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Loss of Focus Caused Loss of Case -Top 5 Reasons for the Not Guilty Verdict
The acquittal of George Zimmerman may make me very uncomfortable, but it was inevitable. This case says less about racial equality and racial profiling in America than it says about the State of...
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What To Do When The Client Wants To Lie
It’s Legal Ethical Conundrum # 1. At some point in their practice, every lawyer has faced this dilemma and had to figure out how to confront it and resolve it for themselves. It’s also why a lot of...
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On Trying Your Case In The Media
Embattled Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez added tough-talking, brash, defense attorney Joseph Tacopina to his defense team and Joe took off for the races. Not one to ever say no to a camera,...
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NY Appellate Court: Police Had No Right To Arrest Person Who Fled
In marking a clear difference between what’s enough to stop a suspect and what’s enough to justify an arrest, the Fourth Department, the State appellate court covering Upstate NY, overturned a...
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Supreme Court Decides Unethical Lawyer Was Not Ineffective
The recent overturning of Michael Skakel’s conviction in the Martha’s Vineyard murder of Martha Moxley has brought a lot of attention to “ineffective assistance of counsel” claims. The case raised a...
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Inmate’s Own Motion Gets New Trial 22 Years After His Conviction
The value of persistence and perseverance is shown in the case of People v. Jarvis a decision rendered today by the Fourth Department, a NY Appellate Court covering several Upstate counties. 22 years...
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New Miranda Warning: Anything You Rap Can and Will Be Used Against You in a...
Criminal courts around the country have been witness to a new phenomenon in trial evidence: rap lyrics written or recorded by the defendant used against them in their criminal trials. According to a...
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Time to Right a Wrong in Brooklyn
I have represented David McCallum pro bono for over nine years in an effort to overturn his wrongful conviction. Our team in this effort is comprised of Dr. Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, Ken Klonsky and...
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NY Attorney General Announces Sweeping Changes to Help the Unjustly Convicted
NYS State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced that he will propose legislation that revises Section 8-b of the New York State Court of Claims Act, which allows people who are...
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A Bench Light On Defense
Last fall, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor spoke about the lack of diversity on the federal bench including the Supreme Court. She wasn’t talking just about the glass ceiling on women (thought...
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Fishy Case Makes SCOTUS Question Feds Prosecutions
The US Attorney’s Office took a beating in oral arguments before the Supreme Court yesterday over a case involving illegal fishing. The case shows how the Office often stretches the language and...
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Kid Glove Treatment of Officer Wilson Big Reason Behind Grand Jury Finding
I know its late in this rapid-fire digital age to be posting about Michael Brown. After all, all the talking heads on TV have been blabbing on about their “expert opinions” all day. But unlike them I...
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Who Is George Stinney?
Yesterday a South Carolina court vacated the conviction of George Stinney, an African -American convicted in 1944 of the murder of two white pre-teen girls. The reversal comes a little late and more...
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Oregon Upskirt Case Shows How Old Laws Can’t Catch New Crimes
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but 61 year old Patrick Buono of Portland Oregon learned that by crouching way down in the aisle of a store he could take cellphone pictures up girl’s...
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Truth No Consequences
People always say it would be great to be a weatherman – they say it’s the only job in America where you can always be wrong and still have a job. Well, being a District Attorney seems to also be a...
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Should Husband Be Prosecuted For Sex With Wife Suffering From Dementia?
Donna Lou Rayhons and her husband Henry Rayhons married late in life. Both widowed from their first spouses, they met while singing in the church choir and married in 2007 when they were both 70 years...
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FBI Report on Forensic Evidence is Horrifying
“HEADS MUST ROLL!” This should be the headline written on every newspapaer in the country about the recent report from the Justice Department about the FBI’s use of forensic hair analysis from...
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HBO Doc on “Cannibal Cop” Shows Ugly Side of Net and Law
Last night HBO debuted its intriguing documentary “Thought Crimes” focusing on the Cannibal Cop case here in NY. The trial and the show exposed a dark side of the Internet, revealing chat rooms and...
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Supreme Court Ducks Main Issue in Internet Threat Case
The Supreme Court yesterday issued a long awaited decision in Elonis v. United States that failed to address the core issues presented by the case involving harsh language posted on the Internet. Under...
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Email Address Does Not Constitute “Place of Employment” For Stalking Law
A NY Judge has decided in a case of first impression that a section of the NY Stalking Law requiring that the stalking conduct occurs at the complainant’s “place of business or employment” is not...
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