Drug-Dog Sniffs: When Police Need a Warrant for Your Car or Porch
A sniff of a lawfully stopped car's exterior needs no warrant—but police cannot stretch the stop to run the dog, and a sniff at your front porch demands one.
Utility Lines and Tree-Trimming Without a Recorded Easement
A clean deed is not the whole story. Under Pennsylvania law, four independent sources of authority can let an electric utility cross private land and clear vegetation — even when your own deed says nothing about it.
Can Police Search Your Car at a PA Traffic Stop? The Alexander Rule
After Commonwealth v. Alexander, Pennsylvania police generally cannot search your vehicle on probable cause alone. They need exigent circumstances too — a meaningful departure from federal law.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Ends Warrantless Searches of Posted Private Land
The Court overruled a 2007 precedent and held that landowners who post their property are entitled to a warrant before the government can come in.