prison & jail Archives - Pappalardo & Pappalardo LLP

Understanding the Mental Health Courts in NYS

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. In recognition that some of those involved in the criminal legal system have specific needs, New York has several problem-solving courts. These courts provide special servi...

NYS Announces New Judicial Task Force on Mental Illness

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. New York has had mental health courts for more than two decades. In this type of treatment court, individuals living with mental illness can be linking with court-supervise...

Use of Stun Belts by New York Corrections Officers

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. Corrections officers provide a necessary service to manage those accused of or convicted of crimes who are in custody. To that end, officers may need to use various forms o...

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...

When an Innocent Person Accepts a Plea Bargain

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. Getting arrested and charged with a crime can be one of the scariest things to happen to a person. But what if that person is truly, factually innocent of the crime? When f...

How to Manage Your Online Reputation After an Arrest

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. When someone gets arrested, one of their primary concerns may be how the arrest will affect their reputation. Given the easy access to information on the internet, an arres...

Predicate Felony Sentencing in New York Criminal Courts

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. When it comes to sentencing, a person’s criminal history matters. If a person has prior convictions – whether for violations, misdemeanors, or felonies – the prosecutor and...

Voting in New York With a Felony Record

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. When a person has lost the right to vote, this is called “disenfranchisement.” In the United States, an estimated 4.6 million citizens are barred from voting due to a felon...

Incarcerated Parent – The Impacts on Child Custody and Support

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. Each year, tens of thousands of New Yorkers spend time in jail or in prison. In 2018, that number was 91,000 – that’s about 376 per 100,000 people. Somewhere between 55% an...

New York’s DVSJA: Sentencing Options for Victims of Domestic Violence

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. In May of 2019, New York’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (DVSJA) was signed into law. Previously, we mentioned the new law in a blog, and now we're detailing the...

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...

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...

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