On April 16, 2010, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted Attorney Andrew Shubin’s petition for allocatur in Commonwealth v. Zortman, a 2006 drug trafficking case prosecuted by the Attorney General’s office. The Supreme Court will hear argument on whether Zortman, the then girlfriend of a Clearfield County drug dealer, should be hit with a five year mandatory minimum state prison sentence based upon the presence of an inoperable firearm in the residence. Shubin, who represented Zortman in the appellate proceedings, expects the case to be briefed and argued before the end of the year.

In taking leadership stand, we must welcome students
Elizabeth Goreham

From its beginning State College has been a college town welcoming students and embracing their traditions. That is why our fraternity district was built within a neighborhood where professors and their families lived, frequently with student tenants. Our downtown grew naturally across the street from Penn State.

Over time the increase of students outpaced the population of the town and now students outnumber permanent residents. This makes the once easy connection with students more difficult, sometimes impossible. Still, just about everybody who lives here has a proud connection to Penn State.

Student life commonly includes drinking. In the past few years, however, dangerous drinking has accelerated. Issues related to alcohol abuse threaten the high standard of living neighborhoods have traditionally enjoyed.
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Former Daily Collegian photographer Maxwell Kruger, Class of 2009, entered the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program Monday at the Centre County Courthouse, ending the two years he spent in the Centre County legal system in connection to the 2008 Ohio State riot.

Kruger, who was not on the Collegian staff at the time of the riot, was charged in 2008 with two counts of felony riot, failure to disperse, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief, according to court documents.

But in September 2009 both felony counts and the count of misdemeanor failure to disperse were dismissed, according to court documents.

Kruger’s attorney Andrew Shubin did not comment on the terms of Kruger’s entrance into the ARD program, but he said this leaves Kruger with no criminal history in connection to the riot.

FOCUS ON EXCESSIVE DRINKING
Community must find solutions together
Damon Sims and Tom Fountaine

One irony about the problem of dangerous drinking among Penn State students is that it can be either a wedge dividing town and gown or a common cause that binds our community as one.
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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State University said nearly 30,000 individuals may have had their Social Security numbers exposed because of a privacy breach caused by infected university computers.

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From the Altoona Mirror

Penn State Altoona freshman Acacia Kelley has a good idea how an underage drinking citation could affect her life.  School expulsion, future career plans, the 18-year-old rattled off as she balanced a laptop on her legs while sitting on a campus bench Wednesday afternoon.

“My mom wouldn’t be too happy with me,” she said. “I try to be smart about that stuff.”

Beside criminal charges and disappointed parents, college students caught drinking while under age also face consequences at school.

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On Oct. 25 last year, thousands of students rushed into Beaver Canyon to celebrate Penn State’s victory over rival Ohio State.

We didn’t know it, but the First Amendment was on the line.

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Author: JOHN BEAUGE; For The Patriot-News

Edition: STATE
Section: Local/State
Page: B02

Article Text:

When did the U.S. attorney’s office know about the statewide grand jury investigation that led to the arrest last month of two Williamsport police officers on corruption charges?

A defense attorney in a federal drug case in which one of the officers, Cpl. Dustin Kreitz, was a lead investigator wants to know.

Andrew Shubin, who represents Markeif Fields, raises in a court document the allegation that the U.S. attorney’s office might have withheld materials in that case to avoid a credibility issue with Kreitz.

“I want the judge to determine when the U.S. attorney’s office was aware Kreitz was being targeted,” the State College lawyer requested in the filing. U.S. Middle District Judge John E. Jones Jr. yesterday allowed Shubin to file a motion that could lead to that information.

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Inmate’s wife claims authorities failed to follow procedure
and monitor husband
By Phil Ray
JOHNSTOWN — The wife of a man who committed suicide while incarcerated at Blair County Prison has filed a federal lawsuit contending that jail authorities violated procedures by not placing him on suicide watch. Jeremy Shane Corbin, 32, of Bellwood used a bedsheet to hang himself in his cell in October.

At the time, the jail contained 313 inmates, and some were housed in the gymnasium.  Corbin was in jail on an allegation that he violated a protection-fromabuse order issued Oct. 9.  County officials said Corbin was upset because he couldn’t see his children because of the PFA order.  According to the lawsuit, Corbin told sheriff’s deputies transporting him to a hearing that he was suicidal, the lawsuit stated.

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From Voices of Central Pennsylvania
By Zac Taylor

Harrisburg’s political will to be tough on drug dealers in school zones has turned into a veritable industry of snitches in Centre County, especially in the area in and around Penn State University.
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