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...
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...
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...
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...
Traffic Stops and Pat-Down Searches by Police in New York
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. You’ve been pulled over by a police officer. It's just for a traffic violation – your taillight is out, you moved out of a lane without signaling, or some other minor infra...
The Grand Jury and Its Role in the NY Criminal Legal System
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. The term petit jury refers to the jurors who determine a defendant’s guilt or innocence. In contrast, a grand jury is a larger group of jurors that determine whether there...
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...
What to Do When You’re the Subject of a Police Investigation
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. “Hi, this is Officer Smith from the Police Department. I’d like to set up a time for you to come to the station to speak with me about your involvement in an incident we re...
Controlled Calls and Their Use by Police in Investigating Crimes
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. A man and a woman meet – either in a bar, through a friend, or on a dating app. After a couple of dates, the man and woman engage in sexual intercourse. But afterwards, the...
New York Has a New Law Requiring Videotaping of Certain Interrogations
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. As of April 1, 2018, law enforcement in New York must now electronically record custodial interrogations with individuals accused of serious crimes. The law was passed with...