Posted in General on January 12, 2015

By Jason Dunkle on G+ A Florida man recently decided to take a joyride through a Walmart store on a motorized shopping cart while helping himself to alcohol from the shelves without  paying for it. The man was charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and Retail Theft. Grading of Pennsylvania Retail Theft Charges The… view more

Posted in General on January 12, 2015

By Jason Dunkle on G+ At the recent Penn State football game, an overly intoxicated student tried to avoid charges of Underage Drinking and Public Drunkenness by attempting to flee from the police, and, when officers stopped his retreat, it is alleged that the student resisted arrested and assaulted at least one officer. In trying… view more

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

By Jason Dunkle on G+ Recently, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, one man was killed and two others were injured when their car crashed into a utility pole. At the moment of impact, it is believed that the car was traveling at approximately 100 mph in an area where the posted speed limit was 35 mph. While… view more

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