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...
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....
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...
Auto Theft and Unauthorized Use of Vehicle in New York
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. There are many rules and regulations about the use of cars and other vehicles. In addition, various laws criminalize when a car is used without the owner’s permission or if...
How Witness Mis-Identification Can Happen In Criminal Court
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. When police investigate a crime, they ask victims and witnesses if they could identify the perpetrator. This is especially so in cases where the crime is committed by a str...
“Clean Slate” Would Automatically Clear Criminal Records in New York
PLEASE NOTE: Our office has received a number of calls regarding the Clean Slate Act. This blog is about a proposed law that was not yet in force. The Clean Slate Act has now been signed into law, and...
Exposure, Lewdness, and Other Offenses Against Public Sensibilities
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. There are some actions which are considered so offensive that they are criminalized. In New York, this includes exposure of intimate parts and other types of lewdness. They...
The Rise of Electronic Monitoring and its Costs to Criminal Defendants
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. During the covid-19 pandemic, there was an increase in the use of electronic monitoring. Yet such monitoring has been available for some time. The use of ankle bracelets in...
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. Suicide is a crime in some parts of the world. While it is not criminalized in New York, it is still marked by stigma and taboo. Unfortunately, many people involved in the...
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...