For the Defense - Vol. 6, Issue 2 - 32

Using the strategy above, people both in and
outside my office have had tremendous success with
Rule 600 motions. Oftentimes, just making it plain
to the Commonwealth that you intend to seriously
litigate this issue can get you results. It is only one
weapon in your arsenal, but because a win means
discharge, it is a potent weapon that should never
be overlooked.
PANTONE
NOTES:
1
NOTES:
1
6
7
2955C
CMYK
397 U.S. 742 (1970).
2 434 U.S. 357, 365 (1978).
90/78/39/30
RGB
2 U.S. ConSt. Amend. VI; PA. CONST. art. 1, § 9.
#153A5B
#EAC137
Commonwealth v. Mills, 162 A.3d 323 (Pa. 2017).
5 Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, 58 (1985).
HEXIDECIMAL
3 Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742, 758 (1970).
4 Menna v. New York, 423 U. S. 61, 62 n.2 (1975).
22/58/92
234/194/56
3 Commonwealth v. DeBlase, 665 A.2d 427, 431 (Pa. 1995).
4
Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514, 530 (1972) (articulating the
constitutional test); Commonwealth v. Preston, 904 A.2d
1, 10 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2006) (the Barker test is an entirely
separate analysis from Rule 600 and therefore needs to be
raised separately).
Pa.R.Crim.P. Rule 600(2)(a); see also Commonwealth
v. Kearse, 890 A.2d 388, 395 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2005) (no
" prejudice " need be shown to obtain Rule 600 dismissal).
While Rule 600 has a more definitive time period, the sole
focus of Rule 600 is on the action of the Commonwealth.
Thus, a constitutional argument should be forwarded
when a delay prejudices a defendant and that delay was
primarily caused by the courts.
6 Pa.R.Crim.P. Rule 600(D)(1).
5
cUrreNt res. soc. PsychoL. 14 (2013).
8
(2018).
9
PsychoLogy, PUB. PoL'y, aNd L. 158 (2018).
10
About the Author
Click here to view and/or print the
full notes section for this article.
Guilty, 24 PsychoL. PUB. PoL'y aNd L. 204 (2018).
11
iNterNatioNaL Law JoUrNaL 469 (2020).
13
14
Lafler v. Cooper, 566 U.S. 156, 170 (2012).
Missouri v. Frye, 566 U.S. 134, 143-44 (2012) (internal citations
omitted).
About the Author
Katherine Ernst is an
appellate attorney with the
Montgomery County Public
Defender's Office. She
handles appeals from all
units, juvenile to homicide,
and she also formulates
legal strategy for pre-trial
Lee v. United States, 137 S. Ct. 1958, 1973 (2017) (Thomas, C.,
dissenting).
See Lucian E. Dervan & Vanessa A. Edkins, The Innocent
Defendant's Dilemma: An Innovative Empirical Study of Plea
Bargaining's Innocence Problem, 103 J. crim. L. & crimiNoLogy 1
(2013); Vanessa A. Edkins & Lucian E. Dervan, Pleading Innocents:
Laboratory Evidence of Plea Bargaining's Innocence Problem, 21
Lucian E. Dervan, Class v. United States: Bargained Justice and
a System of Efficiencies, 2017-2018 cato sUPreme coUrt review 113
See e.g., Kelsey S. Henderson & Lora M. Levett, Investigating
Predictors of True and False Guilty Pleas, 42 Law aNd hUmaN
Behavior 427 (2018); Miko M. Wilford & Gary L. Wells, Bluffed by
the Dealer: Distinguishing False Pleas From False Confessions, 24
See Vanessa A. Edkins & Lucian E. Dervan, Freedom Now or
a Future Later: Pitting the Lasting Implications of Collateral
Consequences Against Pretrial Detention in Decisions to Plead
Vanessa A. Edkins & Lucian E. Dervan, Freedom Now or a
Future Later: Pitting the Lasting Implications of Collateral
Consequences against Pretrial Detention in Decisions to Plead
Guilty, 24 PsychoLogy, PUBLic PoL'y, aNd L. 204 (2018).
12
See Andrew M. Pardieck, Vanessa A. Edkins, & Lucian E. Dervan,
The Global Rise of False Testimony for False Pleas, 44 fordham
9/22/91/0
#153A5B
#EAC137
7406C
should lead to great concern that in our quest
to increase the efficiency of our criminal justice
system through the use of plea bargaining,
we have significantly diminished its fairness,
reliability and as a result, its credibility. As
counsel and courts consider what the future
holds, these realities should guide our hand in
finding ways to value reliability above efficiency,
ensure that pleas of guilty are truly voluntary,
and make the exercise of the Sixth Amendment
a real and meaningful option for defendants.
PANTONE
2955C
CMYK
7406C
90/78/39/30
RGB
9/22/91/0
22/58/92
234/194/56
HEXIDECIMAL
and trial units. Katherine graduated Magna Cum
Laude from Loyola Law School, New Orleans
in 2007 and was on law review. She practiced
at Kaufman, Coren & Ress in Philadelphia out
of law school, and thereafter did work in the
intersection of horseracing law and §1983 for a
number of years before following her passion
for indigent criminal defense.
Share this article
32 For The Defense l Vol. 6, Issue 2
Vol. 4, Issue 4 l For The Defense 9
Lucian E. Dervan is a Professor
of Law and Director of
Criminal Justice Studies at
Belmont University College of
Law in Nashville, Tennessee.
His research and writing
focus on domestic and
international criminal law,
including the psychology of
plea bargaining. Professor Dervan's research studies
referenced herein are available for free download and
review on his SSRN page.
For the Defense - Vol. 6, Issue 2

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of For the Defense - Vol. 6, Issue 2
