legislation Archives - Page 4 of 5 - Pappalardo & Pappalardo LLP

How Desk Appearance Tickets Really Work in New York

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. Sometimes, when you’re alleged to have committed a crime, you’re not always taken into custody. In these cases, cops don’t use handcuffs and jail cells – they issue a Desk...

“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...

The Hidden Costs of the NY Criminal Legal System

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. The old saying goes, “Crime doesn’t pay.” And in New York, getting involved in the criminal legal system can actually cost a lot of money. From supervision fees, to restitu...

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...

Decriminalizing Sex Work: Will Prostitution Become Legal?

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. It is often referred to as the “oldest profession.” Yet prostitution and patronizing a sex worker are crimes that, in some circumstances, carry heavy criminal penalties. Re...

RAI for Sex Offense Registration May Change With New Bill

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. In New York, persons convicted of certain sexual offenses are required to register under the Sex Offender Registration Act (“SORA”). They are assigned a risk level, mostly...

Repeal of Section 50-a: Disclosure of Police Disciplinary Records

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. On Friday, June 12, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation repealing a law which prevented the disclosure of law enforcement disciplinary records to the public....

Rollback of Bail Reform in New York for Certain Offenses

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. On April 2, 2020, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the state's 2021 budget. Part of the budget is new legislation dealing with bail reforms which went into effec...

New York’s Governor Signs Bill Creating Nation’s First Commission to Investigate Prosecutorial Misconduct

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. On August 21, 2018, New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation establishing the State Commission on Prosecutorial Conduct. The Commission will be the first of its...

New York Legislature to Consider Lowering BAC Threshold for DWI

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. One state assemblyman has proposed lowering New York’s threshold for misdemeanor Driving While Intoxicated (“DWI”), citing a recent recommendation from the National Academi...

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