Omaima Nelson was convicted of killing her husband, William Nelson. Omaima, then 23, killed her 56-year old husband and planned to steal from him as she had done with other middle-aged men. Her modus operandi was to seduce middle aged men, marry them and kill them for their money. After being married to her husband for less than a month, she tied … [Read more...]
Life Sentence For Possession of Child Pornography
It is against the law to download child pornography from the internet. It violates both State and Federal laws. But A Life Sentence? Daniel Enrique Guevara Vialca, age 26, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Court Judge in Florida for downloading pornographic images from the internet. Is this sentence too severe? Criminal Justice experts … [Read more...]
Juvenile Rape in Turkey
Twenty six men were charged for having sex with a thirteen year old girl in Turkey. The Turkish Court made a ruling the thirteen year old girl had "willfully engaged in consensual sexual relations with the twenty six men." The public in Turkey was outraged. This decision is truly outrageous. The incident took place in 2002. Twenty six men were … [Read more...]
Driving Intoxicated With Children In the Car Is Neglect
=Jacquline M. drove her car with her children in it while she was intoxicated. The Department of Social Services was notified of the situation. They investigated the matter and brought a proceeding in the Family Court claiming that Jacquline's actions amounted to neglect of her children. The children's father also had some problems. He did not … [Read more...]
Nassau County Judge Dismisses Case Due to Prosecutor’s Trial Misconduct
Nassau County Court Judge Peck had made a determination that Assistant District Attorney Michael Bushwack had improperly manipulated a grand jury to change it's decision in a case after it had voted to drop two charges against a defendant named Ryan Draper, in the case of People vs. Draper, Indictment No.: 894N-11. Motion to Reargue The Nassau … [Read more...]
Eyewitness Identification Problems in Criminal Cases
Are eyewitnesses always accurate in identifying alleged criminals? Recent studies have shown that in more than 75,000 eyewitness identifications, approximately 33% of the identifications were incorrect. Mistaken identifications have put thousands of Americans behind bars. There have been approximately 250 DNA exonerations in recent years. 200 of … [Read more...]
Endangering the Welfare of a Child
In a recent case before Judge Sciarrino, sitting in the Criminal Court in Queens County, the judge found that the possession of cocaine can amount to endangering the welfare of a child. In the case before Judge Sorentino, the prosecutors filed an accusatory instrument claiming that cocaine was recovered from the defendant's apartment. At the time … [Read more...]
Wrongfully Convicted
Mr. Warney was convicted for killing a man and a woman in Rochester, New York. He was sentenced to twenty-five years to life in prison. He had signed a confession admitting that he killed the man and woman. He later took the position that he was tricked into confessing. The innocence project at Cardoza Law School represents Mr. Warney. In … [Read more...]
How to Handle a Traffic Stop
The most common interaction that a law-abiding citizen has with police is being stopped pursuant to a traffic violation. It is important that you do not act in an aggressive or disrespectful manner to the police officer when being stopped. It is especially important that you do not get into an argument with the officer. Do not ask "what are you … [Read more...]
Non-Attorney Felon Helps Lawyer
In October of 2003, Kenneth Stevens was charged with robbing one Citibank branch and three branches of Chase Manhattan bank in New York. Mr. Stevens's modus operandi in each of the robberies was to give the teller a note demanding money. The note also stated that he had a bomb with him. The fourth robbery was his last one. Several blocks from … [Read more...]
