Recently, a Circuit Court in Maryland rule that the DRE protocol was inadmissible as evidence because “…it is not generally accepted as valid and reliable in the relevant scientific community…”. The DRE protocol is a twelve step procedure police use to try to determine whether someone is impaired by drugs. This procedure is used all over…
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DUI Arrests Purposely Targeting Innocent People
You may be surprised to learn that some DUI laws in Pennsylvania specifically target innocent people. Yes, even if you haven’t had a sip of alcohol or abused any illicit drugs, you can still be arrested for DUI and charged with a DUI equivalent to those with “Highest Rate” blood alcohol levels. Even for a…
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PA DUI Attorney to Present at NACDL National Seminar
PA DUI Attorney Justin McShane has been invited to speak at the highly regarded “Making Sense of Science” Seminar hosted by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. The title for this seminar is ” Forensic Science and the Law”. Attorney McShane has been invited to give a lecture entitled “Pharmacology for Lawyers.” Pharmacology is…
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New Designer Drugs Pose a Problem for Forensic Science
Recently Gov. Corbett signed a law banning bath salts and other forms of synthetic marijuana and drugs. However, even before the ink dried, the inevitable happened: People made new drugs. From synthetic drugs to exotic plants to cleaners and chemicals, people have found new ways to get high and continue the cat-and-mouse game with the…
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Challenging DUI Blood Evidence Part 4: Sources of Error in Blood Testing
Being able to challenge DUI blood evidence effectively is one of the ways The McShane Firm separates itself from the rest of the crowd in Pennsylvania. Our attorneys are experienced at exposing the weaknesses in the government’s case and challenging its evidence. DUI blood testing inherently has a number of sources of error that can…
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Challenging DUI Blood Evidence Part 3: Testing for Drugs
In Pennsylvania DUI cases, blood testing evidence holds a place of great importance because its results are normally seen as accurate and scientific. Prosecutors think that blood evidence is without flaw. This is far from true. In this series, Challenging DUI Blood Evidence, we offer a simple yet comprehensive look at blood testing in DUI…
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Pennsylvania Bans Bath Salts and Synthetic Marijuana
The Pennsylvania State Senate has moved to ban bath salts and synthetic marijuana. The bill now awaits Gov. Corbett’s signature to be passed into law. Under the proposed bill, bath salts and synthetic drugs like Spice and K2 will be banned and classified as “Schedule 1” drugs. Penalties for Bath Salts and Synthetic Marijuana Unless…
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PA DUI Drugs Update: K2 Banned by DEA
The United States Department of Justice has banned Five Synthetic Cannabinoids including JWH-018 the main ingredient in K2 and Spice. You can expect that Pennsylvania will also ban these substances and attach very severe penalties to them as well. Once they do this, driving under the influence of these substances will also result in a…
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Attorney McShane to Present at the ACS National Meeting in Anaheim
Attorney McShane is a noted litigator when it comes to the area of analytical chemistry and forensic science. His commitment to research and study have earned him the respect of experts in both the legal and scientific communities. As a result, Attorney McShane has been invited to lecture at the 241st National Meeting of the…
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Do More DUI Arrests Mean Better Enforcement?
Central PA Town Sees Growing DUI Arrest Numbers but is this a Result of Better Enforcement? I have blogged before about the statistics game police play with PA DUI arrest numbers. An increased number of arrests does not mean that there is an improvement in DUI enforcement because- “More” does not always mean “Better.” Take…
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