Richard Sherwood Roberts Jr.'s Legal Cases (2)

Criminal defense

Commonwealth v. Barnes

Jul 10, 2017

OUTCOME: Superior Court held the maximum 40-year sentence was illegal and violated the Constitution as the jury did not find serious bodily injury.

At the conclusion of a jury trial, Barnes was found guilty of attempted murder, aggravated assault, kidnapping, and REAP. Barnes was sentenced to a term of incarceration of 20 to 40 years for the convi ... ction of attempted murder. On Appeal I argued that the 40 year maximum sentence violated the constitution because the jury did not find serious bodily resulted from the attempted murder. the Superior Court agreed and held that the maximum 40-year sentence for attempt to commit murder, without jury finding that serious bodily injury resulted, was illegal. they also held that the maximum 40-year sentence for attempted murder could not be based on jury's finding of guilt on charge for aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury;

Child abuse

Mother Fights CYS Conclusion that she abused her son.

Nov 17, 2015

OUTCOME: Mother was removed from Childline database and she was cleared of abuse allegations.

CYS filed an indicated report naming Mother as the perpetrator of abuse, for physical neglect, by omission, specifically in the form of lack of supervision. CYS concluded that a reasonable person in M ... other's position would have known that Father, with his untreated mental health issues, presented a threat of danger to Child and failed to remove Child from harm's way. Commonwealth Court reversed, the Mother did not abuse her child, and held that we cannot focus solely on the existence of a parent's mental illness as the basis for placing the other parent on notice that a child is at substantial risk of child abuse. To do otherwise could conflate the diagnosis and treatment of a mental illness with being a danger to one's child.

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