While a number of states have passed so-called “Red Flag” gun laws in an effort to give mental health and law enforcement officials a tool that they can use to fight gun violence, it’s not clear whether those laws have...
A Pennsylvania couple is facing trial after their pre-school-aged children were found to have detectable levels of cocaine and cocaine metabolites in their systems. According to a news report, the couple was arrested after an...
Pennsylvania has a comprehensive and heavily-regulated medical marijuana program that, as of May 2022, had more than 700,000 registered patients. With more than 170 active registered dispensaries across the state, medical...
It’s pretty well accepted that pornography is, for the most part, legal to access and view. There are limits to this, of course, but for the purposes of this post, what is being referred to are images or videos of sexually...
Several gun-related bills have made it out of committee and are headed to the floor of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for votes. They cover a range of issues ranging from gun storage, to background checks for private...
The first part of this two-part series explained the problems associated with the fact that Pennsylvania law allows anybody who is not legally required to report suspected child abuse to report suspected abuse anonymously. This...
Sometimes, the tools that are developed to help protect people can also be used to hurt people. This is the case for Pennsylvania’s ChildLine abuse reporting system, which handles reports from both so-called “mandated...
While some states give juveniles the right to an attorney before they appear in court – when police question them after an arrest or a detention – Pennsylvania has not yet joined them. In Pennsylvania, a juvenile may be...
The crime of domestic abuse in Pennsylvania has a very broad definition. The definition of “Abuse” in the Pennsylvania domestic abuse statute includes a number of different acts, ranging from physically injuring a spouse or...
The crime of criminal mischief always seems to pop up in those odd “clickbait” news stories that somehow find their way into our Internet news feeds. Articles with headlines like “Police: Blair County man in underwear hides...
Pennsylvania’s Protection from Abuse (PFA) Act was enacted more than thirty years ago to allow victims of actual or threatened abuse to seek a court order that restricts the recipient of the order from having various forms...
A Bucks County courtroom was the scene of a long-awaited sentencing in February, as Ian Pisarchuk of Bensalem was sentenced to decades in prison. Pisarchuk, 27, was convicted on dozens of counts of sexual extortion, harassment,...
Delaware County law enforcement officials, in partnership with the private company Fusus, have proposed a real-time crime center. The goal of the project is to increase public-funded surveillance of high-crime areas and eventually...
A Delaware bill mandating Catholic priests to report confessions of abuse or neglect to the police is stirring heated debate throughout our neighboring state. Supporters of the bill argue the law is necessary to protect children...
An 18-year-old Pennsylvania man was recently arrested and charged with raping another juvenile while the two were in a relationship in 2022. Because the alleged rapes occurred before the defendant turned 18, he was charged as a...
Have you ever heard that eating poppy seed bagels for breakfast can actually trigger a positive drug test? It sounds like an urban legend—drinking soda while eating Pop Rocks will kill you; swallowed chewing gum stays in your...
Former Mercyhurst Athletes Charged with Pushing Disabled Woman’s Wheelchair Down Pub Stairs
May 8, 2023
Wheelchair users know that in order to live a life of relative freedom, they sometimes need to abandon the chairs they otherwise rely on. For example, they may choose to patronize an establishment with restrooms located near a...
Forty-nine-year-old Milton resident Donald Kizer is a child predator hunter. That is, the grandfather of four poses online as an underage teen to flush out pedophiles, expose them to the world, and bring them to justice. Kizer...
The arrest of a Pennsylvania man who had been on the run from police for weeks highlights the serious consequences defendants who violate Protections for Abuse orders (PFAs) can face. Law enforcement officers apprehended Rick...
The legal landscape is constantly changing. On top of a mountain of other concerns, the list of dos and don’ts is ever-growing for those accused of crimes. Navigating your best course of action while trying to defend...