"The taxpayers are paying for this person to have been using DoorDash. We have a situation where somebody was supposed to be at work, was supposed to be representing their clients, was supposed to be doing the business of the county of Bucks and was not," legal ethics attorney Jennifer Ellis said. "In the investigation into that, if I were in charge of that employee, I would want to make sure that the individuals they represented when this person was supposed to be doing things for clients actually got done."

At a press conference last week in which he announced Jennifer Schorn would be promoted to the first assistant district attorney, Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub said Shore had been "indefensible, thoughtless and so stupid" in DoorDashing during hours he was supposed to be doing work for the district attorney's office. Shore's demotion to deputy district attorney went into effect March 17.

There's no rule that says an attorney, public official or not, can't have another job worked during separate hours—that's something that would only become an issue if it were explicitly banned in an employment agreement, Ellis said. The Bucks County District Attorney's Office confirmed Wednesday there's nothing contractually prohibiting Shore from working for DoorDash or any other job outside the hours he's expected to do his job as a prosecutor.

Professional responsibility and ethics attorney Ellen Brotman said even the idea of when Shore should be considered on the clock for the DA's office might not be so cut and dry.

"There's an argument to be made that the definition of 'work hours,' unless it's written down in part of his agreement, is not necessarily 9 to 5 anymore, and so it would be reasonable for him to assume that if he's out doing DoorDash from 1 to 2 that he can make up that time later on, like 8 to 9," she said.

A spokesperson for the office said Shore's DoorDashing occurred between October and February but declined to say how many hours or on how many separate occasions Shore is believed to have been driving while he was supposed to be on the clock for the DA's office. But while Shore has been demoted and paid back the hours in which his two jobs overlapped, there's a chance he might face further consequences.

Thomas G. Wilkinson of Cozen O'Connor said there could be ethical issues if Shore was dishonest with the DA's Office about what he was working on or if he made a false statement to a court, such as saying another court appearance caused a scheduling conflict when in actuality he was delivering food during that time. Neither of those scenarios has been alleged, and the District Attorney's Office refused comment Wednesday on whether Shore might face further sanctions or criminal charges.

Stealing time could be considered theft, Ellis said, and in the event Shore is charged with and convicted of a crime, the disciplinary board would likely take notice.

"I would guess something is going on in his life, and I would want to know, as a defense attorney, what that was and whether it could mitigate any potential ethical violations that he may or may not have committed," she said.

Whether more action is taken against Shore or not, it's likely he'll face more public scrutiny than other attorneys working more than one job simply because he is a government employee.

"The disciplinary board and the court hold lawyers who hold public office to a higher standard, so the case might be scrutinized to make sure there's no dishonesty involved," Brotman said. "I hope that no one thinks that it reflects poorly upon the profession that he chose to supplement his income through being a DoorDash driver, which is a perfectly legitimate and honorable way to earn your living and has been immensely helpful and important during this pandemic."

Shore has been with the Bucks County District Attorney's Office since 2015, as well as from 1996 to 2000, and started the office's insurance fraud unit. He's also worked for the Lehigh County office and has been Pennsylvania's deputy secretary of labor and a special assistant U.S. attorney.

Dan Siegel, chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Committee on Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility, said it's not uncommon in his experience for assistant district attorneys to have second jobs to bring in additional income—though that might not be a necessity for a first district attorney—and confirmed there's no ethical rule barring it.

"It's not prohibited by the rules. It certainly does not create the appearance that I would assume a prosecutor would want, in particular," Siegel said. "It might not create the best appearance if the DA is also delivering your Wawa order."

Shore issued a statement last week saying he primarily worked for DoorDash on evenings and weekends but did occasionally drive for the delivery service during his work hours for the DA's Office. He has not commented on his reasoning for taking up the side job, other than stating he did it due to "personal circumstances."

"In doing so, I realized I betrayed my boss, my colleagues and most importantly the citizens of Bucks County," Shore said. "The people of Bucks County should expect that somebody working the capacity of first assistant district attorney should have their complete and undivided attention when duty calls."