Category Archives: New York Criminal Defense Attorney
New Jersey Could Be the Next State to Eliminate the Use of ‘Gay or Trans Panic’ Defense
Following proposed federal legislation and other states that have enacted bans, in November, New Jersey lawmakers introduced legislation banning the use of gay or trans panic defense in criminal cases. The bill proposes to prohibit the use of the defense in cases that involve murder/homicide charges; specifically, the act of reducing murder charges to… Read More »
The US Supreme Court Takes Up Case That Could Lead to Criminalizing All Immigrant Advice & Advocacy
The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear one case that could significantly affect the ability of attorneys to represent immigrants. The case – United States v. Sineneng-Smith – involves a relatively unknown provision in immigration law that forbids “encouraging or inducing an alien to reside in the United States” when that individual knows… Read More »
New York Criminal Defense Attorneys Move On from Criminal Justice Reforms to Marijuana Legalization & Preventing ICE from Arresting Anyone Entering or Leaving Courthouses
In December, a number of criminal defense attorneys called on the New York legislature to approve another set of reforms, including the legalization of marijuana, expunging affected criminal records, and preventing immigrant arrests at state courthouses. These same advocates were linked to successful criminal justice reforms that previously passed in New York, including eliminating… Read More »
The Inability for Law Enforcement to Distinguish Hemp from Marijuana Leads to False Arrests
Police officers around the country have routinely been mistakenly cracking down on what they believe are marijuana busts, but what actually turn out to be sources of legal hemp. Law enforcement arguably found itself unprepared for the legalization of hemp, as even traditional tools – such as drug-sniffing dogs and tests that still only… Read More »
The Most Important Civil Rights Case of the Term Comes Before the U.S. Supreme Court
In November, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in what many are calling the most important civil rights case to come in this term. The case involves a dispute between Comcast and Byron Allen, who is claiming that Comcast refuses to air channels from his company for racist/discriminatory reasons. Comcast Urges Narrow, First-Ever Interpretation… Read More »
Trials for Criminal Defendants In New York Are About to Completely Transform Due to Criminal Justice Reforms
An important criminal justice reform law that mandates a 15- to 30-day window for prosecutors and defense attorneys to exchange materials before arraignment (as well as a number of other changes to information that defendants have access to before trial) goes into effect in January 2020, and has prosecutors (“DAs”) claiming that Gov. Cuomo… 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 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 »
Justice Department Announces That Additional Federal Inmates May Qualify for Release Under First Step Act
According to statistics, the federal prison system holds more than seven times the number of inmates that it did in the 1980s, and more than 45 percent of everyone in them is serving time for a drug offense. Still, according to the latest reports, more than 2,200 inmates are set to be released from… Read More »
