# Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Type: Company

Source: GetYourBrief — https://getyourbrief.com/entity/pennsylvania-supreme-court
Canonical HTML page: https://getyourbrief.com/entity/pennsylvania-supreme-court

## Timeline

- **2026-10-13**: Safe harbor deadline expires — The 120-day stay lapses; without legislation, skill games would be shut down in Pennsylvania.
- **2026-08-20**: Rally at Dupont VFW Post 4909 — Business owners, civic clubs, and Pace-O-Matic hold rally urging General Assembly to legalize and lightly tax skill games before deadline.
- **2026-07-27**: Supreme Court Revives Stroehmann Case — Supreme Court vacates the Commonwealth Court's 2024 ruling and orders it to reconsider the case in light of the Honey precedent.
- **2026-07-24**: Stay expires — The Supreme Court's 120-day stay concludes, allowing approximately 1,100 inmates to challenge their unconstitutional life sentences.
- **2026-07-21**: NEPA DAs rally at courthouse — District attorneys and lawmakers hold a press conference at the Luzerne County Courthouse to demand House passage of the Baker bill before the stay expires.
- **2026-06**: Senate passes Baker bill — The state Senate approves legislation sponsored by Sen. Lisa Baker establishing a 35-years-to-life sentence for second-degree murder.
- **2026-06**: PA Supreme Court rules skill games are slot machines — Court classifies skill games as slot machines subject to the Gaming Act and Crime Code, making them unlicensed gambling devices, and issues a 120-day stay.
- **2026-04-28**: Honey v. Lycoming County Decision — Pennsylvania Supreme Court rules 6-0 that CVRs are not exempt, holding tabulators are not "voting machines" under the law, with Justice McCaffery writing the majority.
- **2026-03**: Supreme Court invalidates mandatory life term — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court rules that mandatory life without parole for second-degree murder is unconstitutional and imposes a 120-day stay.
- **2024-07**: Commonwealth Court Affirms Denial — Commonwealth Court upholds the lower court's ruling, agreeing that the records fall under the "contents of ballot boxes and voting machines" exemption.
- **2023-05**: County Court Denies Access — Lycoming County Court of Common Pleas orders that cast vote records from the 2020 election are exempt from disclosure under the election code.

## Recent coverage (3 stories, network-wide)

### PA's 120-Day Skill Game Stay Forces Oct. 13 Legal Reckoning
2026-08-24 03:16:41 · Sector: legal · Sentiment: Neutral · Impact: 5/10 · Sources: 2

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's June ruling classified skill games as slot machines under the Gaming Act and Crime Code, creating major enforcement exposure for hosts. A 120-day stay gives the General Assembly until Oct. 13 to pass a legalization and regulatory framework. Rally advocates argue that failure to act would shut off a revenue stream embedded in thousands of small businesses and clubs.
Full story: https://getlegalbrief.com/story/pa-skill-games-120-day-stay-oct-13-legal-reckoning

### 35 Years to Life: PA DAs Rally as 1,100 Felony Murder Sentences Near Reckoning
2026-08-12 12:22:11 · Sector: legal · Sentiment: Neutral · Impact: 5/10 · Sources: 2

A Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling striking down mandatory life without parole for felony murder has prompted a legislative race to pass Sen. Lisa Baker's bill offering 35 years to life. With the court's stay expiring July 24, district attorneys warn that 1,100 inmates could soon flood the courts with resentencing petitions.
Full story: https://getlegalbrief.com/story/nepa-das-35-year-felony-murder-bill-legal

### PA Supreme Court's 6-0 Precedent Revives Bid for 2020 Ballot Records
2026-08-12 04:35:47 · Sector: legal · Sentiment: Neutral · Impact: 5/10 · Sources: 3

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated a lower court's denial of access to 2020 election records, ordering reconsideration under its recent unanimous ruling that cast vote records are not exempt from right-to-know requests. The move reinforces public records law and sets a significant precedent for election transparency litigation.
Full story: https://getlegalbrief.com/story/pa-supreme-court-revives-election-data-access-case

---
This page is a machine-readable summary. Sentiment measures the directional read of each development for this entity, not the tone of the reporting; impact weights consequence, not syndication reach. See https://getyourbrief.com/guides/methodology for the full editorial methodology.