To get a criminal case to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is tough. You may recall my general overview of the PA Supreme Court in a prior blog. I am facing some potential cases that may eventually get there. It all depends on the intermediate level courts. As an aside, did you know that the PA Supreme Court is the nation's oldest appellate court?
In speaking with criminal lawyers in Bucks County, it appears that there are a few general reasons why cases get to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Here they are:
The Supreme Court is selective and the odds of getting a case up for their review as a Petitioner are tough. First, there is just significant volume to choose from. Second, the petition may generally be seeking a chance to "correct" a decision below, but the Supreme Court is generally looking for issues to speak about. The reasons for seeking Supreme Court review must be special and important. Is this about picayune details of your case or is there generally a potentially new area of the law that needs to be settled?
The Supreme Court is not looking to review credibility or upset long settle principles (unless those principles may be antiquated or now unjust). The Court is not looking towards mere error or fact intensive exceptions? Instead, they want to settle bigger disputes that have been percolating up through the lower courts for a long time.