State College Legal Blog

We’ve written extensively on this blog about how mistakes that lead to an arrest or conviction can haunt a person for life. It can make it harder to find an apartment, get a job or enroll in college. That is why helping people who’ve served their sentences remain productive members of society is one of the biggest components of the criminal justice reform conversation happening nationally.

Pennsylvania currently allows certain people to expunge criminal convictions. However, this law is quite restrictive. If you have a prior conviction on your record, you likely already know that seeking and receiving an expungement can cost precious time and money that can be hard to come by when trying to make ends meet.

When a confidential police informant said that a certain State College man was selling drugs from his residence on Carnegie Drive, the police still had work to do to make their case against him. Tipsters and police informants don't always provide accurate information and sometimes may be motivated by bias, self-interest or other questionable factors.

For some reason, the police did not obtain a warrant to search the residence. Instead, officers initiated a traffic stop after the man left his home. Based on the report in the Centre Daily Times, it is unclear what prompted that traffic stop. The man continued on for three or four blocks before stopping and asking an officer what he had been stopped for.

Unfortunately, far too many people in Pennsylvania and across the country are unaware of their right to deny police entry to their home or vehicle without a search warrant signed by a judge. Even if someone asks police to see a warrant, officers respond with questions like, “If you don’t have anything to hide, why don’t you just let us in?”

Allowing police to search your home or vehicle without a warrant sets a dangerous precedent, even if you have “nothing to hide.” But what about property that isn’t yours, but you have permission to use?

When someone is arrested for DUI, one thing a defense attorney might look into is whether the breath test was accurate. These tests can be performed incorrectly, and the machines may be uncalibrated or calibrated improperly. Just as important, the machines are manufactured and marketed for profit, with source codes that are proprietary. That means that there could be hidden issues that lead to inaccurate test results.

Recently, the website ZDNet published an investigation into the Alcotest 9510, a commonly used breath testing machine. (The Alcotest 9510 is not the only breath testing machine to be challenged for potential inaccuracy.) The investigation found good reason to suspect the Alcotest 9510, as configured and used by the Washington State Patrol, may be capable of inflating breath-alcohol test results under certain circumstances. The Washington State Patrol's configuration and options are probably relatively common among police agencies.