The Pennsylvania legislature has provided grandparents and great-grandparents with direct and indirect paths to filing for custody of their grandchildren. The code states, in part, that:Grandparents and great-grandparents may file an action under this chapter for partial physical custody or supervis...

If you have been granted partial physical custody of your children after divorce, you may also have been awarded shared legal custody. Legal custody rights entitle a parent to make major decisions for a minor child, such as those involving education, religious pursuits, and medical care. You and the...

In Pennsylvania, paternity can be established by unwed parents who both agree as to who the father is by signing a Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity. This gives both father and child the same rights and responsibilities as a married father would have with the child.A claim of paternity can be m...

Pennsylvania is a marriage presumption state with regard to issues of paternity. Paternity is the establishment of a child’s legal father in the eyes of the courts. When the birth mother is married at the time of conception and birth, her husband is presumed to be the child’s legal father. Few c...

Each and every citizen has certain inalienable and fundamental rights. The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania declares these rights and so states:All men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent and indefeasible rights, among which are those of enjoying and defe...

Visitation and Guardianship of Elder Parent – All Issues ResolvedOutcome: Obtained Co-guardianship & Restored Visitation Rights.History: Our client’s mother required around-the-clock care which both our client and her brother had been providing to their mother along with health care aids. Th...

The Department of Justice reports that 1 in 4 women in the U.S. will experience domestic violence during their lives. Further research shows that domestic violence and abuse is statistically as likely to occur in any segment of society. This means it cuts across all socio-economic, cultural, ethnic...

The Department of Justice reports that 1 in 4 women in the U.S. will experience domestic violence during their lives. Further research shows that domestic violence and abuse is statistically as likely to occur in any segment of society. This means it cuts across all socio-economic, cultural, ethnic...

Child support and spousal support are established and enforced through the Domestic Relations Section of the Common Pleas Court where your case resides. In order to establish and obtain a support order, you need to file a complaint with Domestic Relations. Under PA child support laws, parents and gu...

Child custody laws in Pennsylvania fall under two specific categories: physical custody and legal custody.Physical custody is defined as the direct physical control over the child and the child’s daily activities.Legal custody refers to the right of the parent to make major decisions for the child...

Divorce is often marked by many emotions experienced by both spouses. It is a kind of death, as it signifies the end of a relationship that was entered into as a perfect union.When one or both spouses seek the dissolution of marriage in Pennsylvania, one spouse begins the process of divorce by filin...

Family Law encompasses all legal rights and matters involving disputes between family members, including relationships by blood, marriage, adoption, or domestic partnership. In Pennsylvania, family issues can arise from custody over children, visitation rights, child and spousal support, paternity,...

An aggravated assault in Pennsylvania is defined as causing or attempting to cause serious bodily injury to another. The “seriousness” of the injuries is what normally separates aggravated assault from simple assault. A serious physical injury generally occurs when there is a substantial risk of...

When you or a loved one is facing theft charges in Pennsylvania, you are in immediate need of an experienced local criminal attorney who is highly qualified in defending theft charges. Pennsylvania takes all forms of theft very seriously, and many local prosecutors will pursue these crimes with the...

Under Pennsylvania criminal code, simple assault is defined as attempting to cause or causing bodily injury to another; or when, through negligence, a person causes bodily harm to another with a deadly weapon. Simple assault can also be charged when a person attempts by physical menace and intimidat...

Opioids are increasingly in the news headlines with many serious and unfortunate descriptions attached like “fatal” and “overdose.” But exactly what are opioids?Opioids as a general term include many controlled substances that work by attaching to the body’s opiate receptors, which regulat...

When facing drug charges in Pennsylvania, the accused has certain legal rights under the criminal code that law enforcement and prosecution cannot deny. Primary among these is the right to an attorney throughout all stages of criminal processing, including at the arrest and booking stage, charging s...

At Tibbott & Richardson, we practice criminal defense with 3 core components in mind for every client case we take on:TenacityPassionResultsWe have over 15 years of combined criminal defense experience that is un-matched in quality and positive outcomes.Clients trust us to protect their freedom,...

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has a unique diversionary program available to certain offenders called Alternative Rehabilitative Disposition, or ARD. Diversion means that a criminal case is resolved without a trial. Much of the criminal court proceedings up to and including a trial will be “div...

Like all 52 states, Pennsylvania is an “Implied Consent” law state. That means that in exchange for the privilege of driving in the Commonwealth, drivers agree to be subjected to chemical testing for the purpose of determining whether and how much alcohol or drugs are in their blood any time the...

Pennsylvania has enacted a number of Underage Drinking laws that include underage DUI charges. Title 18 of the Crimes Code contains laws pertaining to minors that are meant to uphold the Commonwealth’s “zero tolerance” for those under the legal drinking age of 21 who persist in drinking alcoho...

Commercial Driver’s License holders in Pennsylvania are held to very high standards and rules under the law. Truck drivers and school bus drivers are both strictly regulated under the PA Vehicle Code, and truck drivers are also federally regulated. Commercial truck drivers know how involved the ru...

While many counties in Pennsylvania have begun relaxing marijuana laws and penalties for possession, when it comes to driving under the influence of cannabis, drivers should be aware that Pennsylvania will prosecute them for DUI of marijuana, and police are increasingly making weed related DUID arre...

If you are facing a 3rd DUI violation in Pennsylvania, you need to retain the services of a highly qualified criminal defense lawyer immediately. Your future depends on the comprehensive preparation of a solid defense by an attorney specifically trained and experienced in handling driving under the...

Pennsylvania has a 10-year “look back” period for establishing prior DUIs. Along with convictions, a previous ARD for DUI will also count toward prior DUI convictions if completed within the past 10 years.Many first and second DUIs are ungraded misdemeanors. However, in 2012 the PA legislature e...

Being charged with driving under the influence (DUI) for the first time is a very upsetting and frightening experience. Most drivers in Cambria and Allegheny County are law-abiding residents who simply failed to realize that they were too impaired to drive safely. It can happen to anyone. State and...

Fighting a DUI in Allegheny County and elsewhere in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania requires very specific knowledge, training and experience. A defense attorney should be able to demonstrate with confidence that she/he knows how to beat a DUI based on past cases and experience in drunk driving def...

The best DUI attorneys in Pittsburgh and across the Commonwealth work very hard to get their clients through one of the toughest legal challenges there is: Defending a DUI charge. A client is facing many different high-stress issues almost at once, and in most DUIs, that stress starts when the attor...

Commonwealth v. Barton-Martin: Bringing Pennsylvania Law Into Alignment With The United States Supreme Court Holding In Melendez-Diaz v. MassachusettsA very good friend of mine and fellow attorney, Alicia Genther, had the opportunity to present an oral argument before the Superior Court of Pennsylva...

Why The Standardized Field Sobriety Tests Are UnreliableYou are driving along the highway late at night when you see that a police officer has pulled a car off at the side of the highway. You notice that the car’s driver is standing in between his vehicle and the police cruiser, with one leg lifte...

Well it’s Steeler Sunday and that has me thinking about ticket scalping. On the way to Heinz Field for every home game, I see scalpers everywhere holding their signs telling people that they need tickets. I thought I’d share the rules with you, considering scalping without a license IS a crime.S...

What’s The Purpose Of A Preliminary Hearing, Anyway?If you have been charged with a criminal offense, you will eventually receive a notification in the mail advising you of the time and place of your preliminary hearing. The problem, though, is that you may not understand the purpose of a prelimin...

A History Of The Standardized Field Sobriety Tests(in other words: Stupid Human Tricks)I know…history. Bor-ing! But keep reading and I promise that you will find the history behind the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests to be interesting. And, I guarantee that you will learn something too. For exam...

The following is a description of how a criminal case would proceed through the court system in Pennsylvania:Incident OccursPolice Notified or Police ObservePolice InvestigateInvestigation may include interviewing the victim, witnesses and/or suspects; collecting physical evidence; visiting, viewing...

The Marcellus Shale drilling boom has brought with it the hope for lucrative profits to Pennsylvania landowners and drilling companies alike. Some Pennsylvania landowners have already benefited from this and we will see many, many more benefit in the near future as the gas companies who have already...

You have probably heard the saying, “beer before liquor, never been sicker, liquor before beer, you’re in the clear,” and you may even follow it as a ‘rule of thumb’ when socially consuming alcoholic beverages. And because it is the law in every state in the country, everyone has heard the...

The 1970s was a decade of substantial changes in the law, including the prohibition of involuntarily committing citizens to a psychiatric institution if they were not a danger to themselves or others by the states, the determination that carefully crafted death penalty statutes might be constitution...

Trends these days have ranged from wearing leggings, to using an iPad in the classroom instead of taking notes with a good old fashioned pencil and paper. These days, the trend in education seems to be the completion of some form of graduate school in addition to a college bachelor’s degree. Most...

“I’m GOING TO HOLD YOU IN CONTEMPT!” We hear this phrase thrown around A LOT in family law cases.Civil Contempt occurs when the person willfully disobeys a court order. This is also called indirect contempt because it happens outside the judge’s immediate realm and evidence must be presented...

DON’T TALK– This is so important! You cannot help yourself at this point no matter what you say. Do not try to explain. Do not say you have only had “a couple”. USE YOUR RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT. Politely tell the officer that you choose to remain silent and hand them your registration, licens...