SCOPAblog

10/01/2026

This month on SCOPAblog, the Court closes the "non-negligent happenstance" loophole in the context of common-law arbitration appeals (and maybe all appeals), and takes several steps forward in addressing the impact of its decision holding life without parole sentences for felony murder unconstitutional.

To read the full docket review of all the Court's precedential opinions and allocatur grants, click here:

https://www.scopablog.com/scopablog/september-2026-docket-review

And to subscribe to get future posts directly in your inbox, click here:

https://www.scopablog.com/subscribe

Subscribe to SCOPABlog for the latest news, updates, and insights delivered directly to your inbox. Stay informed and connected with our expert content.

09/01/2026

This month on SCOPABlog, the Court offers the latest in a series of cases embracing a textualist statutory interpretation framework, reinforces that collateral order appeals must be filed within 30 days of the underlying order, and grants review to consider a statute’s causation paradigm.

To read the full docket review of all the Court’s precedential opinions and allocatur grants, click the link below:

August 2026 Docket Review Sep 1 Written By Corrie Woods This month, the Court issued 5 precedential opinions and 6 grants of allocatur. On the opinion side, I’m most interested in Esch, less for its holding and more for its signal about the Court’s approach to statutory interpretation cases. In ...

08/19/2026

On this episode of the Standard of Review, I talk with Attorneys Megan Watson and Jackie DiColo of BKW Family Law LLC about their win in Glover v. Junior, which held that parents using alternative reproductive technology, or ART, can establish parentage through an intent-based framework instead of a contract-based one. The decision is a major step toward bringing Pennsylvania family law into modern family realities and a salutary recognition of the legitimacy of parents using ART.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/37YEiaOXF4XD2KDsM7slwJ

The Standard of Review · Episode

08/02/2026

Hi, everyone -

This month on SCOPABlog, the Court rules that individuals can establish reasonable expectations of privacy and, thus, Pennsylvania constitutional protections against search and seizure, in so-called “open fields,” just misses the issue of whether flight in a “high crime area” can justify an investigative detention under those same protections, and grants review to revisit the continuing vitality and scope of the “gist of the action” doctrine in the context of a claim of legal malpractice.

To read the full docket review of all the Court’s precedential opinions and allocatur grants, click below:

July 2026 Docket Review Aug 2 Written By Corrie Woods This month, the Court issued 9 precedential opinions and 8 grants of allocatur.On the opinion side, the Court issued a number of interesting decisions in criminal cases. Perhaps the most consequential is Punxsutawney. In that case, the Court in a...

07/01/2026

This month on SCOPAblog, the Court determines that thousands of "skill games" are unregulated and illegal slot machines, and takes extraordinary steps to correct what it views as improper concessions from the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office in postconviction cases. Read more at https://www.scopablog.com/scopablog/june-2026-docket-review .

And if you're not subscribed for monthly docket reviews and other updates, do it here: https://www.scopablog.com/subscribe .

06/01/2026

This month on SCOPABlog, the Court holds that a school district's practice of appealing only high-revenue property assessments does not violate the Pennsylvania Constitution's Uniformity Clause, attempts to collapse several definitions of "malice" into a uniform standard, and more.

May 2026 Docket Review Jun 1 Written By Corrie Woods This month, the Court issued six precedential opinions and one allocatur grant.Probably the most widely applicable decision this month is Downingtown Area Sch. Dist., which may well impact every Pennsylvania landowner. In that case, a holding comp...

04/01/2026

This month on SCOPABlog, the Court issues a landmark decision holding that the Pennsylvania Constitution prohibits life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, limits the scope of the sexual abuse exception to governmental immunity to cases of child sexual abuse, and grants review to consider the import of the U.S. Supreme Court's continuing struggle with the Confrontation Clause in the context of expert foundation.

https://www.scopablog.com/scopablog/march-2026-docket-review

03/30/2026

Hi, everyone -

On this new episode of the Standard of Review, I talk with Attorney Alex Bomstein of Clean Air Council about his win in Clean Air Council v. DEP. The case clarifies when plaintiffs challenging permits under Pennsylvania's Clean Streams Law can obtain attorney's fees from applicants, and is a win both for private enforcement of environmental rights and an excellent illustration of the principle that statutorily provided discretion imports statutory purpose.

The Standard of Review · Episode

03/01/2026

Hi, everyone -

On this new episode of the Standard of Review, I talk with Attorney Tim Kolman of Kolman Law about his win in Salsburg v. Mann. That case held that an employee my bring an action against a supervisor for interferening with her employment relationship based on personal animus.

Podcast Episode · The Standard of Review · February 28 · 40m

12/01/2025

Hi, everyone -

This month on SCOPABlog, Justices Donohue, Dougherty, and Wecht weather the partisan storm of November’s retention election, the Court issues two decisions grappling with the interstices of statutory construction, and adopts an somehow-necessary-in-2025 rule precluding lower courts from requiring “wet” signatures on court filings.

To read the full docket review of all the Court’s precedential opinions and allocatur grants, check out https://www.scopablog.com/scopablog/november-2025-docket-review .

November 2025 Docket Review Nov 28 Written By Corrie Woods The big news this month is not about what’s on the docket, but, rather, about who will be on the bench. All three of Justices Donohue, Dougherty, and Wecht, as well as Judge Alice Beck Dubow of the Superior Court, and Judge Michael Wojcik ...