police officer Archives - Pappalardo & Pappalardo LLP

Recording Police Encounters – Is It Permissible?

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. On the internet, it’s easy to find many videos of people recording police encounters. However, there are also many videos of police trying to stop the public from taking ph...

“Rape is Rape”: New Rape Laws Coming to New York

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. In January, the Governor signed new legislation, which updates the definition of rape under New York State law. Pursuant to the new rape laws, penetration will no longer be...

New NYS Guidelines for Cops Responding to Domestic Incidents

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. On October 24, New York released new guidelines for law enforcement when responding to domestic incidents. Additionally, the state has provided additional funding to expand...

Qualified Immunity – When Public Officials Are Sued

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. Those who have been wronged by the state or its officials have the right to hold government officials accountable through civil lawsuits. Yet through case law, courts have...

Swatting May Become a Felony Offense in New York

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. When a false report of a crime is made, this can result in criminal charges against the reporting person. If a person makes a report intending to get a large police respons...

Phantom Vehicles: When a Car Has Counterfeit License Plates

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. Recently in the news, there has been a lot of talk about “phantom vehicles” and “ghost cars.” These are motor vehicles that have either counterfeit license plates, or the p...

Actually Innocent: How Common Are Wrongful Convictions?

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. Blackstone’s ratio is taught in many criminal law classes. Written by English jurist William Blackstone, the idea is that it is better that ten guilty persons go free than...

GPS Darts: How Police Use Them in Vehicle Pursuits

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. Many of us vividly remember when OJ Simpson was being pursued by the LAPD prior to his arrest back in the 1990s. Yet this was an infamous “low speed” chase. When it comes t...

Opinion: New Report on Discovery Reform is Just Propaganda

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. The views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the writer only. They are not necessarily the views of the law firm or any of its attorneys. Last week,...

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...

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...

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...

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