The authorities claim that a man from Allentown, Pennsylvania, was in charge of a sex trafficking and prostitution ring that was known as "the program." He has now been arrested and charged for allegedly running it from back in 2009 to May of last year. The police say...
An overview of Pennsylvania sentencing law
The sentencing portion of a criminal case can be confusing to defendants. Of course, his or her defense attorney will be on hand to explain salient points and answer questions, but it never hurts to learn a little about the process before it is time for sentencing....
Penalties of sex crime conviction can be devastating, permanent
Any time a person is charged with a crime, it should be taken very seriously by everyone involved. After all, prosecutors, alleged victims and members of the public will typically be quite forceful when it comes to seeking a conviction and penalties; without a...
Are most prisoners really in there for drug offenses?
Despite the earnest efforts of anti-drug activists, law enforcement officers and prosecutors, drug use and sales continue to be problems in the United States. At the same time, the U.S. has more people behind bars per capita than any other nation on earth by a pretty...
What constitutes entrapment under federal law?
In the criminal justice system, there may be times when it seems that the crime was unfairly induced by an agent of the government. Depending on the circumstances, a federal crime could have resulted from entrapment. If you felt pressured into committing a crime by a...
You’ve been ticketed. Sit. Stay. Wait for the drug dog?
Around midnight one lovely evening a couple of years ago, a man was pulled over for driving on the highway's shoulder, which is a traffic violation in the state where this took place. The officer went through all the usual business officers do when they pull someone...
Justice Dept., federal court reassess bulk surveillance programs
Have you heard about the "Stingray" cellphone tracking device? The Stingray and its competitors are devices that mimic cellphone towers, giving users access to all the information cellphone companies collect. Like what? So-called "metadata," which reveals exactly...
Federal indictments: Bridgegate was deliberate political payback
If you're unfamiliar with the Bridgegate scandal affecting our neighbor to the east, you probably haven't been paying attention to the last three years of ramp-up coverage on the 2016 presidential election. For the uninitiated, there was a time when New Jersey...