Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Supreme Court Ruling Lets Defendant Appeal Sentence Based On Laws That Have Changed Since His Conviction
In The Shawshank Redemption, Morgan Freeman plays an elderly man serving a life sentence for a crime he committed when he was decades younger. When telling the story to a newly arrived inmate, he refers to the person against whom the jury returned a guilty verdict, his younger self, as “that kid.” The point… Read More »
Yes, You Can Get Criminal Charges For A Couple’s Quarrel Over A Phone
Smartphones can be a big help. They can let your loved ones know that you are stuck in traffic, so they don’t worry when you are late. They can help you find a route to almost anywhere, so you don’t get lost. They can even resolve disputes between family members or friends about which… Read More »
Introducing The DEA’s Drug Emoji Decoder
Drug culture is constantly changing, from the drugs that are readily available to their routes of administration and the demographics of their users. One thing that has remained consistent at least since the enactment of the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970, though, is that the efforts of elders and law enforcement to understand… Read More »
Police Arrest Pennsylvania Couple For Possession Of Illegal Drugs And Domestic Cat Precursors
We have all heard that domestic dogs are the descendants of wolves. When we see a teacup Yorkie sitting patiently in a bicycle basket while its human goes inside a coffee shop to get a cup of coffee for herself and a cup of whipped cream for the dog, it is easy to contemplate… Read More »
Armed Robbery Of Mail Carriers
For as long as the digital native generation has been alive, people have been saying that the postal mail is becoming obsolete. Today, people only use the mail to send things that are of priceless sentimental value, such as handwritten letters and homemade gifts, or else things that would be of interest to thieves,… Read More »
Bipartisan Bill Proposes Upgrades To Pennsylvania’s Treatment Courts
Anyone who has ever visited a prison as part of a volunteer program or religious ministry can tell you of how the people serving prison sentences wish that things had gone differently and have thought about the sequence of events that led to their crime, arrest, and conviction. When they listen, the inmates tell… Read More »
Law Enforcement Intercepts Shipment Of Tianeptine In The Philadelphia Area
The difference between a therapeutic medication and a dangerous street drug is less clear than your drug education class in elementary school made it seem. Schedule I controlled substances are the only ones that are always illegal; the controlled substances in all the other categories have at least a limited use officially accepted by… Read More »
The Afterlife Of A Sex Crime Conviction
Rebuilding your life after a criminal conviction is a challenge; the support of family and friends makes it easier, especially if they can help you reenter the workforce, so you do not always have to explain to prospective employers why a conviction appears on your record. Eventually, you can get your voting rights back. … Read More »
Your Criminal Defense Lawyer Will Fight To The End, But You Have The Final Decision About Whether To Plead Innocent Or Guilty
Legal cases in criminal court can be full of surprises and plot twists, albeit usually not of the kind that you see in the movies. For example, criminal defense lawyers do not leave prosecutors speechless at trial by presenting evidence that the prosecution did not know existed. More likely, the surprise will come when… Read More »
Kratom Is Still Legal In Pennsylvania After Fatal Overdoses
If you buy something at a cannabis dispensary or a vape shop, you can safely assume that it is not a drug, but it isn’t not a drug. The likes of cannabis, psilocybin, CBD, kratom, tianeptine, and so many other intoxicating substances, including tobacco, for that matter, fit the definition of drugs according to… Read More »
