspended drivers license and outstanding bench warrants
(White012411m)
(Posted: January 25th 2011)
Criminal:
Motion in limine to preclude introduction of pornographic photos of children; stipulation for trial that photos are child pornography; probative_x000d_
value outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice
(Hartsock012111m)
(Posted: January 24th 2011)
Criminal:
Motion to suppress; stop and search of parolee by probation officer; reasonable suspicion to search if possession of contraband suspected; suspicious behavior by parolee
(Andrews012111bt)
(Posted: January 21st 2011)
Support:
Exceptions to support; contribution toward an extraordinary expense; payment to mother for child care; adjustment for mortgage payment; high arrearage payment constituting a hardship
(lacerra012011a)
(Posted: January 20th 2011)
Civil:
Appeal of non-jury decision apportioning ownership of land; findings supported by the testimony
(Winner11111g)
(Posted: January 12th 2011)
Criminal:
Post sentence motion; sufficiency and weight of evidence; evidence of actual and constructive possession of heroin; taking substantial steps toward delivering a controlled substance; criminal use of cellular phone; applicability of mandatory school sentencing enhancement
(Newton011211bt)
(Posted: January 12th 2011)
Criminal:
Post conviction hearing act petition; ineffective counsel; knowing, voluntary and intelligent guilty plea; written and on the record guilty plea colloquy; lack of specific allegations in petition; waiver of suppression issues by guilty plea
(Mosley010311b)
(Posted: January 8th 2011)
Criminal:
Motion to dismiss; determination of identity of perpetrator by DNA evidence; statutory extension of statute of limitations; legislative intent
(murray123010L)
(Posted: January 4th 2011)
Criminal:
Appeal
(Bressman120710L)
(Posted: January 3rd 2011)
Criminal:
Issues related to the testimony of a police officer as an expert
(Butler11120910L)
(Posted: January 3rd 2011)
Criminal:
Motion to admit bad acts; drug case; evidence of other crimes to explain a course of conduct; weighing probative value against prejudice
(brown120810L)
(Posted: January 3rd 2011)
In rem: 2001 Dodge Ram; 1998 Dodge Sedan; 1998 Dodge Stratus
12.14.2010
Nancy L. Butts, Dudley N. Anderson, Richard A. Gray, Marc F. Lovecchio, Joy Reynolds McCoy
Civil:
Petitions of repairmen to involuntarily transfer title of vehicles; unpaid repair bills; repairman's lien; due process; notice and a chance to be heard
(transfer121410e)
(Posted: January 3rd 2011)
Criminal:
Suppression motion; mere encounter becoming an investigatory stop; requesting person to exit a vehicle; reasonable suspicion to stop a vehicle; suspicious activity indicating criminal activity was afoot
(Temple121410L)
(Posted: January 3rd 2011)
Criminal:
Motion to admit certain statements; child victim of sex offenses; out of court statements; Tender Years Act; reliability of the statements
(Hayduk121410L)
(Posted: January 3rd 2011)
Criminal:
Petition for habeas corpus; prima facia case; competency of child's testimony about a cigarette burn; evidence of criminal culpability
(whitney121610L)
(Posted: January 3rd 2011)
Criminal:
Post verdict motions; mistrial due to juror misconduct; juror comments to prosecuting officer; waiver of objections by failure to create a record; sufficiency of evidence of juror bias; sufficiency and weight of evidence
(Mills122010L)
(Posted: January 3rd 2011)
Criminal:
Motion for remand for preliminary hearing; preliminary hearing waived in reliance on plea agreement that was later revoked
(Brown122110L2)
(Posted: January 3rd 2011)
Criminal:
Habeas corpus petition; applicability of statutory presumption of child abuse; waiver of argument; sufficiency of evidence
(Ingram122310L)
(Posted: January 3rd 2011)
Criminal:
Omnibus pre-trial motion; DUI case; probable cause to arrest without field sobriety tests; totality of circumstances
(Cable120710L)
(Posted: January 3rd 2011)
Criminal:
Suppression motion; Miranda rights; student giving a statement in principal's office; freedom to leave; motion to consolidate - motion to sever; lack of prejudice
(Edwards123010L)
(Posted: January 3rd 2011)
Criminal:
Motion to enforce plea agreement; Rule 586 dismissal upon payment of restitution; plea agreement or dispositional agreement; notions of equity and fundamental fairness
(Newman122910L)
(Posted: January 3rd 2011)
Criminal:
Preliminary objections; specificity of complaint in identifying the health care professionals who treated plaintiff; direct claim against corporation; specificity of corporate liability averments; sufficiency of "bare-bones" averments of causation.
(james1222710L)
(Posted: December 27th 2010)
Criminal:
Petition for habeas corpus; sufficiency of evidence; theft case; contractor obtaining money for work that is never performed
(Diemer122310bt)
(Posted: December 23rd 2010)
Civil:
Post sentence motions for arrest of judgment or for new trial; drug delivery case; sufficiency of evidence; actual or constructive possession; evidence from which intent to deliver can be found; weight of the evidence
(Thomas122310bt)
(Posted: December 23rd 2010)
Criminal:
Post conviction relief act petition; ineffective counsel; failure to file timely suppression motion; search of person without warrant; inevitable discovery as search incident to arrest would have occurred
(Deas122310bt)
(Posted: December 23rd 2010)
Support:
Exceptions to support order; earning capacity; reasonable efforts to obtain suitable employment; inclusion of business expenses in calculation of earning capacity; credit for payment of marital expenses; calculating credit due in equitable distribution for mortgage payment
(dg122210a)
(Posted: December 22nd 2010)
Divorce:
Motion for reconsideration of bifurcated divorce decree; conditions in bifurcation order; interest in obtaining adequate health insurance; failure to file timely petition requesting special relief; refusal of court to consider ex-parte communications
(gz121410m)
(Posted: December 14th 2010)
Divorce:
Motion to interpret antenuptial agreement; pension distribution; distribution of accumulated sick time and leave upon retirement; claimed ambiguity; rules of interpretation; plain meaning of the clear and unambiguous contract
(sc121410m)
(Posted: December 14th 2010)
Civil:
Motion for summary judgment; fall case; duty of landowner; accident not related to condition of the land
(Free120910g)
(Posted: December 9th 2010)
Criminal:
Post conviction relief act petition; ineffective counsel; advice regarding sentencing exposure, withdrawal of guilty plea and appeal; presence of defendant in open court while court discussed sentencing exposure
(Grissom120610bt)
(Posted: December 8th 2010)
Adoption:
Petitions for termination of parental rights; incarcerated parent; child conceived as a result of rape; primary consideration to the needs and welfare of the child
(mjk120710a)
(Posted: December 8th 2010)
Criminal:
Petition for writ of habeas corpus; attempted rape; merely throwing someone down; assault and false imprisonment claims
(Downs120210bt)
(Posted: December 3rd 2010)
Criminal:
Motion to admit bad acts relating to persuasion books and literature; remote nexus; motion to preclude evidence to be used to impugn character of 7 year old boy; admissibility of statements of defendant made to inmates about sexual characteristics of unrelated children; statements that reflect defendant's state of mind are admissible; probative value of evidence outweighing prejudicial effect
(Bodle120310g)
(Posted: December 3rd 2010)
Criminal:
Premature appeal; request for remand
(Zeigler110910bt)
(Posted: December 1st 2010)
Civil:
Non-jury trial; breach of contract and of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law; installation of a geothermal heating and cooling system; warranty as to the comfort to be provided by heating system; speculative damages; award of attorney fees and penalty
(lowmiller112910a)
(Posted: December 1st 2010)
Criminal:
Appeal; probation violation and new criminal offense; excessive sentence claim; discretion of the court
(Gibbons112910bt)
(Posted: December 1st 2010)
Criminal:
Suppression motion; vehicle stop; dark tinted windows; reason to believe vehicle code violated; probable cause to arrest and search; information from confidential informant that person with distinctive tattoos like defendant's was involved in drug transaction
(Duval113010bt)
(Posted: December 1st 2010)
Criminal:
Motion to dismiss case or to prohibit the introduction of evidence by the district attorney; failure to respond to bill of particulars in a timely manner; evasive or insufficient responses
(camp120110a)
(Posted: December 1st 2010)
Criminal:
Post conviction relief act petition; ineffective counsel; failure to file suppression motion; voluntariness of confession; in camera review of taped confession
(Fisher112310bt)
(Posted: December 1st 2010)
Civil:
Motion for summary judgment; fall case; steps with uneven riser heights and no handrail; need to eliminate all other possible causes of injury; motion in limine regarding expert testimony; factual basis for expert opinion; engineer testifying about human factors
(Segraves112310g)
(Posted: November 23rd 2010)
Criminal:
Timeliness of suppression motion; tardy discovery responses; interest of justice; arguable merit of the motion; lack of prejudice
(Coleman112310L)
(Posted: November 23rd 2010)
Criminal:
Non-jury trial; question of whether police chase occurred at high speed and endangered a law enforcement officer or member of public; evidence of possession of heroin with intent to deliver; consciousness of guilt by fleeing
(Peck112210L)
(Posted: November 22nd 2010)
Criminal:
Suppression motion; vehicle stop; drug case; vehicle with illegal heavy tinting; extended period to stop; criminal history of driver in drug trafficking; high crime area; habeas corpus motion; prima facie evidence of constructive possession of heroin; circumstantial evidence; consciousness of guilt; need to test all drugs found to prove intent to deliver; discovery issues regarding sufficiency of expert opinion; discovery of discipline records of officer
(Butler112210L)
(Posted: November 22nd 2010)
Criminal:
Motion to consolidate; participation in same act or transaction constituting an offense; prejudice; timeliness of motion to suppress; motion delayed pending application to drug court; lack of legitimate reason to delay filing of suppression motion
(banks112210L)
(Posted: November 22nd 2010)
Civil:
Non-jury trial; interpretation of real property sales agreement; oil and gas rights; good faith effort to fulfill condition precedent
(charles111910a)
(Posted: November 19th 2010)
Divorce:
Motion for contempt; court ordered sale of timeshare interest through deed of foreclosure; failure to comply with order dictated in open court; burden in a civil contempt proceeding; attorney fees and costs as sanctions
(C-F111910L)
(Posted: November 19th 2010)
Criminal:
Non-jury verdict; drug delivery case; defendant acting as agent of informant and does not profit; conspiracy where conduct does not constitute crimes specified
(yost111710a)
(Posted: November 17th 2010)
Criminal:
Appeal; sentencing for sexual abuse of children; discretion of court; intent to incarcerate defendant for life
(Bennet111710k)
(Posted: November 17th 2010)
Criminal:
Pretrial motion challenging competency of 7 year old child to testify; possibility of tainted memory; impact of learning disability
(whitney111710L)
(Posted: November 17th 2010)
Criminal:
Post conviction relief act petition; voluntariness of plea agreement; awareness of sentencing options upon violation of probation; clear colloquy; extensive criminal history
(Fisher111510bt)
(Posted: November 15th 2010)
Divorce:
Emergency petition regarding removal of a safe from the marital home; finding of contempt; payment of attorney fees and expenses
(SHM111110L)
(Posted: November 11th 2010)
Criminal:
Summary appeal; driving under suspension; motion to suppress; reasonable suspicion to stop a motor vehicle; illegal window tinting
(beck111010L)
(Posted: November 10th 2010)
Criminal:
Pretrial motions; amending the criminal information; defect in the date charged and in offense charged; lack of prejudice; motions in limine; admission of prior crime evidence and evidence of defendant's financial records; relevance outweighing prejudice
(Brown111010L)
(Posted: November 10th 2010)
Civil:
Protection from abuse petition; timeliness of hearing scheduling; credibility of crack smoking story; lack of evidence of abuse
(HLS-C110910L)
(Posted: November 9th 2010)
Civil:
Appeal; medical malpractice verdict; use of evidence previously ruled inadmissible where opposing party opened the door; harmless error; voir dire; race based strike of juror; race-neutral explanation
(neff110410a)
(Posted: November 5th 2010)
Criminal:
Motion to modify sentence; motion for judgment of acquittal or for new trial; drug case; sentencing guidelines; sufficiency and weight of the evidence; constructive possession; need for expert testimony to interpret GPS monitoring data; waiver of objections; ineffective counsel; adequacy of record on ineffective assistance claim
(Howard110310bt)
(Posted: November 5th 2010)
Criminal:
Post trial motions; drug possession conviction; sufficiency of the evidence; constructive possession; suppression issue; coordinate jurisdiction rule; overruling decision of another judge; weight of the evidence; excessive sentence
(taylor093010L)
(Posted: November 3rd 2010)
Adoption:
Termination of parental rights; appeal; lack of any contact between father and child for more than 3 years; lack of financial support; bond with step-father; best interests of the child
(sj100610L)
(Posted: November 3rd 2010)
Criminal:
Petition for writ of habeas corpus; sufficiency of evidence that defendants caused injuries to their child; lack of exclusive control
(ingram100510L)
(Posted: November 3rd 2010)
Criminal:
Appeal
(Perry101110L)
(Posted: November 3rd 2010)
Criminal:
Motion in limine; use of evidence of bad acts to prove intent; probative value outweighing potential for prejudice; use of crossed out statement of defendant for substantive evidence or cross-examination; relevance of statement by defendant to informant that could infer that defendant was dealing drugs; prejudicial impact of evidence
(PRICE100810L)
(Posted: November 3rd 2010)
Criminal:
Appeal; waiver of appeal issues for failure to file rule 1925(b) statement
(Graves101110L)
(Posted: November 3rd 2010)
Adoption:
Petition to involuntarily terminate parental rights; failure to perform parental duties for at least 6 months; incarceration; mere passive interest shown by parent; parent incapable of meeting the essential needs of the child; extensive criminal record and no guarantee of employability; best interest and welfare of child
(PRM102110L)
(Posted: November 3rd 2010)
Criminal:
Motion to reconsider suppression motion; exceeding scope of lawful pat down; jurisdiction to reconsider after 30 days; no evidence that officer believed defendant had a weapon, during the pat down
(hickman102610L)
(Posted: November 3rd 2010)
Criminal:
Post sentence motion; failure to register address as required by Megan's Law; sufficiency and weight of evidence; de minimus violation
(Bressman102610L)
(Posted: November 3rd 2010)
Civil:
Reconsideration of summary judgment; use of plaintiff's affidavit to contradict his sworn deposition testimony to raise a factual issue
(Doebler110310g)
(Posted: November 3rd 2010)
Bailey vs. Lobar, Inc., The Farfield Company, Jay R. Reynolds, Inc. and the Pa Group
10.28.2010
Dudley N. Anderson
Civil:
Sequestration of witnesses to be deposed; freedom from outside influences
(bailey102810a)
(Posted: October 28th 2010)
Criminal:
Appeal; quashing subpoena of public defender to testify against client; information about prison report date
(Richardson102210g)
(Posted: October 22nd 2010)
Criminal:
Petition to transfer juvenile matters to criminal system; burglary charges at age 17; sentencing options for 19 year olds; history of criminal activity; failure of past rehabilitation efforts
(klobcharmalone102210a)
(Posted: October 22nd 2010)
Criminal:
Motion to suppress; DUI case; mere encounter with officer leading to reasonable suspicion of unlawful activity
(Prentiss102010bt)
(Posted: October 20th 2010)
Civil:
Partition action; remand from Superior Court; interests in land; settlement offer; direction to sell property
(Winner101910g)
(Posted: October 19th 2010)
Criminal:
Post conviction relief act petition; ineffective trial counsel; failure to move for suppression of informant's statements that were used to arrest defendant, where the informant did not testify at trial
(clark101210bt)
(Posted: October 12th 2010)
Criminal:
Motion to admit bad acts; admission to parole officer; prejudice due to fact that defendant has a parole officer
(Turner101110g)
(Posted: October 11th 2010)
Criminal:
Post conviction relief act petition; ineffective counsel; adequacy of the jury charge
(Rogers101110bt)
(Posted: October 11th 2010)
Civil:
Motion for summary judgment; breach of contract; oral contract; statute of frauds; Uniform Commercial Code; transaction involving predominantly the rendition of services; unjust enrichment claim; applicability of arbitration agreement
(Diefenderfer100810g)
(Posted: October 8th 2010)
Administrative Appeal:
Appeals from the decision of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board; license transfer issue; parking issues; speculative concerns about increased noise and traffic; lack of proof of adverse affect to neighborhood
(morrone100510a)
(Posted: October 6th 2010)
Criminal:
Appeal; challenge to jurisdiction
(Bennett093010bt)
(Posted: October 1st 2010)
Criminal:
Petition for habeas corpus; prima facie case; circumstantial evidence of theft; assault charge; issue of self defense is for the jury
(adams091310L)
(Posted: September 30th 2010)
Criminal:
Petition for writ of habeas corpus; treating matter as post conviction relief act petition; timeliness of petition; jurisdiction of the court; conviction of more than one inchoate crimes; prejudice in presentation of claims to jury; credit for time served; amending sentencing orders
(Mincy092110L)
(Posted: September 30th 2010)
Civil:
Motions for summary judgment; interpretation of real estate purchase contract; investment in property with gas rights; old mineral rights reservation in chain of title; enforceable condition precedent
(charles092910a)
(Posted: September 30th 2010)
Divorce:
Interpretation of property settlement agreement; general rules of contract interpretation
(Taber092910g)
(Posted: September 29th 2010)
Criminal:
Appeal; suppression; sufficiency and weight of evidence
(Neal092710bt)
(Posted: September 27th 2010)
Administrative Appeal:
License suspension appeal; DUI arrest; equivocal agreement to submit to a blood test treated as refusal
(marshall092210a)
(Posted: September 23rd 2010)
Criminal:
Post conviction relief act petition; timeliness; failure to plead an exception to the time rules
(Randall092110bt)
(Posted: September 21st 2010)
Civil:
Petition for forfeiture and condemnation; currency discovered in traffic stop; introduction of evidence of bad acts; evidence rule 404(b); pattern of criminal conduct; separate incidents or separate events; prejudice
(Turner091510g)
(Posted: September 17th 2010)
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Williamsport, PA 17701
