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...
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...
Proffer in a Criminal Prosecution: A Negotiation Tactic
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. In the criminal legal world, the word proffer takes on a special meaning. It refers to a meeting between the defendant, his attorneys, and the prosecution. During this sess...
Sexual Harassment in New York: What It Really Means Under the Law
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. Sexual harassment has been a hot topic in the news for the past several years, particularly as a result of the #metoo movement. Regardless, instances of this conduct in the...
Facial Recognition and Its Use by Law Enforcement
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. Facial recognition is a way of identifying someone using a picture of their face. Then it is compared to pictures in a database. For example, if you have an iPhone, you may...
New York Pistol Carry Law to be Considered by US Supreme Court
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. In New York, you must have a pistol carry permit to possess a handgun in public. Yet a showing of “proper cause” to obtain the license is required. Just wanting a gun for s...
Death of George Floyd: What Is the Police Officer Charged With?
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. In May of 2020, the United States saw protests and riots after George Floyd died while being arrested by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In a widely-circulated video, as...
Crisis Intervention Teams and Policing: What They Are, How They Work
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. Throughout 2020, much of the news cycle has been about police reform. One proposed change would be to expand the use of Crisis Intervention Teams in policing. But what is a...
The “Gay Panic” Defense: Outlawed In New York
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. In the summer of 2019, New York became one of several states to ban “gay panic” defenses in homicide cases. Now, defendants cannot defend against a murder charge by claimin...
Cancel Culture and Its Conflict With Criminal Justice Reform
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. Online boycotts seem to happen nearly every day to celebrities and politicians. Sometimes it happens to a restaurant or business. And even non-public figures can be the tar...
The Trial of Harvey Weinstein – What Really Happened?
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. Harvey Weinstein was at the top of his game as a Hollywood producer when women began making accusations. Specifically, they allege he committed sexual harassment and sexual...