The innocence projects, aided by DNA evidence, have obtained the release of hundreds of prisoners who were unfairly and improperly jailed for crimes they did not commit. Exonerated prisoners have been released over the years in all states, including in New York. The...
When it comes to their children, some parents will risk the criminal kidnapping sanctions by attempting to take their children away from a foster home or from the other parent where they have been placed by the court. The penalties from that effort are usually quick...
Some incidents taking place in a public setting or on the streets must be examined in detail prior to determining whether the accused committed a crime. Even with purported witnesses to the defendant's alleged behavior, the facts and the account of all witnesses must...
Police in Niagara Falls recently arrested a former state senate candidate on gun charges. They stopped the 26-year-old woman when she allegedly made a turn without using her turn signals. The stop led to felony charges under New York weapons laws when police found a...
Identity can be a crucial issue in some bank robbery prosecutions in New York and elsewhere. In some cases, the suspect is identified at a later time by a process of circumstantial evidence without establishing identity as an absolute certainty. The tendency of bank...
In an unusual arrest, police in Spring Valley, New York charged a chief building inspector with giving false certificates of occupancy to a man who was running two day care centers from his home. Police say that the homeowner improperly collected $33,093 in...
The crime of larceny involves taking property that belongs to another with the intent to keep it for oneself. In New York, there is petit larceny and grand larceny. Petit larceny involves an amount up to $1,000, and grand larceny can apply to amounts above that...
The killing of an 83-year-old New York socialite in her home in Westchester County has sparked an intensive investigation that has captivated observers locally and statewide. The woman was found dead on Nov. 9 in the laundry room of her 300-acre horse farm in North...
When federal officials arrest a United States citizen for supposedly providing assistance to a terrorist organization, criminal defense counsel must investigate the details of the surrounding events very thoroughly. In several of the arrests on felony charges of...
Whenever a masked man is sought for a robbery or attempted robbery, an arrest must be looked at carefully by criminal defense counsel because of the potential of a mistaken identification. In Dutchess County, the police arrested a 26-year-old Hyde Park male on felony...
