Criminal Justice

Pa. gun violence prevention advocates optimistic about new White House initiative

BY: - September 27, 2023

Adam Garber, executive director of CeaseFirePA, was at the White House event last week where President Joe Biden announced a new Office of Gun Violence Prevention. Survivors of school shootings and family members who had lost a loved one to gun violence, many of whom have been fighting for tougher gun control laws for years, […]

SCAM LIKELY TELEMARKETING CALL

Change to Pa. wiretap law would allow consumers targeted by telemarketing scams to record calls

BY: - September 26, 2023

People who think they’re being targeted by telemarketing scams would be able to legally record calls under an amendment to the Pennsylvania law that allows police and prosecutors to tap telephones. The addition to the Pennsylvania Wiretap Act would permit potential victims of telephone scams to fight back by recording the calls for use by […]

Pennsylvania Capitol Building. May 24, 2022. Harrisburg, Pa. (Photo by Amanda Berg, for the Capital-Star).

Advocates push for legislation to reform Pennsylvania’s probation system

BY: - September 26, 2023

A group of community organizations has sent a joint letter of support to lawmakers in Harrisburg, urging the passage of legislation which would make changes to Pennsylvania’s probation system. Senate bill 838 passed the state Senate 45-4 and was unanimously advanced by the House Judiciary Committee in June. It would require courts to hold probation […]

Fetterman calls for Menendez to resign

BY: - September 24, 2023

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is calling for U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) to step down, following news that the New Jersey Democrat has been indicted on charges he took cash, gold, and gifts in exchange for using his political influence to help associates. “Senator Menendez should resign. He’s entitled to the presumption of innocence under […]

Records show Allegheny County Medical Examiner did not perform full autopsy on incarcerated man

BY: - September 19, 2023

Daniel Pastorek died nearly three years ago, on Thanksgiving Day, 2020, in a mental health unit in the Allegheny County Jail. He struggled with housing and suffered from schizophrenia. He was arrested and booked at the jail after failing to appear for an appeal in magistrate’s court on a public drunkenness case. He was 63 years old. […]

Casey bill would bar people convicted of violent misdemeanor hate crimes from obtaining guns

BY: - September 14, 2023

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.,on Thursday introduced legislation that would prevent people convicted of violent misdemeanor hate crimes from obtaining guns.  The Disarm Hate Act addresses a gap in current federal law, which currently prohibits those convicted of felonies — including hate crimes— from possessing guns. The bill would update the law to include those […]

Court blocks special counsel Jack Smith’s access to many of Rep. Scott Perry’s files

BY: - September 13, 2023

Special counsel Jack Smith may not review U.S. Rep. Scott Perry’s discussions with other members of Congress about overturning the 2020 presidential election, a federal appeals court ruled, finding they fall under an exemption for legislative speech. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia published a previously sealed opinion on Wednesday that reveals […]

Pennsylvania Capitol Building. May 24, 2022. Harrisburg, Pa. (Photo by Amanda Berg, for the Capital-Star).

Experts say a bill to restrict where sexual predators can live in Pa. misses the mark

BY: - September 13, 2023

The state House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday heard testimony on a bill that would place restrictions on where sexually violent predators could live in Pennsylvania. But experts testified that such restrictions have been struck down on constitutional grounds in the past, and address a perceived problem not based on evidence.  House Bill 77 is co-sponsored by […]

Judge rejects Meadows’ bid to move Georgia 2020 election racketeering case to federal court

BY: - September 8, 2023

Donald Trump’s former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows suffered a legal setback Friday afternoon when a federal judge ordered that his Fulton County election interference case remain in state court. U.S. District Court Steve Jones’ decision to reject Meadows’ attempt to thwart the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office sweeping racketeering and conspiracy case […]

Chester County manhunt for convicted killer enters sixth day

BY: - September 5, 2023

Pennsylvania State Police said on Tuesday that they have expanded the search for a convicted murderer who escaped from the Chester County Prison after seeing evidence that he had obtained clothing and supplies and was headed south.  The search for Danelo Cavalcante entered its sixth day on Tuesday after state police and federal authorities searched […]

COMMENTARY

Panic buttons can’t be our only response to shootings

BY: - August 31, 2023

We are literally days into a new school year and already there has been a shooting on a U.S. college campus. This time at the University of North Carolina. Frightened students, scared for their lives could be seen jumping out of windows to safety. This scene is eerily reminiscent of the Columbine shooting that took […]

Deluzio asks DOJ to investigate incident at Ambridge church as a possible hate crime

BY: - August 31, 2023

U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-17th District, has requested that the U.S. Department of Justice conduct a federal civil rights investigation into a Sunday incident in which a man allegedly tried to bring a gun into a predominantly Black church in Ambridge, near Pittsburgh.  Deluzio, whose district includes the area where the alleged incident occurred, wants […]