A judge in Kings County has suppressed evidence which would have shown a man charged with a sexual crime photographed the child sex victim. The evidence was not allowed to be presented in court. This was an interpretation by a judge in Brooklyn of the United States Supreme Court precedent which protects cell phones under the fourth amendment to the … [Read more...]
Sexual Consent in California
A new law has recently gone into effect in the State of California. The purpose of this new statute is to clarify when during the course of sexual relations "yes" means "yes". This California law sets up requirements for colleges with regard to the procedures for looking into allegations of improper sexual conduct. This California law was … [Read more...]
Are Warrantless Cell Phone Searches by the Police Admissible into Evidence?
The United States Supreme Court Will Rule on This Matter The United States Supreme Court recently agreed to hear a case regarding whether a police officer can search the cell phone of an individual under arrest without obtaining a search warrant. Today cell phones contain an enormous amount of information about an individual. The legal issue … [Read more...]
Gun Suppressed Due To Bad Search By Police
In the beginning of May 2013, Christian Munez was arrested for possession of marijuana. He was brought to the 44th precinct in the Bronx. He was questioned by Sergeant Christopher Pascale. Sergeant Pascale did not read Mr. Munez his Miranda Rights. Mr. Pascale questioned Mr. Munez about other crimes in that area of the Bronx. He alluded to the fact … [Read more...]
Juvenile Justice in New York
New York is one of two states which allow juveniles to be tried as adults at age 16. The large majority of states do not allow prosecution as an adult until such time as the individual reaches the age of 18. It should be noted an individual of age 18 is considered an adult for purposes of voting. Juveniles who are tried as adults and sentenced … [Read more...]
Nassau County’s Drug Treatment Court
Nassau County established a Drug Treatment Court in 2009. The purpose of the court is to allow individuals charged with drug related felony charges to rehabilitate themselves and avoid going to jail. Recently eighteen graduates from the Nassau County Drug Treatment Court Program had a celebration. This was the thirtieth graduation from the … [Read more...]
Avoiding Traffic Tickets – Part II
Fighting the Speeding Ticket If you receive a speeding ticket, you should plead not guilty and ask for a trial. In some situations the prosecutors will plea bargain the matter and agree to give you a lesser ticket that involves less points on your license and a smaller fine. This is usually a good approach. Insurance companies often raise the … [Read more...]
Intoxication, Without More Evidence, Does Not Establish Reckless Driving
In October of 2012, the Appellate Division of the Third Department, an Appeals Court in the State of New York, found a jury should have been instructed intoxication, without further evidence, did not establish reckless driving. Upon making this ruling, the court set aside the conviction of a defendant named Goldblatt. Goldblatt had been … [Read more...]
Gun Kept Out of Evidence
In a recent case in Bronx Criminal Court, Judge John Wilson threw out the criminal charge of attempted criminal possession of a weapon against a defendant named Black. Police Heard Gun Shots Police Officer's testified they heard gunshots. Upon hearing the gunshots, they traveled in the direction of the sound of the shots. While traveling in that … [Read more...]
New York Police Officer Convicted of Robbing Drug Dealers
Jorge Arbaje-Diaz was a New York City Police Officer. He was arrested in 2008. He was charged in a federal court proceeding with fourteen other members of a robbery crew. The charges against him say that they posed as police officers for the purposes of robbing narcotics dealers in the east coast. Arbaje-Diaz and one other member of the … [Read more...]
