Tag Archives: Criminal Defense Rockland County
The New Push To Expand New York’s Childhood Sexual Assault Law
As recently reported by the New York Times, there is a new push to expand New York’s childhood sex assault law. Under the current law in New York, victims of childhood sexual abuse have until they reach the age of 21 to sue the facility where the sexual abuse occurred and age 23 to… Read More »
New York Agrees To Pay $75 Million to Settle Lawsuit over Illegal Summonses Lacking Probable Cause
On January 23rd, New York City’s Law Department agreed to pay $75 million to settle a federal class-action lawsuit accusing the city’s Police Department of issuing close to one million criminal summons which were without any legal justification over the course of eight years (thus far). Specifically, a federal judge found that “probable cause… Read More »
Guilt by Association: Can People Be Charged with A Spouse’s Crimes?
On January 17th, the New York Times featured an article on the criminal prosecution of Noor Zahi Salman, the wife of the man who opened fire at a nightclub in Orlando last year, killing 49 people. Seven months after the nightclub incident, Salman is now being prosecuted under anti- terrorism laws as a result… Read More »
Criminal Conspiracy Charges Brought Against Volkswagen
On January 7th, the FBI arrested Volkswagen executive Oliver Schmidt for conspiracy charges related to the company’s diesel vehicle performance on emissions tests; specifically, conspiracy to defraud the United States. The arrest is part of a broader criminal investigation into the company’s efforts to convince regulators that excess emissions were caused by technical issues… Read More »
Cuomo Vetoes Legislation That Would Have Addressed Criminal Defense Injustice Issues
Over the New Year’s weekend, Governor Cuomo vetoed two important pieces of legislation that would have reformed two New York criminal defense laws that currently promote injustice for innocent people. One of these laws would have decriminalized certain types of pocket knives and the other would have provided funding for court-appointed legal representation for… Read More »
Obama Continues With Presidential Clemency
On Monday, December 19th, President Obama issued 78 pardons and commuted the sentences of 153 prisoners, extending clemency to a total of 1,324 people—the highest in presidential history. Virtually all of them had been serving sentences after being convicted of nonviolent crimes under tough anti- drug laws in serious need of reform. Obama himself… Read More »
New Bill Seeks To Reinstate Death Penalty in New Jersey
A bill was introduced the week of November 23rd seeking to restore the death penalty for serious crimes committed in the state of New Jersey, nine years after it was officially banned. New Jersey was the first state to abolish the death penalty in 42 years, replacing capital punishment with life in prison without… Read More »
Day Care Providers Charged With Manslaughter
Recently, an unlicensed daycare provider was charged with manslaughter in the death of a six-month-old child, who suffocated after entangling herself with her seatbelt strap while under the care of a provider who did not have a license, and who had previously been cited for failing to comply with restrictions on the number and… Read More »
Determining Punishments for White-Collar Crimes
The New York Times featured an interesting article in November on “determining a punishment that fits the crime” when it comes to white-collar crime. Sentencing can actually be challenging for these crimes, as, oftentimes, those convicted of them have a relatively spotless record (and are thus not necessarily a threat to public safety), as… Read More »
New Publication Highlights Why the War on Drugs Needs Serious Reform
A new book released by a social scientist and professor of Criminology at the University of California at Irvine—Hard Bargains: The Coercive Power of Drug Laws in Federal Court—exposes just how many prosecutors have used federal drugs laws to wage a warfare against minorities—and highlights just how badly the U.S. needs to implement serious… Read More »
