Posted in Constitutional Rights, General on January 12, 2015

By Jason Dunkle on G+ I recently spent a Thursday evening watching taped oral arguments from lawyers before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on the Pennsylvania Cable Network. In the case of Commonwealth v. Gary, the Court is considering whether or not it should adopt the Federal standard regarding the search of automobiles, generally referred to… view more

Posted in General, Recklessly Endangering Another Person on January 12, 2015

By Jason Dunkle on G+ A recent Pennsylvania Superior Court decision considered whether sufficient evidence was presented to support a mechanic’s convictions of Recklessly Endangering Another Person and Involuntary Manslaughter after the mechanic allegedly failed to fix brakes on a van. In the case, captioned Commonwealth v.  Fabian, the mechanic worked for a company that… view more

Posted in Appeal, General on January 12, 2015

By Jason Dunkle on G+ A federal appeals court in Philadelphia recently upheld a life sentence imposed on a Delaware man after he was convicted of possession of child pornography, attempting to produce child pornography, and attempting to coerce and entice a child to commit a violation of the law. In eight years of being… view more

Posted in General on January 12, 2015

By Jason Dunkle on G+ I was very surprised to discover that students at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) have tried to start their own student sponsored all-day drinking event call IUPatty’s Day, most likely modeled after the infamous, and  much hated, State Patty’s Day at Penn State. While IUPatty’s Day had an event… view more

Posted in Constitutional Rights, General on January 12, 2015

By Jason Dunkle on G+ While many people “flip off” or give others the bird in public, I often wondered if it was actually legal. Oddly, while I have been a criminal defense lawyer since 2004, I didn’t actually know the answer to that question until recently. Just because many people do it doesn’t mean… view more

Posted in Constitutional Rights, General on January 12, 2015

By Jason Dunkle on G+ Two recent cases put the spotlight on giving a person “the bird”, or “flipping them off”, and whether such a gesture is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  In one case, a police officer was the target, but, in the other, the person had the audacity to… view more

Posted in General, Recklessly Endangering Another Person on January 12, 2015

By Jason Dunkle on G+ In an article last week, I wrote about a recent Pennsylvania decision involving a mechanic’s conviction of Recklessly Endangering Another Person and Involuntary Manslaughter after he had failed to fix the brakes on a van transporting special needs students. While the van was heading down a steep Pittsburgh hill, the… view more

Posted in General, Public Drunkenness on January 12, 2015

By Jason Dunkle on G+ Barely a week ago, Penn State University and the State College community embraced the annual Penn State THON event, held by the world’s largest student philanthropy organization. There was much celebration over the success of the event, only to be almost immediately overshadowed by the dread of the following weekend’s… view more

Posted in Constitutional Rights, General on January 12, 2015

By Jason Dunkle on G+ I have read numerous reports that the police intend to treat criminal cases that occur on State Patty’s Day differently than the same criminal cases that occur on other weekends, such as Penn State football or Arts Fest weekends. Primarily,the police have stated that they will: 1) arrest all people… view more

Posted in General on January 12, 2015

By Jason Dunkle on G+ The Pennsylvania legislature is currently considering a proposal to amend the Simple Assault and Aggravated Assault laws to impose stiffer punishments for assault charges against children. The proposed changes were just approved by the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives and still must be considered by the entire House…. view more