LexisNexis Practice Guide: Pennsylvania Criminal Law

Mr. Clawges has practiced law for over 30 years, and is currently legal counsel in the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives.

In 1985, Mr. Clawges graduated summa cum laude from Alvernia College (now Alvernia University) with a B.A. in history. He earned a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1988.

In 1990, he began practicing indigent criminal defense in the Cumberland County Public Defender Office in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He has represented thousands of people charged with misdemeanors and felonies, tried over 100 cases to a verdict before a jury, and represented people facing the death penalty. In 2013, he became Chief Public Defender of Cumberland County, where he continued to represent clients and try cases.

In 1992, he began regularly writing case summaries for the Criminal Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and in 1997, became editor of the case notes section of the biweekly Pennsylvania Bar Association publication “Pennsylvania Bar News.”

Mr. Clawges has served as an instructor in the trial advocacy program at the Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He has also been a presenter or panelist in several continuing legal education programs.