Legal Question in Criminal Law in Pennsylvania

Re: Criminal Case Question

It is most certainly possible to end this whole thing before the warrant is issued. If the witnesses freely and honestly recant their statements to the detective, there is a decent chance (no guarantee, of course) that the detective will use his judgment to quash the paperwork and let the situation rest.

However, it appears that your son's mother and step-father potentially have what we call a Fifth Amendment issue. In other words, they could be arrested themselves for filing a false police report and/or other charges, depending on whether or not they gave sworn statements. Prosecutions for these offenses are not frequent but they do occur on a regular enough basis to be a concern.

I would say that everyone involved probably needs representation. Also, the way that all parties should proceed varies dramatically based on whether this is happening in Philadelphia or in a county outside Philadelphia. Feel free to write back with more specific information to my email address - your comments to my private email would constitute attorney-client confidential communication, even if I am not ultimately retained.

Good luck.