These brief summaries of relevant Pennsylvania Appellate Court cases as published in the Pennsylvania Reporter are not intended to serve as legal advice.

By law, both the prosecution and defense can appeal the discretionary aspects of a sentence. The Superior Court must vacate a sentence when the lower court failed to consider the guidelines, applied the guidelines erroneously, departed from the guidelines and imposed an unreasonable sentence, or sentenced within the guidelines and imposed a clearly unreasonable sentence.

(Updated March 12, 2012.  Next update - June 2012)