Category Archives: Criminal Law

My 11 year older threatened to kill a teacher, do we need a lawyer?

Q: My 11 year old at Woodland Hills was accused of threatening to kill a teacher by two other students. Does he need a lawyer? My son has Toilette syndrome and impulsive disorder and has an IEP at school for emotional support. Two other students are accusing him of threatening to kill a teacher. He never threatened to kill anybody and now the cops are involved and this is causing more emotional damage to my son. What should I do?

A: I am not sure if you mean “Toilette” syndrome or are the victim of spell check but the situation sounds serious. I think a lawyer who specializes in educational law, may be helpful. The threat was not directly made to the teacher but the school maybe taking this seriously, especially if the police are involved. This could be handled with something simple like a conference, or at the other extreme, it could even end up in juvenile court on a delinquency petition and with a suspension. You should be proactive and discuss this with the school to determine how they are going to handle this. Again, an attorney who specializes in educational law may be a benefit to understanding the rights of your child and you as parent have in this situation. There is an organization called Kid’s Voice in Pittsburgh who represent children who are alleged to be dependent, but they may be able to offer some advice.

 

UNDERAGE DRINKING-CAN I GET ADJUDICATIVE ALTERNATIVE?

Q: What are my odds of getting adjudication alternatives as oppose to underage drinking charge? I have a lawyer. First off, I’m 19 years old. A few months back my friends and I had a party at my apartment. My boyfriend who is of age bought us alcohol and our party turned wild and one girl was sent to the hospital with suspected alcohol poisoning . The police came and searched my apartment and my boyfriend’s car without our consent, is that legal? Nothing was found when search , no Breathalyzers given to the rest of but the girl that was underage and went to the hospital had a BAC of 0.18. Long story short now there is an arrest warrant out for me and I had no prior notification from the police but this. My parents hired an attorney. This is a first time offense. I’m a college student and going places in life and I don’t want this one mistake on my record. With an attorney what charges facing? My hearing is

A: Usually, minors are cited with the summary offense of Purchase, Consumption, Possession or Transportation of Alcohol and they are cited with a citation or arrested by mail, or summons. Arrest warrants are generally not issued. If you have a “warrant” for your arrest, it sounds as if you may have been charged with a misdemeanor furnishing alcohol to minors under § 6310.1,   “Selling or furnishing liquor or malt or brewed beverages to minors”. I am not sure how this can be if you are a minor as well. In either case, if charged with a summary or misdemeanor, you cannot have a conviction as it will impact your life. In addition, there are driver’s license suspensions that can be imposed by PennDOT once you are convicted. Generally, there will be an alternative program for you as a first offender which will let you avoid a conviction. Only an experienced criminal defense attorney can advise you on how to obtain these types of results. Do not do it without counsel. The various searches you describe may or may not be legal and you should have your attorney look at the facts closely as well.

CAN I GET CRIMINAL CHARGES ON MY EX FOR HACKING INTO FACEBOOK?

Q: My ex boyfriend hacked into my Facebook account. I discovered the IP address from where the device was located in my email.

A: You can ask the police or DA if they will file criminal charges for harassment. Harassment charges are more likely to be filed if the contact is continuing. The police are not likely to file charges with this one instance, but you may at least want to file a police report.

 

CAN THEY CHARGE ME FOR THEFT OVER A YEAR AGO?

Q: Can I be charged for something I did not do and have idea who did? A cop came to my house a couple days ago and said he was investigating an incident that happened over a year ago at a department store where sleeping bags and air mattresses were taken. He advised an employee saw someone stuffing items in a car and said it was my license plate. I have never stolen anything and he said they will check video footage to see if it was me. I said if they had video wouldn’t he have looked at it first before accusing me? And, I don’t understand why it’s been over a year and now they are questioning me about an incident that I had nothing to do with. Will I have to go to court for this. It bothers me because if it was something so serious wouldn’t they have approached me when it first happened?

A: Yes, people do get charged for crimes they didn’t commit. It does happen. If you are truly innocent, the police officer may have been given bad information and is just fishing for evidence by talking to you and others. Do not make any statements to the police or anyone else, or let them search your car or home. If they continue to contact you, hire a lawyer.

Parole detainer. How long can they keep her?

Q: My wife is in jail for parole detainer. She’s been in jail since February. How long can they keep her? What can I do to get her out?

A:  A lot of men in your situation would want to keep the wife in jail as long as possible so I commend you on your concern. I am assuming this is a county sentence or a state sentence for which the county trial judge still has jurisdiction. Her first chance of being released is at the 1st violation hearing. Her next chance is at the 2nd violation hearing. If she is found to be in violation of probation at the second hearing, the judge can sentence her to a jail sentence of the balance of her parole . This is a general answer. You need an attorney to look at the case details to really give an opinion. If you feel there are good reasons to have the detainer lifted so she can be released to your home, or released on electronic monitoring prior to the first or last hearing, you need to hire a lawyer to file a motion to lift detainer or motion to transfer to house arrest. An attorney can review the specific situation and tell you if it is worth filing a motion.

 

Woman attacks women with knife in defending her home

Q: 5 women attack 1 woman at her home. She cuts one through fence with knife trying to scare them off. After a afternoon argument between husband and wife, 10:30 pm mother- in- law, sister- in- law , 3 other women go to daughter- in- laws house and try to kick in front door while she is sleeping with two children. She runs to back fence (side street) where they were trying to get in the yard. She pick up a small knife and waves the knife sideways to scare them while trying to hold the fence closed with her other arm. She cuts one of the women who goes to the hospital. She is charged with aggravated assault (Pennsylvania has no self defense ). Please could you tell me her outcome her trial is for one day coming soon.

A: PA does have self defense as a defense to the crimes of assault and homicide. It is a complete defense and can be raised at trial. If the jury believes that the defendant was justified in using force or deadly force in self defense to protect him or herself, he or she can be acquitted. It is not a defense to the police filing charges. Whether that works in this case depends on what the witnesses will say, what the physical evidence shows and how credible the defendant’s story is. All of these sources of evidence need to be reviewed by the defendant’s attorney with her, before any prediction about the case can be given. If she is defending her home as you say, that may work as a defense or work to get the DA to make a better offer. The facts as you present them, sound like self defense. If true and these facts are conveyed to the jury or judge, it may help things go in her favor. It reminds me of cases I handled on a weekly basis as a Public Defender and I always had favorable results with them.

 

WHAT IS MY PUNISHMENT WITH ARD?

Q: What’s my punishment? I got mixed in with the wrong people and made a dumb move! I stole my grandmothers credit card and used it for $450. I live in Pennsylvania. Charges are in Allegheny County. I’m under ARD consideration. This is my first offense ever. On my court papers its charged as class C misdemeanor.

A: I don’t know what a class C misdemeanor is. If you are guilty or have no defense, Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition would be a good option for you. With ARD, if you receive it, you will get probation, have to pay costs and fines and may have other conditions, like restitution to the victim and community service. The greatest feature of ARD is that once you complete the program, the DA of Allegheny County will expunge your record. Normally, a defendant has to pay an attorney to do this.

My son has to appear in juvenile court

Q:        My 17 year old son has a juvenile intake conference for something that they say he did almost ten months ago, What will happen?

A:        It depends on the county, so I will assume you are in Allegheny. An intake conference is a juvenile’s first appearance in Juvenile Court and usually means that a petition for juvenile delinquency in juvenile court has been filed. At the conference, you will meet the Probation Officer if you haven’t yet and your son will be given his charges (the delinquency petition), be assigned to a judge and given his next court date. More importantly, the Probation Officer’s recommendation is explained. If this is a minor offense and your son has no juvenile court history, the recommendation could be something as simple as counseling. If it is a more serious offense, the recommendation may be to have the case proceed to the judge. The best offer would be for a consent decree, which is basically a dismissal once the child completes certain requirements, like counseling or community service. The next step would be standard probation. The next step after that would be house arrest or a juvenile detention center. To get this type of sentence, the child would have to have a significant history and/or this is a serious offense such as sexual assault, burglary, aggravated assault, etc.

 

Can I get a media expungement?

Q: I’ve been told that media expungements were different from others. Can someone please tell me how because my attorney said the military will see it?

A: I have never heard of a media expungement and do not know what that is. With how huge the internet is, I don’t know how it would work. I think if a media story is untrue, you could force a retraction printed. You would need an attorney to contact the source of the incorrect information. An expungement is a legal process, whereby you petition the court to destroy your arrest record. To be eligible to do this, you need to have been arrested but not convicted of a crime. If you were convicted of a summary offense and five years of arrest free behavior has passed since the conviction, you can file a petition to expunge and the court will issue an order for all records relating to the arrest to be destroyed-shredded or deleted.

Retail theft at Giant Eagle. Will I go to jail?

 

Q: I have been charged with retail theft, a misdemeanor. This was at a Giant Eagle the amount was around 150 in merchandise. The merchandise was in the cart I did not leave the store. I went to the front to get other merchandise. I was stopped. Nothing was concealed. The store is not seeking restitution as there was no merchandise taken. This is now in a court hearing in a few weeks this is a huge misunderstanding. What do I do how much jail time can I get? Is there any way out of this without a record? I am to start law school next fall. If I am convicted that is over. This is crazy.

 

A: You really, really, should hire a lawyer and go over all of the facts with him or her, and learn what your options are. You don’t always have to leave the store for a prima facie case of Retail Theft to be met. The statute speaks of “concealment”. I have had many clients who have not left the store but have concealed something on their person or in their cart, while in the store, and are charged. I don’t know what happened here but you may have a defense. If you assert you are innocent, your attorney can look at the video if there is any. He or she can advise you if you have a defense worth pursuing. If you don’t have a defense, and you have no criminal record, an attorney will know how to get you out of this with no record which will benefit your career endeavors immensely.