Category Archives: Criminal Defense
U.S. Supreme Court Hears Case Battle of State Versus Federal Criminal Law When It Comes to Immigration
The U.S. Supreme Court is currently considering a case that, if decided in favor of the state of Kansas, could open the door for every state to start regulating immigration according to their own criminal laws instead of it being the traditional jurisdiction of the federal government (via the Immigration Reform and Control Act… Read More »
Understanding The Federal Crimes Brought Against Celebrity Parents Who Allegedly Offered Bribes for Children’s Educations
In late October, actress Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli were indicted on a third set of federal charges, which include allegations of federal program bribery. Nine others were also charged as part of an investigation into an alleged conspiracy to obtain college placements for celebrity children via assistance from a company called… Read More »
The House of Representatives Passes Legislation Making Animal Cruelty a Federal Crime
In late October, the House of Representatives passed legislation– the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act (“PACT” Act)–making animal cruelty a federal crime. Ultimately passed by the Senate soon after, the bill creates federal penalties for a number of activities involving animals that currently depend upon state law, including burning, crushing, drowning, impaling, suffocating,… Read More »
New York’s Raise the Age Law Has Transformed How Juvenile Crimes Are Treated, Especially in Brooklyn
According to statistics recently compiled and published by the state of New York, the state’s 2018 “Raise the Age” law that moves a number of 16-year-old juveniles accused of crimes out of Criminal Court has been done more successfully in Brooklyn than anywhere else in the city. The law was designed to end the… Read More »
New York City Makes It Illegal to Discriminate Against Immigrants
In a somewhat unprecedented move, in early October, New York City moved to make and act on discrimination against immigrants illegal by declaring new guidance on an existing law, which dictates that it is illegal to use the term “illegal alien” to “demean, humiliate, or harass” someone in the workplace. The new guidance makes… Read More »
New York Votes to Officially Close Rikers Island Jails, But What’s Next?
In late October, New York City Council made its vote to have Rikers Island closed as of 2026, and replaced with four new jails located in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens, taking the inmate population down from approximately 10,000 to 3,000. Described by some as a “symbol of brutality and inhumanity” that “[never]… Read More »
New York’s “Crimes of Poverty”
In just the first three months of 2017, the New York Police Department arrested more than 4,500 people for fare evasion and 90 percent of them were black or Hispanic. In 2016, young black men between the ages of 16 and 36 made up half of all fare evasion arrests even though they represent… Read More »
Legal Marijuana In New York: Questions Remaining
A number of questions remain concerning the decriminalization (and legalization) of marijuana in New York. Linked to these questions are those related to the state’s approach to CBD products and where things are headed in terms of past drug infractions. Currently, there is a significant amount of uncertainty concerning all of these issues, which… Read More »
Trial of Officer Who Shot Innocent After Mistakenly Entering His Apartment Thinking It Was Her Own Places Unique Interpretation of Castle Doctrine in Question
The trial of Amber Guyger–the police officer who shot and killed an innocent man (Botham Jean) after mistakenly entering his apartment, thinking it was her own and that he was an intruder–has garnered national headlines in October. While there have been a number of ‘stand your ground’- (or self-defense) related homicide trials around the… Read More »
New York’s New Sex Abuse Law Brings Forth Hundreds of New Allegations
New York’s new sex abuse law has already brought forth hundreds of new lawsuits brought by victims seeking to use the legal system to address the damage done, even if it was many years before. The law – the New York Child Victims Act – created a one-year period whereby victims could come forth… Read More »
