Philadelphia Drug Violation Law Blog

On Monday, a 19-year-old Pennsylvania man was arrested and held at the Snyder County Jail after police charged him with several felonies and a misdemeanor. According to police, they witnessed the man, a former student at Susquehanna University, conducting a drug deal in the school's parking lot. The man was held in lieu of $50,000 bail.

It is one thing to be caught in possession of marijuana, but accusations of drug delivery carry serious criminal charges with major penalties if one is convicted. Some legal penalties individuals could face in the state of Pennsylvania for delivering marijuana could certainly include jail time and the suspension of one's driver's license.

In November, we discussed an important case that was heading to the U.S. Supreme Court on our Philadelphia drug violation law blog that questioned whether or not the use of a GPS tracking device in a criminal investigation is a violation of one's privacy rights under the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment protects U.S. citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures of their property including one's person, house, car, computer, papers and other personal effects.

Last week, justices came to a unanimous conclusion that without obtaining a warrant before using GPS surveillance in criminal investigations, law enforcement could be violating the rights of citizens under the Fourth Amendment.

The ruling could certainly change the way in which Pennsylvania police and other agencies conduct criminal investigations and searches, but the ruling may also provide citizens with some relief knowing that their rights to privacy are still protected to some extent under the Fourth Amendment, even though technology has allowed state and federal agencies to more easily conduct investigations and to gather evidence in criminal cases.

A Brighton Township, Pennsylvania, woman now faces criminal charges after police were called to her home earlier this month by her 8-year-old daughter. The child called 911 after she found her mother to be unresponsive. The child said that there were no other adults in the house at the time.

According to reports, the police and paramedics arrived at the woman's home shortly before 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 4. Brighton Township police reported that the woman was sitting on her couch when they arrived and that she appeared to be confused. The woman's three children were also in the home, including the child who called 911.

While paramedics were treating the woman and her children, an officer said that he noticed some papers in an ash tray that looked similar to packaging material commonly used for heroin.

There is no question that Philadelphia residents should face legal consequences if they are convicted of committing a serious drug crime that could have jeopardized the safety of the community. However, not all drug crimes are alike, and sometimes these crimes are committed after simple, honest mistakes.

In these types of cases, it is just as important for individuals to make sure that their rights are aggressively defended in order to possibly have one's charges dropped or reduced. Aggressively defending one's case could also help to minimize the penalties one may face if he or she is convicted.

This week, a coroner from central Pennsylvania agreed to resign from his job after he was charged with illegal possession of prescription drugs. The man's lawyer said that the coroner will plead guilty to the charge after acknowledging that he made a mistake.