Author Archives: Gary Gerson
About President Biden’s Executive Order To Pardon Defendants Convicted Of Simple Possession Of Cannabis
The War on Drugs raged through the 1990s, even though it had started decades earlier. In 1994, the federal government enacted the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. Its provisions included new restrictions on the sale of firearms, expansion of sex offender registry requirements, and funding to expand law enforcement by hiring many… Read More »
Owner Of Oddities Museum And Macabre Ecommerce Store Charged With Attempting To Buy Stolen Human Bones
Most defendants in criminal cases plead guilty, and the ones that do not usually advance one of several common defenses. For example, they might argue that the evidence the prosecution has presented is not strong enough to prove that the defendant committed the crime. They might also argue that the defendant’s actions do not… Read More »
Philadelphia Doctor Who Operated Pill Mill Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison
When kids go to the dentist, they come home with a bag of party favors, including toothpaste, toys, and stickers, as well as a balloon. Even adults sometimes come home from dentist visits with freebies, although they are usually just toothpaste and dental floss, which are not much fun to use, but getting them… Read More »
Pittsburgh Woman Arrested After Attempting To Evade Jail Sentence
The county jail is an unpleasant place, to be sure, but if there is anything to be said in its defense, it is that no one stays there for very long. Jail sentences are usually for misdemeanor convictions, and the sentence usually lasts less than two years. No one serves a life sentence in… Read More »
Pittsburgh Man Accused Of Stealing County Maintenance Truck And Crashing It
Even for those of us who do not have a larcenous bone in our bodies, certain items of public property are a source of temptation. During study hall periods in high school, even the most straitlaced kids and the teachers’ pets shoot the breeze about which street signs they would most like to steal. … Read More »
The Western Pennsylvania Accountant Who Served Prison Sentences For Two Embezzlement Schemes
You might think that there are two kinds of people in the world, the ones whose business operations are small enough that they can manage them with an inexpensive subscription to Intuit QuickBooks, on the one hand, and on the other, the ones who have access to enough money that they can embezzle it… Read More »
Can You Get Arrested For DUI If You Are Asleep In A Parked Car?
Everyone knows that driving drunk is dangerous and illegal, so what do you do when the bar closes and you are too drunk to drive home? Even if your grandpa swears by black coffee and your college roommates were in the habit of eating a bacon and egg sandwich between Thirsty Thursday drink specials… Read More »
Pennsylvania Is A Hot Spot For Xylazine Overdoses
The answer to the question “What makes the opioid overdose epidemic so scary?” has been changing over the years. First it was the pill mills that flooded the community with opioid pills that had technically been legally prescribed. Then it was the abrupt cutoff of that supply, leaving the many thousands of people who… Read More »
Mother And Daughter Plead Guilty To Defrauding Pennsylvania Department Of Education Out Of More Than $2 Million
Fraud can take many forms, from the email scams where the defendant plays on the victim’s sympathies and convinces them to send the defendant money for a purported emergency to deceptive business practices where the false advertising is so egregious that it crosses over into illegal territory. In a substantial portion of fraud cases,… Read More »
You Still Need A Defense Lawyer, Even If You Are Already Serving A Prison Sentence For Something Else
The three main characters of the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou have escaped from prison, confident that they can get home to their families without getting caught. In one scene, where it appears that they have been recognized as escaped prisoners, John Turturro’s character Pete lashes out at the others, saying that he… Read More »
