Westchester New York Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

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...

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. April marks Distracted Driving Awareness Month across the U.S. And in New York, law enforcement ran a targeted initiative over the past week. Indeed, the state pr...

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...

Child Neglect Proceedings Under Article 10 of NY’s Family Court Act

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. Article 10 of New York’s Family Court Act deals with abuse and neglect of children. But such cases aren’t just for children who are subjected to physical punishment. In man...