Selling narcotics is obvious, possesion with the intent to deliver in that you hold narcotics that you intend not to use, but to deliver to other people. The packaging of the narcotics is not necessarily relvant if the sale is observed. Be it marijuana, cocaine, pcp, heroin, or methamphetamine, this type of PWID is easy to understand.
Sharing narcotics is a bit more tricky because people in the general public think of PWID as drug dealing, so when someone goes to a party and brings a enough marijuana or cocaine for the whole party, they are not a drug dealer, just a generous party goer. However, this too meets the plain language definition of Possession with the Intent to Deliver because the person possessed the narcotics and delivered them to other people.
If the video excerpt from above occurred in Pennsylvania, my opinion is that it would fall within the guise of sharing narcotics. While the individual, was not attempting to get paid for selling weed, he was delivering it in a social sense at the casino.
The third example of possession with the intent to delvier is the most difficult for people to understand, and that is quantity. The basis for this type is that a reasonable could not personally injest the amount possessed alone, therefore they must possess it with the intent to deliver. This type of PWID is often the most defenseable from my perspective because based on the packaging, the weight, or the circumstance surrounding the arrest, the quantity can often be explained away in a very reasonable manner that is quite convincing to the trier of fact.
There are no bail bondsmen in Philadelphia. The court system, in its own way, acts as a bondsman. An individual need only post ten percent of the total bail, and he or she will be released. (If bail is ten thousand, one thousand in cash gets you out.) Bail can be posted at the Criminal Justice Center at 1301 Filbert Street, in the basement level, twenty-four hours a day. During daytime hours, bail can also be posted at the Curran Fromhold Correctional Facility (CFCF) at 7901 State Road.
At the conclusion of the case, bail is refunded to the defendant (or whoever posts the bail, if the person who posts bail puts themselves as the guarantor). However, the City of Philadelphia keeps thirty percent of the bail money, up to a maximum of $750.00. The remainder of the bail posted is refundable, no matter if the defendant is found guilty or not-guilty.
Philadelphia accepts credit cards to post bail. However, the full amount of the bail must be posted – not just the ten percent. Real estate is also accepted as bail security, but again, the equity in the real estate must be valued at the full amount of bail – not just the ten percent.
If a defendant posts bail and then fails to appear in court or fails to abide by the conditions of bail, then all the money deposited is forfeited.
Summary Offenses in Pennsylvania range from disorderly conduct to speeding tickets. Summary offenses are broken down into two categories, traffic and non traffic offenses. Non traffic summary offenses DO appear in criminal record history checks even though summary offenses are actually not criminal convictions like misdemeanors and felonies. Summary offenses are often reviewed by potential employers and should be taken seriously even though they are not criminal convictions.
Some of the most common summary offenses we see are disorderly conduct, public drunkenness, retail theft, and harassment. Often times when the police don’t really have any real crime to charge , but they want to assert their power against you, they use a summary offense as a guise to make a lawful arrest and say that your conduct was unlawful.
For example, I have had many cases where clients tell me that they observed the police making a bad arrest or physically inflicting harm against someone they were trying to arrest and my client started yelling at the officer about the way they were treating the other human being, or they were capturing the treatment on video from their cell phone. Another officer approaches my client and arrests them for disorderly conduct, and magically, their phone disappears.
Summary offenses are expungeable in Pennsylvania, even if convicted. If five years pass with no other incidents with the law, you may apply for an expungement with the Court of Common Pleas, and there will be a full hearing as to whether the summary conviction with be expunged. Unlike and ARD (Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition), there is no automatic right to expungement–you must win the hearing.
