Author Archives: Jay Butchko
A Life Sentence For Non-Fatal Domestic Violence Is Possible, But It Does Not Happen Overnight
The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects against cruel and unusual punishment. Thus, the courts do not routinely hand down life sentences except in cases of murder, but life imprisonment for repeated convictions for non-lethal crimes is an option, and some so-called “three strikes laws” have required it. Thus, a California man is… Read More »
An Arrest Warrant For Your Housemate Can Mean Legal Trouble For You
Many of us would love to have our own space, an apartment or house where we can keep the kitchen as neat or as messy as we choose and watch movies late at night on the big TV in the living room instead of on our tiny phone screen with the sound turned low… Read More »
Tampering With Consumer Products
Legal protections for consumers include laws against dangerous consumer products. When a product causes harm because of a flaw in its design or a mistake at the factory that produced it, customers have the right to seek damages through product liability lawsuits. Each year, product manufacturers issue recalls for many products when they become… Read More »
If You Go To Mental Health Court, Be Careful What You Wish For
Being found not guilty by reason of insanity has always been cold comfort, in the rare instances in which courts have issued this verdict. Undergoing inpatient treatment for mental illness is not a pleasant experience, even if the event that precipitates your admission to the psychiatric hospital is only a doctor’s appointment where your… Read More »
Pittsburgh Nurse Accused Of Stealing Prescription Pills From Nursing Homes
In elementary school, teachers would warn you that, if you buy drugs on the street, you never know what you are getting; it could be cocaine, or it could be something even worse, like rat poison. That warning rings even truer now, when fentanyl is a deadly but inexpensive substitute for almost every recreational… Read More »
The Police Must Reveal Information That Could Help Your Defense
The Bill of Rights guarantees your right to a fair trial, and Supreme Court decisions over the years have interpreted what that means. A famous example is Miranda v. Arizona, in which the court ruled that police officers making an arrest must notify the defendant of his or her Constitutional rights, including the right… Read More »
Most Recent Attempt To Get FDA Approval For MDMA Is Unsuccessful
There is no vilified drug that was not once considered a panacea, and no wonder drug that was not once considered a gateway to evil and death. People used to buy cocaine and morphine over the counter at pharmacies and use them to treat all manner of nonspecific ailments. Cannabis is officially a Schedule… Read More »
Driver Turns Himself In After Leaving The Scene Of Accident That Injured Child
Everyone knows that you are not supposed to run from the law, but what are you supposed to do instead? When you get arrested at a traffic stop or when a police officer claims to have caught you in the act of a crime, both instinct and legal theory compel you to play possum;… Read More »
Gibsonia Man Faces Charges For Insider Trading
Most of the time, cheating goes unpunished. When children complain to parents and teachers that other kids are cheating at playground games, the most sympathetic response they can expect to get is, “It’s only a game.” Sometimes, it seems like the adults are more annoyed by the kids who complain than the kids who… Read More »
Who Has Jurisdiction When A Crime Happens On An Airplane?
Jurisdiction is a legal term referring to which court has jurisdiction in a legal case. It applies in civil cases as well as criminal ones. For example, in probate cases, the state where the decedent was a legal resident at the time of his or her death has jurisdiction. In divorce cases, the Pennsylvania… Read More »
