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Pennsylvania Supreme Court Draws the Line on Jailhouse Snitches

Loaded on March 15, 1999 published in Prison Legal News March, 1999, page 15
Filed under: Informants (Disciplinary Hearings), Crime/Demographics, Informants. Location: Pennsylvania.
In a highly unusual ruling, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said that "luck or happenstance" is the only allowable means for prosecutors to obtain incriminating information through the use of jailhouse snitches.

In a 4-2 decision, the court overturned a murder conviction and ordered a new trial for Chad Franciscus because ...

 

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More from this issue:

  1. Cheaper Than Lab Rats: Can Prisoners Glow in the Dark?, by Hans Sherrer
  2. Former 'Guinea Pigs' Protest
  3. No Private Rights Under International Treaties
  4. Book Review: Acres of Skin: Human Experiments at Holmesburg Prison, by Daniel Burton-Rose
  5. Book Review: Sensible Justice: Alternatives to Prison, by Daniel Burton-Rose
  6. From the Editor, by Dan Pens
  7. PLN Sues Utah Jail Over Publication Ban; Suit Settled
  8. Wisconsin Resists Out-of-State Transfers
  9. Pro Se Tips and Tactics (Appointment of Counsel), by John Midgley
  10. No Administrative Exhaustion Required for Monetary Claims; No Qualified Immunity for the Malicious Use of Force
  11. Administrative Exhaustion Doesn't Include Judicial Remedies
  12. PLRA "Three Strikes" Provision Upheld and Discussed
  13. Pennsylvania Consent Decrees Terminated Under PLRA
  14. Colorado Prisoner Beaten, Not Stabbed
  15. Florida Nicotine Addiction Suit Settled
  16. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Draws the Line on Jailhouse Snitches
  17. Arkansas Sheriff Bent on "Saving" Prisoners
  18. "Tough" Florida Sheriff Arrested
  19. Eighth Amendment Applies to Escaped Convicts
  20. AHCC Bulk Mail Ban in Miniken Settled
  21. Full Court Overrules Clarke v. Stalder in Part
  22. Lengthy Ad Seg Is Atypical and Significant Hardship
  23. Kansas Good Time Rules Violate Ex Post Facto
  24. Retroactive Kansas Good Time Recalculation Unlawful
  25. South Carolina Grooming Rules Upheld
  26. Judicial Sentence of Life in Solitary Upheld
  27. Warden May Be Liable for Rape
  28. Jail Brutality Verdict Reversed Due to Improper Argument and Jury Instruction
  29. Work-Release Prisoners Eligible to Vote on Union Representation
  30. News in Brief
  31. Retaliatory Beating of Prisoner Is Triable Fact Issue

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