More Changes to New York’s Discovery Laws
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. As we discussed in our blog last week, New York's 2022-2023 budget included some criminal legal reforms. In addition to changes to bail, there have been some changes to law...
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...
Dropping Criminal Charges: What Crime Victims Face in New York
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. Most crimes are committed in the heat of the moment. In most cases, the perpetrators and the crime victims know each other. As with domestic violence cases, the parties may...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Proffer in a Criminal Prosecution: A Negotiation Tactic
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. In the criminal legal world, the word proffer takes on a special meaning. It refers to a meeting between the defendant, his attorneys, and the prosecution. During this sess...
The Trial Penalty: Why Criminal Defendants Often Take a Plea Bargain
By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. Most criminal cases in today’s legal system are resolved by the defendant entering a guilty plea rather than by trial. Why? Because if a defendant goes to trial and is foun...
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....
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 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...