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...
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...
Establishing Paternity in New York’s Family Court
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. In today’s world, it is common for people to have blended families. People have children from different relationships, whether they were married to the other parent or not....
Criminal Prosecution of Hate Crimes by the Federal Government
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. In the United States, the Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutes federal hate crimes. This began after the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. These crimes can intim...
Voir Dire: The Process of Selecting a Jury in New York
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. In New York, lawyers can question prospective jurors to determine their qualification for service. This questioning process, called voir dire, is important to the criminal...
Virtual Court Appearances & the Right to Confrontation
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitutions states that “in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right… to be confronted with the witnesses against him....
New York’s DVSJA: Sentencing Options for Victims of Domestic Violence
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. In May of 2019, New York’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (DVSJA) was signed into law. Previously, we mentioned the new law in a blog, and now we're detailing the...
Sexually Motivated Felony Charges in NY
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. When a crime has been committed but is not a sex offense, there may have been a sexual motivation. In New York, such can be charged as a “sexually motivated felony.” When t...
How to Expunge a Prior Marijuana Conviction in New York
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. In 2021, New York didn’t just decriminalize marijuana – the state legislature made it legal for recreational use. Under these new laws, convictions for such can, in some ca...
When a Witness is Unavailable to Testify in a Criminal Trial
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. In criminal prosecutions, there can be a lot at stake. For some defendants, they are facing years in prison – perhaps even the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, they may...