Last week, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania agreed to review its ruling on Curtis A. Williams Jr.’s aggravated assault and reckless endangerment convictions in the Easter 2009 road rage case.  Williams is represented by Attorney Justin McShane and Attorney Josh Auriemma of The McShane Firm.

The Facts of the Case

Curtis A. Williams Jr. of Dauphin County was being followed by Harrison Purdy Jr. on Easter Sunday in 2009.  Purdy was drunk. Purdy was driving. Purdy was a 0.156 BAC. Purdy got out of his car and aggressively rushed towards Williams’ vehicle.  Williams is physically handicapped, has no prior record and had two young children in the car with him at the time.  Williams was pinned in his car with a car in front of him and Purday’s car behind him. Williams, who is legally licensed to carry a firearm shot the much larger Purdy in the leg to defend himself and his family.

The government sought to stop The McShane Firm mentioning that Purdy was drunk. The trial court, over strenuous objection, agreed.

When the matter was brought to trial, the original jury convicted Williams of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment.  He was found not guilty of a criminal attempt homicide charge. He is currently serving 5-10 years in prison for these charges.

 Grounds for Appeal

A three-judge panel issued a sharply split decision (2-1) upholding the original conviction in May saying that the Jury should not have heard about Purdy being drunk.  Attorney McShane once again appealed to the court that key evidence showing that Purdy had a  blood alcohol level of .156, nearly twice the legal limit, had been withheld from the original jury.

With the new ruling, a larger bench will now hear the case.

This is a very important case that revolves around the right to self-defense. We are very pleased that the Justices of the Superior Court will hear this case and hopefully right the wrong in such a way that a jury can hear all of the evidence in this case so that justice may be done.

Justin McShane

PA DUI attorney Justin J. McShane is the President/CEO of The McShane Firm, LLC - Pennsylvania's top criminal law and DUI law firm. He is the highest rated DUI attorney in PA as rated by Avvo.com. Justin McShane is a double Board certified attorney. He is the first and so far the only Pennsylvania attorney to achieve American Bar Association recognized board certification in DUI defense from the National College for DUI Defense, Inc. He is also a Board Certified Criminal Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, a Pennsylvania Supreme Court Approved Agency.