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Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes

18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4953 (2026)

  Retaliation against witness, victim or party.

✓ current as of May 2026
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§ 4953.  Retaliation against witness, victim or party.

(a)  Offense defined.--A person commits an offense if he harms another by any unlawful act or engages in a course of conduct or repeatedly commits acts which threaten another in retaliation for anything lawfully done in the capacity of witness, victim or a party in a civil matter.

(b)  Grading.--The offense is a felony of the third degree if the retaliation is accomplished by any of the means specified in section 4952(b)(1) through (5) (relating to intimidation of witnesses or victims). Otherwise the offense is a misdemeanor of the second degree.

(Dec. 20, 2000, P.L.837, No.117, eff. imd.)

 

Cross References.  Section 4953 is referred to in sections 4955, 4956, 5702, 5708, 6105 of this title; section 5552 of Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure); section 2303 of Title 44 (Law and Justice).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 35 cases (10 in the last 5 years), 1987–2026 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Ostrosky, 909 A.2d 1224 (Pa. 2006).
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Commonwealth v. Ostrosky, 909 A.2d 1224 (Pa. 2006). · cites it 12× “[4] Based on the foregoing incident, Ostrosky was charged with one count of violating *1227 the retaliation statute, 18 Pa.C.S. § 4953; two counts of terroristic threats, 18 Pa.”
Commonwealth v. Ostrosky, 866 A.2d 423 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2005). · cites it 10× “We reverse the judgment of sentence with regard to the crime of retaliation against a witness or victim.”
Commonwealth v. Nevels, 203 A.3d 229 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2019). · cites it 2× “Specifically, Appellant contends that 18 Pa.C.S. § 4953 requires that the person harmed by Appellant's unlawful act be a witness, victim or a party in a civil matter.”
Dooley v. City of Philadelphia, 153 F. Supp. 2d 628 (E.D. Pa. 2001). · cites it 3× “She also alleges that the defendants’ conduct denied her rights protected by the Pennsylvania Constitution, violated a Pennsylvania criminal statute intended to punish retaliation against witnesses (18 Pa.C.S. § 4953), and constituted intentional infliction of emotional distress.”
Commonwealth v. Brewer, 876 A.2d 1029 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2005). “18 Pa.C.S. § 4953(a). Under this provision, the defendant may be convicted, inter alia, if he “engaged in a course of conduct which threaten[s] another in retaliation for anything lawfully done In the capacity of a witness or victim.”
Commonwealth v. Johnson, 961 A.2d 877 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2008). “18 Pa.C.S. § 4953 5 . 18 Pa.C.S. § 6105 1 .”
Commonwealth v. Blackwell, 647 A.2d 915 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1994). “” 18 Pa.C.S. § 4953(a). While some of the same facts were used to support appellant’s convictions for first-degree murder and retaliation against a witness, the two crimes are not greater and lesser included offenses.”
Com. v. Hauck, R., Jr. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2024). · cites it 10× “§ 4952, and retaliation against witness, victim or party, 18 Pa.C.S. § 4953, both enumerated offenses pursuant to 18 Pa.”
In the Interest of T.E.H., 928 A.2d 318 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2007). “18 Pa. Cons.Stat. Ann. § 2705. . 75 Pa. Cons.”
Commonwealth v. Nevels III, C., Aplt. (Pa. 2020). · cites it 4× “18 Pa.C.S. §4953(a) (superseded). The provision was amended in 2000 to read as follows: (a) Offense defined.”
Com. v. Stine, M. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2018). · cites it 3× “10 J-S13018-18 In her final claim of error, Appellant argues that the trial court erred when it denied her motion for a new trial because Mr.”
Com. v. Gray, E. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2016). · cites it 2× “Whether the trial court erred in rejecting Appellant's claim that trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel in failing to object to the trial court's jury instruction on the offense of Retaliation Against Witness or victim, 18 Pa.C.S. § 4953(a) which instruction…”
Show all 35 citing cases →
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4953(A) — 1 case
Com. v. Hart, J. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2026).
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4953(a) — 20 cases
Commonwealth v. Ostrosky, 909 A.2d 1224 (Pa. 2006). “[4] Based on the foregoing incident, Ostrosky was charged with one count of violating *1227 the retaliation statute, 18 Pa.C.S. § 4953; two counts of terroristic threats, 18 Pa.”
Commonwealth v. Nevels, 203 A.3d 229 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2019). “Specifically, Appellant contends that 18 Pa.C.S. § 4953 requires that the person harmed by Appellant's unlawful act be a witness, victim or a party in a civil matter.”
Commonwealth v. Brewer, 876 A.2d 1029 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2005). “18 Pa.C.S. § 4953(a). Under this provision, the defendant may be convicted, inter alia, if he “engaged in a course of conduct which threaten[s] another in retaliation for anything lawfully done In the capacity of a witness or victim.”
Commonwealth v. Ostrosky, 866 A.2d 423 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2005). “We reverse the judgment of sentence with regard to the crime of retaliation against a witness or victim.”
Commonwealth v. Blackwell, 647 A.2d 915 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1994). “” 18 Pa.C.S. § 4953(a). While some of the same facts were used to support appellant’s convictions for first-degree murder and retaliation against a witness, the two crimes are not greater and lesser included offenses.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.