Nassau County, Long Island, now has a new pilot program designed to help 16 and 17 year olds charged with a crime avoid going to jail. Nassau County is one of nine counties throughout New York State to have a specific court designed to hear cases involving 16 and 17 year olds who previously have been treated as adults subject to criminal … [Read more...]
Nassau County’s Continuing Crime Lab Problems
The United States Supreme Court recently ruled that laboratory technicians will have to testify regarding lab tests for such tests to be accepted into evidence. This will create significant problems for the Nassau County District Attorney's Office. Nassau County Crime Lab Closed Since February In February of 2011, the Nassau County Crime Lab … [Read more...]
Guns, Guns, Guns
The National Rifle Association takes the position that every American should have a gun. There are numerous proposed laws backed by the National Rifle Association pending in the State Legislatures. These new statutes are based on the proposition that one of the big problems we have in the United States is that there are not enough people who carry … [Read more...]
Talking Sense About Gun Control
It has been three months since the killings in Tucson, Arizona. President Obama recently spoke about gun control issues. In an article written in the Arizona Daily Star, President Obama asked both gun control supporters and gun rights advocates to discuss reasonable and sensible gun legislation. He was specifically interested in dealing with the … [Read more...]
Drug Treatment Programs for Prisoners
There are approximately 60,000 inmates in New York state prisons that require drug treatment or drug counseling. If given drug treatment or drug counseling, these men and women will have a greater opportunity to live drug free when they are released from prison. The New York State Department of Corrections recently conducted a three year study … [Read more...]
The Hamster Killer
Monique Smith was recently arrested at her home in Bushwick. The arrest was conducted by law enforcement officers of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The criminal charges against Ms. Smith are that she killed the family’s hamster and threw it violently against a wall. Theresa Smith's mother had stated she watched her … [Read more...]
Gun Laws Are Not Being Enforced
States are required under existing gun laws to maintain a registry of mentally ill people who are subject to background checks before they can purchase guns. According to the Associated Press, more than half of the states in this country are in violation of this Federal law. The deadline for complying with this law, which was enacted three years … [Read more...]
Nassau County, New York’s Crime Lab is an Embarassment!
There have been recent disclosures with regard to the numerous problems faced by the Nassau County Police Crime Laboratory. Nassau County faces the potential that numerous individuals were convicted based on erroneous findings of the Nassau County Crime Laboratory. There is the potential for many lawsuits related to the poor quality of the testing … [Read more...]
The Great Escape
Jose Rodriguez was a wanted man. Police tracked him down to a hotel in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The New York City police, New Jersey police and members of a federal task force found Rodriguez in his hotel room. They had tracked him down by intercepting his cell phone calls. Overwhelmed by the police presence, Rodriguez surrendered. The police placed … [Read more...]
Gang Colors Not Enough To Search Car
A district court judge in Nassau County threw out a search of a car due to the fact that the reason the police officers gave for searching the car could not be substantiated. The occupants in the car were charged with weapons possession (which includes charges for violent crimes, both felonies and misdemeanors) At the time, the officers … [Read more...]
