Recent Blog Posts
Drug Bust Uncovers Trafficking Operation Between Philadelphia and Indiana County
With most of the population of Pennsylvania staying at home until COVID-19 cases decrease, some types of crime, such as home burglaries and street corner drug sales, have become less frequent. This does not mean, however, that drug use and illegal drug trafficking have disappeared. Complex operations to transport drugs across Pennsylvania are still… Read More »
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Considers Removing Medical Cannabis Restrictions for People Under Court Supervision
The United States government does not have the right to take away a person’s liberty except as a punishment for a crime. Therefore, only after a fair trial and the other requirements of due process have been completed to prove that the defendant committed the crime of which he or she was accused can… Read More »
Federal Appeals Court Upholds Pennsylvania Man’s 33-Year Sentence for Sex Trafficking
The stereotype about human trafficking is that it involves bringing people into the country illegally and forcing them to work in dangerous conditions for little or no pay. One famous depiction of human trafficking in the popular media is in the 2004 movie Crash, where the character played by Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges finds a… Read More »
Johnstown Man Pleads Guilty After Authorities Seize 40 Grams of Fentanyl
In the past few years, fentanyl has become notorious as the scariest and most dangerous opioid, especially as the focus of media coverage of the opioid epidemic has shifted from oxycodone to heroin to fentanyl. In 2016, when two famous musicians, Prince and Tom Petty, died from accidental fentanyl overdoses, it was the first… Read More »
Confrontation Over All-Terrain Vehicle Leads to Shooting, Arrest for Attempted Murder
Online classified ads make it possible to find used vehicles for sale much more quickly, less expensively, and with less hassle than you would be able to by going to a dealership. There is always some risk in these informal transactions, though. If the worst thing that happens is that you get scammed, you… Read More »
Wilkinsburg Man Receives Guilty Verdict Relating to 2017 Crash in Which a Passenger Died
Lots of people fear air travel, train travel, boating, and amusement park rides, but in fact all of those are less dangerous than traveling by car, which many of us do every day. Car accidents have been a leading cause of premature death since the invention of the automobile, but cars and driving have… Read More »
Westmoreland County Doctor Convicted of Four Counts of Drug Distribution but Acquitted of Other Charges
When a defendant is on trial for multiple offenses, the jury must decide about each one independently of the others. Imagine that Mrs. Peacock calls the police to report her candlestick stolen, and she alleges that Professor Plum stole it. The police search Professor Plum’s house, and they find a variety of items that… Read More »
Leave the Police Chases for the Action Movies: Stop and Contact a Defense Lawyer
High speed police chases often form the climactic scenes in movies. Even real-life police chases, and even at relatively low speeds, can attract viewers’ attention; in the summer of 1994, millions of Americans were glued to their television sets as police pursued O.J. Simpson, who was suspected of murdering his ex-wife, as he rode… Read More »
Not Only Driving While Intoxicated, but Even Walking While Intoxicated Can Be a Crime If a Child Is with You
Many crimes become more serious if the victims are children. Even if the child has not suffered physical harm because of the defendant’s actions, the mere presence, or even potential presence, of a child can escalate the charges. For example, selling drugs near a school is a worse crime than simply selling drugs. Sexual… Read More »
When a Cell Phone Becomes an Instrument of Crime
When is it a crime simply to have a phone in your possession? It depends. In general, almost anyone is free to have a phone. You do not even have to have a license for it, like you do to buy a firearm or drive a car. You do not even have to be… Read More »
