Category Archives: Criminal Defense
Using Algorithms to Sentence “Criminals”
On May 1st, the New York Times published an eye-opening article about emerging software programs that are actually sending people to prison, and the strain that this is place on the justice system. While this may sound like a chapter out of a science fiction novel, in fact, individuals have already been sentenced to… Read More »
Is Your Computer Illegally Gathering Evidence Against You? New Report Offers Advice
A report recently released by the ACLU, EFF, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys highlights a serious issue in our criminal justice system that few are aware of: the installation of computer malware in order to illegally seize evidence of violation of the Fourth Amendment and federal laws in an effort to… Read More »
Brooklyn Moves to Protect Foreign-Born Citizens Accused Of Petty Crimes
One by one, various cities are resisting the deportation and/or detention of immigrants charged with certain misdemeanors or nonviolent crimes. For example, just this week, the Brooklyn district attorney’s office promised to seek equal and fair justice for the borough’s vulnerable foreign-born residents. The federal Justice department recently threatened to cut off federal funding… Read More »
Sessions’ Blow to Forensic Science Is Troubling For Justice in Criminal Conviction Cases
Recently Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that that the Department of Justice was disbanding the National Commission on Forensic Science and, instead, returning complete control of forensic science over to local law enforcement. In the same vein, Sessions suspended the department’s review of closed cases for evidence of any inaccurate or unsupported statements by… Read More »
Administration Seeks To Curtail Rights for Detainees in Correctional Facilities
Although it’s hard to believe that any given administration would have the ability to significantly change the specific rules and requirements concerning prisoners’ civil rights, in fact, as recently highlighted by the New York Times, many detained immigrants are now worried over what might happen to their basic rights while being held in prison… Read More »
What Is “Racketeering”?
The term “racketeering” can be traced back to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, and includes 35 crimes related to organized crime and the act of offering a dishonest service in order to solve a problem. The RICO Act became law in 1970 in an effort to go after organized crime. However,… Read More »
The Future for Federal Efforts to Curb Police Abuse in the Cities
There’s been a lot of discussion of “consent decrees” as they apply to police abuse and the Justice Department in the news of late. These consent decrees are court-enforced agreements between cities and the federal Justice Department on how to reform city police departments accused of civil rights and systemic constitutional violations. Widely supported… Read More »
NYPD Detective Charged In Connection With Acts of Public Lewdness
One particular set of crimes in New York has recently captured the news headlines, perhaps because it involved a NYPD detective who was charged in connection with four separate incidents of public lewdness on Long Island on Monday, March 27th. In addition to facing four counts of public lewdness, the detective now also faces… Read More »
New Jersey and New York Immigration Courts Have Highest Backlog of Cases in the Nation
New Jersey and New York courts are currently backlogged and overwhelmed with thousands and thousands of pending immigration cases as a direct result of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) recent enforcement activities, as recently reported by NJ.com. Specifically, just through January, there were more than 540,000 pending cases across the county, with more… Read More »
The “Sleep Apnea” Defense
While it may sound crazy, the occurrence of sleep apnea—and, specifically, how it can affect the incidence of federal crimes and one’s criminal defense—has been the subject of various news articles of late. Specifically, a man who was taken to court over groping another passenger on his flight for 30 seconds was recently acquitted… Read More »