Human Trafficking: What You Need to Know
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. Recently, there was coverage in the news of a large operation to combat human trafficking at the World Games in Alabama. Homeland Security Investigations headed-up “Operati...
Lying to Law Enforcement – When It Becomes a Crime
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. When law enforcement investigates a crime, they often speak with witnesses. There is an expectation that those witnesses will tell the truth. Sometimes, however, those witn...
SCOTUS Strikes “Proper Cause” Requirement in NY Gun Licensing Law
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. New York has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation. Specifically, the state makes it a crime to possess a firearm without a permit, whether inside or outside the home...
Marijuana Possession by Youths: Loophole in New York’s MRTA
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. In 2021, New York passed the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA). We highlighted the new laws in a blog last year. In essence, the legislation legalized the produc...
Stalking and Harassment Charges in New York: What’s the Difference?
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. We’ve previously blogged about stalking charges in New York. But what about harassment charges? And what is the difference between these offenses? Stalking vs. H...
Hate Crimes Against the LGBTQ+ Community
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month. While we’ve previously blogged about hate crimes in New York, Pride Month is a good time to highlight that the LGBTQ+ community is particularly...
Why Possessing a Fake ID Can Be a Serious Criminal Offense
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. Sometimes, young people who are not yet 21 years old want to drink alcohol. Whether it’s sneaking a glass at a family function, or having beers with friends, this is illega...
“Significant Misdemeanors” and the Impact on DACA Status
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. Immigration is a hot topic of political interest in the US. Several years ago, the US created a program which allows some who were brought to the US as children to stay in...
More Changes to New York’s Discovery Laws
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. As we discussed in our blog last week, New York's 2022-2023 budget included some criminal legal reforms. In addition to changes to bail, there have been some changes to law...
Bail Laws Revised in New York’s 2022-2023 Budget
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. It’s been all over the news – New York has changed its bail laws yet again. In addition to bail, there were also other new laws and other revisions. These were included as...
Criminal Defendants Can File Section 1983 Lawsuits Without Proof of Actual Innocence
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. After his criminal case in Brooklyn was dismissed before trial, Larry Thompson filed a Section 1983 lawsuit. In that lawsuit, he claimed the NYPD had maliciously...
Dropping Criminal Charges: What Crime Victims Face in New York
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. Most crimes are committed in the heat of the moment. In most cases, the perpetrators and the crime victims know each other. As with domestic violence cases, the parties may...