Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Lower Merion Township Brothers Arrested For Operating Fake Businesses
People who are chronically online suffer constantly from the feeling that everyone and everything is fake, but we are fooling ourselves if we think that simply stepping away from cyberspace and venturing out into real life is a direct route to honesty. Even when you interact with people in person, they inflate their credentials… Read More »
How Juvenile Court Works In Allegheny County: What Parents Need To Know
When a child gets arrested, the experience is frightening for the whole family. You have questions, you have fears, and you are probably unsure what comes next. The good news is that Pennsylvania does not treat minors the same way it treats adults in the criminal justice system. The bad news is that the… Read More »
Pennsylvania’s Legal Loopholes Surrounding Nitrous Oxide
Almost everyone has a family member who has consumed so much social media content that they now believe that one or another common food ingredient is the root of all evil. Every time you sit down to eat, they will tell you that soda, high fructose corn syrup, or even something ubiquitous like sugar… Read More »
Driver Faces Criminal Charges After Fatal Golf Cart Accident
Drunk driving almost always results in criminal charges if the police catch you, but people who cause motor vehicle collisions while they are sober do not always end up in criminal court. Of course, the laws vary from one state to another. In nearby New Jersey, drunk driving is a civil infraction, much like… Read More »
Harrisburg School Van Driver Pleads Guilty To Drugged Driving
The most iconic school transportation vehicle is the yellow school bus. Toddlers point excitedly and mime the motions of the “Wheels on the Bus” song when they see one driving down the road. At the other extremity of childhood, teenagers who are counting the days until they can get their driver’s licenses deride the… Read More »
So, Cannabis Is Schedule III Now
The popular movement to legalize cannabis is decades old, but in the past ten years or so, we have seen a lot of legal acrobatics whereby cannabis isn’t illegal, but where it isn’t legal, either. There have been scenarios where you can smoke weed in Philadelphia but not in Pennsylvania, where Colorado is 420… Read More »
What Does The Trippy New Executive Order Mean For Pennsylvania Drug Cases?
Health fads come and go quickly. Keep eating your favorite foods, and eventually a self-proclaimed expert will claim that they are the secret to a long and healthy life. First, it was vegan diets, and now being a carnivore is all the rage. Eventually Cheez Wiz will have its moment; everyone else will figure… Read More »
Code Enforcement Officer Faces Charges For Impersonating Law Enforcement Officer
Imagine all the perks you would get if people thought you were a cop. If you weren’t a real police officer, you wouldn’t have to do any police work, work 24-hour shifts, or risk your life de-escalating dangerous situations. Instead, people would just hand you free coffee every time you went to Wawa and… Read More »
What If Pennsylvania Is Not The First State Where You Get Accused Of A Sexual Offense?
Anyone with a prior criminal conviction knows that the social stigma lasts well beyond when you have paid off the debts you incurred to pay your criminal fines and long after your last meeting with your probation officer. Every time you fill out a job application, your heart sinks whenever you must answer the… Read More »
Is There Screen Time In Prison?
You don’t have to click on your favorite social media app very many times before you end up in a feedback loop about how screen time is ruining society. There is a line of thinking, quite prominent on online content platforms, about how electronic devices and the noisy, fast-paced videos they play, are zapping… Read More »
