Case Results

Pittsburgh Criminal Attorneys Robert E. Mielnicki and Karissa N. Murphy were retained to represent H.A., who was charged with Luring a Child into a Motor Vehicle and other offenses. Attorney Mielnicki tried numerous times to convince the prosecutor that this was a simple misunderstanding after H.K. almost struck two children with his car while pulling into a parking lot of a restaurant. On the eve of trial, Attorneys Mielnicki and Murphy were finally able to convince the prosecutor that, even if she did not accept that this was just a misunderstanding, the crime was not one which criminalized calling a child over to a motor vehicle, but required proof of an intent to lure the child into a motor vehicle. The case was resolved with a plea to careless driving.

Pittsburgh Criminal Attorney Robert E. Mielnicki was retained to represent R.F. who was charged with his third DUI and facing a mandatory one year in jail. In light of recent caselaw, particularly Birchfield v. North Dakota, Attorney Mielnicki was able to utilize the services of a psychologist, who provided testimony that R.F. could not have voluntarily consented to a blood draw. The trial court suppressed the blood results, which revealed that R.F. had a blood alcohol content of .186. As a result, R.F. was found guilty of the lowest tier of DUI and was sentenced to a short period of house arrest.

Pittsburgh Criminal Attorney Robert E. Mielnicki was retained to represent D.E. in 2013 for DUI (5th or 6th offense). Attorney Mielnicki files a motion to suppress the results of chemical testing of blood taken from D.E. following his arrest. Said motion is denied and D.E. is sentenced to one year in prison. Attorney Mielnicki files a successful appeal (Commonwealth v. Evans, 153 A.3d 323 (Pa.Super. 2016)). Upon remand, D.E. is offered a sentence of 5 days in jail with 6 months of probation, which he gladly accepted.

Pittsburgh Criminal Attorney Robert E. Mielnicki was retained to represent J.T. who was charged with Arson (Malicious Destruction of Property). After a 4 day jury trial where nearly 200 exhibits were introduced, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty.

Pittsburgh Criminal Attorney Robert E. Mielnicki was retained to represent C.N. who was charged with four (4) counts of Aggravated Assault, one (1) count of Assault by Prisoner, Resisting Arrest and DUI for his actions following his arrest for DUI. C.N. was on courtesy probation supervision at the time for a prior drug offense in Georgia and he was subsequently detained. At the preliminary hearing, Attorney Mielnicki had the Assault by Prisoner charge dismissed. He knew, however, that his client, due to being detained, would sit a long time waiting for trial. Attorney Mielnicki decided to file a motion to suppress certain evidence pertaining to the DUI based on an argument that, ironically, was accepted by the United States Supreme Court about a week after Attorney Mielnicki argued such to the Cambria County judge. He also filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging three (3) of the Aggravated Assault charges. At the actual hearing on the motions, one of the police officers admitted that he was not assaulted and that charge was withdrawn. While the judge was deciding the rest of Attorney Mielnicki’s motions, he reached a plea agreement calling for all the Aggravated Assault charges to be withdrawn. He then contacted authorities in Georgia and was able to convince them to release C.N. from the detainer. C.N. was then sentenced to time-served and released.

Pittsburgh Criminal Attorney Robert E. Mielnicki was retained to represent C.P. who was charged with a first offense DUI. C.P. simply could not afford a conviction or a license suspension. He was denied what is known as ARD, which would have resulted in a dismissal upon the completion of classes, due to an old and minor marijuana possession offense. Attorney Mielnicki, relying on a United States Supreme Court case – Missouri v. McNeely – sought to suppress the .18 blood alcohol content of C.P. as determined by testing on his blood, by arguing that such was taken involuntarily. That motion was denied. During the non-jury trial, Attorney Mielnicki demonstrated that the arresting officer was “cutting and pasting” reports on his DUI suspects. The trial court asked for some time to think the case through. During that time, the United States Supreme Court decided Birchfield v. North Dakota which provided support for Attorney Mielnicki’s argument that C.P.’s blood was taken involuntarily. Attorney Mielnicki quickly asked for reconsideration which the trial court granted. The trial court subsequently found C.P. not guilty of the two counts of DUI – one based on his blood alcohol content and one based on general impairment.

Pittsburgh Criminal Attorney Robert E. Mielnicki was retained to represent J.S. who was charged with Simple Assault and Recklessly Endangering Another Person. Specifically, a financial planner called 911 and reported that J.S. pointed a gun at him over some dispute over the financial planner pulling in front of J.S. A State Trooper pulled over J.S. about 10 minutes after the call and located a gun in his car. The jury deliberated for about 20 minutes before returning a verdict of not guilty.

Pittsburgh Criminal Attorney Robert E. Mielnicki was retained to represent D.J., charged with Firearms Not To Be Carried w/o a License and False Identification. D.J. was a passenger in a car lawfully stopped by the police. During the stop, D.J., according to the police, seemed nervous. The police asked D.J. for his name and, according to the police, he gave a false name. After determining his correct name, the police learned that there was a warrant for D.J. Upon arresting D.J., the police searched the passenger side of the car and found a gun under the floor mat. Relying on two very recent cases from the Pennsylvania Superior Court which called into question the right of the police to demand that a person not violating the law to identify himself, Pittsburgh Criminal Attorney Mielnicki was successful in having the gun suppressed. The charges were then withdrawn.

Pittsburgh Criminal Attorney Robert E Mielnicki was retained to represent R.D. who was charged with Possession With Intent to Deliver Marijuana. The police stopped R.D.’s vehicle for a traffic violation. Upon approaching the vehicle, the police smelled an “overwhelming” odor of marijuana. The police ordered R.D. out of the vehicle and retrieved a backpack from the front seat. The backpack was opened and 876 grams of marijuana was found. Attorney Mielnicki conceded that the search was lawful under the United States Constitution but contended that the opening of the backpack without a warrant violated Article I, Sec. 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. The Court agreed and ordered the marijuana suppressed.

Pittsburgh Criminal Attorney Robert E Mielnicki was retained to represent J.C., charged with Aggravated Assault and Resisting Arrest, during an alleged altercation with three police officers. At the end of trial, the jury found J.C. not guilty of these charges.

Pittsburgh Criminal Attorney Robert E Mielnicki was retained to represent R.K., a 21 year old charged with the rape of a fellow college student. At the end of a three day trial, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty.