News
Pennsylvania Superior Court Releases Upcoming Oral Argument Schedule
News Article
May 15, 2020
Amid the continued COVID-19 outbreak, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania today announced it will continue using advanced communication technology for upcoming oral argument sessions, including the first 2020 en banc session scheduled for June 3.
During the en banc panel, the Court will hear Commonwealth v. Kevin M. Gary-Ravenell, No. 2551 EDA 2018 (Montgomery County) and Commonwealth v. Alexis Lopez, No. 1313 EDA 2018 (Philadelphia County). In each of these cases, the Court will be deciding whether sentencing courts must make a determination regarding a defendant’s ability to pay before imposing restitution, and if in these particular cases the sentencing courts erred by imposing fines and costs at sentencing without making a determination regarding Appellant’s ability to pay.
The arguments will be accessible to media and the public via video or audio streaming. The full argument list is available here.
Created in 1895, the Superior Court assists the state Supreme Court in disposing of a burgeoning number of appeals in commonwealth. The Court exercises general jurisdiction, statewide, over all appeals from decisions of the state trial courts with the exception of death penalty appeals (heard by the Supreme Court) and cases brought against the commonwealth and its political subdivisions such as school districts and municipalities (heard by Commonwealth Court).
The Court typically hears arguments on appeal in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, but occasionally visits other locations around Pennsylvania for special sessions. As one of the busiest appellate courts in the nations, the Court decides more than 8,000 individual appeals involving civil, criminal, domestic relations and orphans’ court claims annually.
For more information about the Superior Court, visit http://www.pacourts.us/courts/superior-court/. For continually-updated court information related to COVID-19, visit http://www.pacourts.us/ujs-coronavirus-information
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Media Contact: Stacey Witalec – 717-877-2997