New York City police have a great deal of discretion for handling a wide variety of minor criminal offenses and so-called "quality of life" charges. These can range from beating a subway fare to open container violations or possession of a small amount of marijuana.
Although you run the risk of arrest for any number of these offenses, you're more likely to be given a court summons or desk appearance ticket, provided you haven't made a bad situation worse by resisting or offending the officer. A court summons is the less serious of these approaches, and basically requires you to pay a fine or show up in court in three months.
Somewhat more serious is a desk appearance ticket, which requires an appearance within 30 days. To learn about the full range of your options for clearing up either of these matters, get the advice of an experienced defense lawyer at Galluzzo and Johnson in Manhattan.
If you pay the fine, you're pleading guilty to the offense charged, which can have continuing consequences for you for years to come. If you don't pay the fine or appear on either a court summons or desk appearance ticket, you risk escalation of the original charge and issuance of a bench warrant.
At Galluzzo & Johnson, our attorneys know how to read between the lines in both kinds of citations. Sometimes, we find mistakes on the part of the police officer to support a motion for dismissal based on a failure to state the basic facts necessary to convict on the offense charged. Even if the court summons or desk appearance ticket was issued in the proper form, we can often resolve the charge on terms that will protect your record.
Examples of the kinds of cases most frequently charged on a summons or ticket include:
The best approach to the resolution of any particular court summons or desk appearance ticket will depend on the specific facts of the case and your interest in avoiding the continuing consequences of a guilty plea. To learn more about our law firm's approach to these cases, contact Galluzzo & Johnson in Manhattan.
Please see our blog for more information about the marijuana desk appearance ticket.
Galluzzo & Johnson LLP has a superb record of obtaining dismissals of our clients' marijuana cases.
]]>The attorneys at Galluzzo & Johnson LLP have successfully represented numerous clients in connection with serious weapons offenses. We have a keen understanding of the laws pertaining to firearm and knife offenses, and have used that in-depth understanding of the applicable statutes to earn acquittals in difficult weapons trials. Call us to set up an appointment so we can discuss the best way to defend against your weapons case.
Article 265 of the Penal Law covers “Firearms and other Dangerous Weapons.” There are myriad provisions outlawing the possession of guns, pistols, rifles, and explosives, as well as other common types of dangerous weapons such as switchblade knives. When it comes to firearms possession, New York’s laws are some of our country’s strictest.
Have you been arrested in New York and charged with possessing a gravity knife, switchblade, stiletto or other dangerous knife? Were you found with a firearm, loaded or unloaded outside of your home or place of business?If so, you need to speak with the lawyers who know how to handle weapons cases and will work to get you the best possible result.
The list of weapons proscribed by the misdemeanor fourth-degree possession charge include per se violations, for simply possessing certain weapons. These include electronic dart or stun guns; gravity knives; switchblade knives; pilum ballistic knives; metal knuckle knives; cane swords; billies; blackjacks; bludgeons; metal knuckles; chuka sticks; sand bags; sandclubs; wrist-brace type slingshots or slungshots; shirken or “Kung Fu star[s].” PL 265.02(1). The possession of certain other weapons, such as daggers, “dangerous kni[ves],” dirks, razors, stilettos, imitation pistols, or any other “dangerous or deadly instrument” is punishable as a misdemeanor only if it is done “with the intent to use . . . unlawfully against another.” PL 265.02(2). The other subsections deal with more specific offenses. See PL 265.02(3) (possessing a firearm in a building used for educational purposes without the written authorization of the educational institution); PL 265.02(4) (possessing a rifle or shotgun having previously been convicted of a felony or “serious offense”); 265.02(5) (pertaining to non-U.S. citizen possessing a dangerous or deadly weapon); 265.02(7) (possessing bullets); 265.03(8) (possessing armor piercing ammunition with the intent to use unlawfully against another).
Felony-level weapons possession offenses not involving firearms comes in several forms. First, it should be noted that misdemeanor criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree may be “bumped-up” to a felony in a prosecution under subsections (1),(2),(3), or (5), where the accused has previously been convicted of any crime. PL 265.02(1). It is also a felony to unlawfully possess any “explosive or incendiary bomb, bombshell, [or] firearm silencer . . . ,” PL 265.02(2). Finally, the first-degree weapons possession charge includes a subsection proscribing the possession of “any explosive substance with intent to use the same unlawfully against the person or property of another.” PL 265.04(1).
Simple possession of an unloaded firearm outside one’s home or place in business is a misdemeanor. PL 265.01(1). However, when it comes to unloaded weapons, a felony may still be charged if three or more are possessed, The primary offense charged in prosecutions of illegal loaded firearms possession in New York is PL 265.03. This statute reads, in pertinent part, “A person is guilty of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree when: (1) with intent to use the same unlawfully against another, such person: (a) possesses a machine-gun; or (b) possesses a loaded firearm; (c) Possession of machine-gun or any other firearm or weapon simulating a machine-gun and which is adaptable for such use.” PL 265.02(1). Moreover, a person can be charged with felony weapons possession if he or she illegally possesses five or more firearms, or a loaded firearm outside his home or place of business. PL 265.02(3). The most serious weapons possession charge is reserved for those who either possess an explosive substance with intent to “use the same unlawfully against the person or property of another, or possess 10 or more firearms. PL 265.04.”
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There are five degrees of welfare fraud crime in New York, and they are distinguished based upon the amount of public assistance benefits stolen from the government. Fifth-degree welfare fraud – a class A misdemeanor – applies to those that defraud local, state or federal assistance programs of any amount of money, whereas first-degree welfare fraud involves a million dollars or more over a period of time. The fraud can be accomplished by knowingly proffering false information in program paperwork or applications or by pretending to be somebody else (or somebody fictitious). Typically, defendants charged with this crime are forced to plead guilty to a lesser-included offense and pay restitution equal to the amount of money they took. However, some egregious offenders are also forced to serve probation or prison sentences for their actions.
]]>The base offense is Criminal mischief in the fourth degree, which would apply to one who, “having no right to do so nor any reasonable ground to believe that he [or she] has such right, he [or she] . . . [i]ntentionally damages property of another person,” participates in the destruction of certain kinds of abandoned buildings, or recklessly damages another’s property “in an amount exceeding two hundred fifty dollars.” PL 145.00. Third-degree criminal mischief is a class E felony, and may be charged where a person who had previously been convicted of a similar offense within the past ten years, has damaged the motor vehicle of another person with the intent to steal property therein, or where a person intentionally damages the property of another in excess of $250. PL 145.05. Second degree criminal mischief may apply where the intentional damage to the property of another exceeds $1500, PL 145.10. First-degree criminal mischief is a class B felony, and is a charge reserved for those accused of using an explosive to damage another’s property. PL 145.12. In the same vein, there are two misdemeanor criminal tampering offenses that apply to tampering with the property of another, PL 145.14, or the property of a utility company, PL 145.15, and an enhanced felony charge where such tampering causes a substantial interruption or impairment of the service of such a company. PL 145.20. There is also one related misdemeanor and two felony auto stripping charges found in Article 165 that are associated with criminal mischief in the context of vehicles. Auto stripping in the third degree involves the removal, destruction or defacing of any part of a non-abandoned vehicle without the permission of the owner. PL 165.09. A misdemeanor auto stripping charge may be “bumped up” to a felony charge if the accused has been convicted within the past five years of misdemeanor auto stripping, PL 165.10(1), or where the aggregate damage value exceeds $1000, PL 165.10(2), or, for the most serious charge, $3000. PL 165.11.
As the debate concerning the merit and artistic value of graffiti continues to play itself out in the public forum, New York law remains steadfast in its criminalization of the making of graffiti and can expose the graffiti artist to criminal liability, including the possibility of jail time.
Grafitti is defined in the Penal Law as “the etching, painting, covering, drawing upon or otherwise placing of a mark upon public or private property with intent to damage such property.” PL 145.60(1). The offense of making graffiti is defined in subsection 2: “No person shall make graffiti of any type on any building, public or private, or any other property real or personal owned by any person, firm or corporation or any public agency or instrumentality, without the express permission of the owner or operator of said property.” Making graffiti is a class A misdemeanor. One need not, however be caught “red-handed,” as the case may be, to sustain a graffiti-related arrest. Another misdemeanor charge may apply to those persons who are caught in possession of “graffiti instruments,” which are defined as “any tool, instrument, article, substance, solution or other compound designed commonly used to etch, paint, cover, draw upon or otherwise place a mark upon a piece of property which that person has no permission or authority to etch, paint, cover, draw upon or otherwise mark, under circumstances evincing an intent to use same in order to damage property.” PL 145.65. Thus, spray cans or other spray paint canisters, liquid aerosol containers, paintbrushes, paint pens, sharpies, and permanent markers may all, under certain circumstances, constitute graffiti instruments.
]]>The other common crime in this chapter of the Penal Law is Unlawful Surveillance. It occurs generally when a person installs or uses a hidden camera to view, record or broadcast a person without their consent while they are dressing or undressing, or using the bathroom or changing room, or when their sexual or other intimate parts of their body are exposed. One highly-publicized recent case of Unlawful Surveillance involved a public defender at the Legal Aid Society who was convicted of using a hidden camera to take video footage of his female colleagues while they were undressing. The attorney, Peter Barta, was disbarred from the practice of law following his felony conviction. Details of that case are available here. Interestingly, this charge may also apply to cases where a person videotapes a consensual sexual encounter without the person’s knowledge. For example, Diana Bianchi, the teenaged mistress of Christie Brinkley’s ex-husband Peter Cook, recently considered lodging a criminal complaint of Unlawful Surveillance in the Second Degree against Cook for allegedly videotaping their sexual trysts. The crime is a Class E felony, and can be a Class D felony for repeat offenders.
The crime of Dissemination of an Unlawful Surveillance Image occurs when a person knowingly distributes these sorts of unlawful images. Recently, Erin Andrews, an ESPN sportscaster, was the apparent victim of just such a crime when nude photos of her, taken through the keyhole of a door, were posted on the internet. The crime can be a misdemeanor or a felony depending on whether the unlawful images were sold for profit, whether the disseminator was the person who created the images, and/or whether the person accused of the crime is a repeat offender.
First, people that hope to profit by recording concerts or theater shows without permission are at risk for an arrest. Indeed, Penal Law 275.15 makes it a Class A misdemeanor to knowingly (and without consent of the artist or performer) record a performance with the intent to sell or rent the recording (or with the intent to cause it to be sold or rented). Repeat offenders or those that make over one thousand illegal music recordings or one hundred illegal video recordings are guilty of the Class E felony of Penal Law 275.20. Also, it is a violation of Penal Law 275.32 to operate a recording device (such as a video camera) in a motion picture theater.
Finally, the sale of “pirated” music or videos is illegal under Penal Law Sections 275.35 and 275.40 (Failure to Disclose the Origin of a Sound Recording in the Second and First Degrees, respectively). Specifically, it is illegal to sell or offer for sale (or possess with the intent to sell) sound recordings or videos without conspicuously displaying the names and addresses of the actual manufacturers of the product or the artists on the covers, boxes, labels, or jackets of the packaging. Of course, legitimate manufacturers always display this information about themselves and their artists on their products. Thus, there is no way for a seller of pirated music to avoid criminal liability: if an unauthorized person attempts to list the name and address of the actual manufacturer or artist on his pirated recording or video, then he is guilty of trademark counterfeiting, but if he lists no name or address whatsoever (or a false address), then he is guilty of Failure to Disclose the Origin.
One of Galluzzo & Johnson’s partners, Matthew Galluzzo, successfully tried a Failure to Disclose the Origin of a Sound Recording case to jury verdict when he was a prosecutor at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Such prosecutions are rare, and this one garnered attention from the Recording Industry and the appellate courts. The appellate court affirmed the conviction, and in the process, Mr. Galluzzo became known as an expert on the unusual subject of the prosecution of unauthorized sound recordings. Thus, if you find yourself accused of such a crime, you should strongly consider hiring Galluzzo & Johnson to represent you.
If you have been accused of committing a sex crime, then you are potentially facing a serious felony conviction on your record, a long prison sentence, and the stigma of being forced to register in a public directory as a sex offender. Moreover, the mere accusation of a sex crime can have a devastating impact on you, your family, your career, and your reputation. With so much at stake, you simply cannot afford to gamble on a defense attorney that does not have extensive experience in this specific area.
Our team of former Manhattan Assistant District Attorneys is especially adept at defending these very serious cases. Matthew Galluzzo, in particular, is a former member of the elite Sex Crimes Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. In that role he investigated and prosecuted a wide variety of sex crimes including forcible rape, statutory rape, sexual abuse, sex trafficking, and the online solicitation of minors. He also prosecuted one of the first cases in New York County charged as a sexually-motivated felony. He has tried rape cases to successful verdicts and worked side-by-side with federal and state law enforcement officers specializing in the investigation of sex crimes. In fact, the United States Agency for International Development has hired Mr. Galluzzo to train law enforcement officers and prosecutors in foreign countries on how to best investigate allegations of sexual assaults. As a result, Mr. Galluzzo has a unique and invaluable insight into the way that prosecutors investigate and prosecute these especially serious crimes. He is also quite familiar with the complex scientific and medical evidence that is oftentimes used in these cases and has received specialized training in understanding its nuances. In short, if you need a top-notch defense attorney to help vindicate you in the face of a sex crime allegation, consider one – such as Matthew Galluzzo – that worked for and trained at the nation’s first and finest prosecutorial unit specializing in sex crimes.
Consider this recent case: Our client, a young man, confessed in writing to the statutory rape of a younger woman. The prosecutor sought a felony conviction, state prison time, and registration as a sex offender. The client hired Galluzzo & Johnson after his arrest and confession. Result: no felony conviction, no jail time whatsoever, and no registration as a sex offender.
The following is an overview of the law pertaining to sex crimes
Article 130 of the Penal Law contains most of the sex crimes-related state laws in New York, and the vast majority of these laws hinge on the issue of consent. Indeed, it is a lack of consent on the part of the victim that makes otherwise legal sexual acts into crimes. Most obviously, the use or threat of force to effectuate a sex act is criminal – for example, a man is guilty of Rape in the First Degree if he forcibly compels his victim to have sexual intercourse without her consent. However, many people are legally incapable of consenting even where no force is used to compel the act. First and foremost, there are a variety of age restrictions on consent (some of which depend upon the age of the other person involved). Furthermore, the mentally disabled, mentally incapacitated, and physically helpless may be unable to consent to sexual intercourse, and inmates and minors in state custody may not be able to consent to sexual acts with certain state employees. In defending sex crimes cases, the issue of consent is often of paramount importance, especially in cases where there is a prior relationship between the accuser and the accused. The full definition of consent is available here, in Penal Law 130.05.
Rape means sexual intercourse without consent. Sexual intercourse is defined as having “its ordinary meaning,” and occurs upon any penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina by a penis.
The Criminal Sexual Act statutes closely mirror the Rape statutes, but instead of sexual intercourse without consent, they proscribe oral sexual conduct and anal sexual conduct without consent. “Oral sexual conduct” means conduct between the mouth and the penis, the mouth and the anus, or the mouth and the vulva or vagina. “Anal sexual conduct” means contact between the penis and anus.
Sexual Abuse generally involves sexual contact without consent. “Sexual contact” means any touching of the sexual or other intimate parts of a person not married to the actor for the purpose of gratifying sexual desire of either party. This broad definition includes the touching of the actor by the victim, as well as the touching of the victim by the actor, whether directly or through clothing.
Aggravated Sexual Abuse occurs generally when a foreign object is inserted into another’s penis, rectum, vagina, or urethra without the other person’s consent. The penalties become more severe if force is used, the victim is young, or if the act causes physical injury.
Public lewdness is a misdemeanor charge and is applied to those that intentionally and publicly commit lewd acts or expose the private or intimate parts of their bodies in a lewd manner. Most commonly, this charge is used against people engaging in sexual activity - such as intercourse or masturbation – in public. Note, however, that it also applies to people that commit lewd acts in “private premises under circumstances in which he may readily be observed from either a public place or from other private premises, and with intent that he be so observed.” Thus, exhibitionists in their own homes could also be guilty of this charge.
In addition, Exposure of a Person (PL 245.01) is a violation and occurs when one appears in a public place with his/her private or intimate body parts exposed. Finally, Penal Law 245.11 precludes the “public display of offensive sexual material,” and is the reason why the covers of pornographic magazines are not fully displayed on store shelves.
Forcible Touching, a Class A misdemeanor, is charged when a person forcibly grabs, squeezes, or pinches another person’s intimate body parts without their consent. The classic defendant is a subway groper; repeat offenders can be charged with the felony crime of Persistent Sexual Abuse.
Penal Law Section 130.20 (Sexual Misconduct) makes it a Class A misdemeanor to engage in sexual intercourse, oral sexual conduct, or anal sexual conduct with another without their consent. Typically, this charge is only brought against minors that engage in sex acts with other minors, or as a lesser-included offense, although it is sometimes offered to adults as a plea bargain alternative to a more serious charge. The charge also proscribes sexual conduct with an animal or dead human body.
Predatory sexual assault is an extremely serious charge and is classified as an A-II felony. It applies to defendants that commit one of the most serious First Degree sexual felonies (i.e. rape, aggravated sexual abuse, course of sexual conduct against a child, criminal sexual act) as well as an aggravating act during the crime (or while attempting to flee the scene of the crime). Those aggravating acts include causing serious physical injury to their victim or using or threatening the use of a weapon or dangerous instrument. Also, defendants that commit one of the above-mentioned First Degree sex felonies against multiple victims can also be charged with predatory sexual assault. Defendants accused of First Degree sexual felonies with prior convictions for certain sex crimes can also be charged with Predatory Sexual Assault. Finally, Predatory Sexual Assault Against a Child is also a class A-II felony and is charged where the defendant is alleged to have committed one of the First Degree sex crimes felonies against a child less than 13 years old.
These charges are brought against defendants alleged to have committed multiple sex acts against a single child over a period longer than three months. These charges can carry very high penalties but often hinge on little more than the testimony of a child. Oftentimes these cases are brought against family members of the alleged victim, who may be confused or under a great deal of pressure from other influential adults with an agenda. However, these cases can inflame explosive emotions among judges and juries, so be sure that whichever attorney you hire is sensitive to the delicacies involved in defending a case such as this.
The recently enacted Penal Law Section 130.91 makes certain other criminal offenses – such as burglary and kidnapping, for example – more severe if the actor commits the crime “for the purpose, in whole or substantial part, of his or her own sexual gratification.” Thus, for example, if a person commits burglary by breaking into someone’s apartment, and does so for the purpose of satisfying himself sexually, then he can be penalized more severely than he would have been for simply breaking into the apartment in order to steal something. Specifically, this law has the effect of elevating a given crime by one “degree,” i.e. a Class C felony becomes a Class B felony. In this way, it is similar to the Hate Crimes statutes and increases the possible sentencing range for a defendant accused of the underlying crime.
Television programs like “To Catch a Predator” are raising public awareness about the prevalence of online solicitation and law enforcement authorities are actively pursuing people suspected of attempting to solicit minors for sex. Undercover officers often pose as minors in online chatrooms or via e-mail in an effort to catch people in the act (all the while recording the conversations and messages). Federal law enforcement agents also use these types of tactics in some instances, but at the state level, specially trained police officers pursue these operations in an effort to build cases and make arrests for Attempted Rape and Disseminating Indecent Materials to Minors (PL Sections 235.21 and 235.22). An arrest for a charge like this one can be extremely embarrassing and can also potentially result in very serious penalties for the accused (especially so at the federal level). The attorneys at Galluzzo & Johnson LLP have handled matters such as these and understand the numerous viable defenses to these cases that can be made.
The most commonly charged form of Disseminating Indecent Materials stems from explicit online communication with a minor (defined as a person under the age of seventeen). A person can be charged for the Second Degree crime if they initiate or engage in harmful sexual communications with a minor, and can be charged for the more serious First Degree crime when they engage in these explicit communications and invite or induce a minor to engage in sexual conduct with the person or engage in a sexual performance for the person. There are numerous affirmative defenses to these crimes, including, among other things, if the accused made a reasonable effort to ascertain the age of the minor, but the minor took actions that prevented the accused from knowing the truth.
One of the interesting debates about this law is whether it should apply to minors who engage in online sexually explicit communications with other minors. As it stands, for example, a minor that sends nude photographs of herself to her minor boyfriend via text or the internet could be at risk for an arrest for Dissemination of Indecent Materials or Promoting a Sexual Performance by a Child (263.15). “Sexting,” as it is sometimes called, has resulted in a number of controversial arrests of teenage girls and boys across the country and New York.
Under New York law, obscene images, photographs and videos are generally referred to as “sexual performances” or “obscene sexual performances,” depending on their content. Penal Laws 263.15 and 263.10 make it a Class D felony to produce, direct or promote a sexual performance or an obscene sexual performance by a child less than seventeen years of age, and Penal Laws 263.11 and 263.16 make it a Class E felony to possess a sexual performance or an obscene sexual performance.
The Penal Law prohibits sexual acts, whether consensual or not, between parties that are related, “whether through marriage or not,” as ancestors, descendants, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, nephews, or nieces. The severity of the charges depends upon the type of sex act performed. These charges are most often brought in cases alleging child molestation.
Robbery in the third degree is the basic charge: “A person is guilty of robbery in the third degree when he forcibly steals property.” PL 160.05. The combination of the two basic elements, “stealing” (or larceny) and force, set forth a prima facie case of robbery in the third degree.
The use of the word “steals” here refers to the definition of larceny found in Article 155: “A person steals property and commits larceny when, with intent to deprive another of property or to appropriate the same to himself or to a third person, he wrongfully takes, obtains, or withholds such property from an owner thereof.” PL 155.05(1). Thus, in order to determine whether there has been a robbery, one must first study that definition (along with all applicable case law and interpretations of the terms in that definition) to determine whether there has been a larceny.
Assuming that the larceny element is met, the question becomes one of whether the accused has “used or threatened the immediate use of physical force” and, if so, whether such force or threatened force was used to i) prevent or overcome resistance to the property being taken, ii) assist in the immediate flight after the taking, or iii) to compel the person with the property to “deliver up” the property or otherwise assist in the the larceny. PL 160.00.
The more serious robbery offenses integrate the third-degree robbery charge, but contain additional aggravating elements. For second-degree robbery, those are: i) being aided by another person actually present, PL 160.10(1), ii) causing physical injury to a person who is not a participant in the crime, PL 160.10(2)(a) iii) displaying or using a gun, or what appears to be a gun, PL 160.10(2)(b) or iv) the property being stolen is a motor vehicle, PL 160.10(2)(c). The latter subsection being what is commonly referred to as a “carjacking.” The most serious robbery charge is robbery in the first degree. PL 160.15. In addition to a robbery element, this offense may be charged if i) a non-participant suffers serious physical injury; ii) the accused is armed with a deadly weapon; iii) uses or threatens the immediate use of a dangerous instrument; or iv) displays what appears to be a pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, machine gun or other firearm. PL 160.15(4). The key distinction between first- and second-degree robbery charges involving firearm display is that the first-degree charge offers the defendant an affirmative defense having to do with the operability of the weapon at issue. PL 160.15(4).
]]>Disorderly Conduct (PL 240.20) is one of the most vaguely defined charges in the Penal Law and is regularly used to justify a wide variety of arrests by the New York City police. A person can be guilty of this charge if, with intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof, he:
This charge is a violation and is punishable by up to 15 days in jail. It is frequently offered as a prosecutor’s plea bargain offer in minor misdemeanor cases where the defendant has no criminal record.
Another common violation is Harassment in the Second Degree (PL 240.26). A person is guilty of it if he strikes, shoves, kicks or otherwise subjects another person to physical contact (or attempts or threatens to do the same) with intent to harass, annoy or alarm that person. Essentially, this is an assault without the physical injury. A person can also be arrested for Harassment in the Second Degree when he or she engages in a course of conduct or repeatedly commits acts that alarm or seriously annoy another person and which serve no legitimate purpose, and does so with the same intent as described above. A person can be charged with the misdemeanor crime of Harassment in the First Degree if they repeatedly and intentionally harass another person by following them in or about public places or by engaging in a course of conduct which places such person in reasonable fear of physical injury (PL 240.25).
Another common charge, Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree (PL 240.30), often arises in cases where threats are made over the telephone or via email. There are three different ways to be guilty of this crime, but subsection 1 makes it illegal to communicate with a person, anonymously or otherwise, by telephone, or by telegraph, mail or any other form of written communication in a manner likely to cause annoyance or alarm with the intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm another person. This crime is a Class A misdemeanor.
Aggravated Harassment in the First Degree, a Class E felony, prohibits a variety of acts motivated by the intent to “harass, annoy, threaten or alarm another person because of a belief or perception regarding such person’s race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation, regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct” (PL 240.31). Specifically, it prohibits damage to religious premises in excess of $50 as well as burning crosses in public and the painting of swastika graffiti on property without consent. A person can be guilty of subsection 3 of Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree if he strikes, shoves, kicks or subjects another to physical contact without their consent (or attempts to do so) with this same hateful intent, and a repeat offender of this subsection can be charged with Aggravated Harassment in the First Degree as well.
Interestingly, it is a violation under PL 240.40 to appear in a public place under the influence of narcotics or a drug (other than alcohol) to the degree that he may endanger himself or other persons or property or annoy persons in his vicinity.
The other common charge in this chapter relates to the false reporting of incidents. It frequently arises when people make phony calls to 911, or when people make false complaints to the police about someone else. Under Section 240.50, a person is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor if when, knowing the information reported, conveyed or circulated is false or baseless, he 1) reports to an official or quasi-official agency or organization having the function of dealing with emergencies involving danger to life or property, an alleged occurrence or impending occurrence of a catastrophe or emergency which did not in fact occur or does not in fact exist, or 2) gratuitously reports to a law enforcement officer or agency the alleged occurrence of an offense or incident which did not in fact occur, an allegedly impending occurrence of an offense or incident which in fact is not about to occur, or false information relating to an actual offense or incident or to the alleged implication of some person therein. This crime can be a more serious felony if the false reported incident involves a fire or explosion or results in an injury stemming from the emergency response to the false report (see Penal Law Sections 240.55 and 240.60).
In addition, however, the police can arrest someone for “working the streets” as a prostitute or for actively shopping for a prostitute. Indeed, a person can be guilty of Loitering for the Purpose of Engaging in a Prostitution Offense if he/she remains or wanders about in a public place and repeatedly beckons to, or repeatedly stops, or repeatedly attempts to stop, or repeatedly attempts to engage passers-by in conversation, or repeatedly stops or attempts to stop motor vehicles, or repeatedly interferes with the free passage of others persons for the purpose of prostitution or patronizing a prostitute (PL 240.37). This charge is a violation – i.e. a non-criminal offense – for first-time offenders, but becomes a Class B misdemeanor thereafter.
It is also a crime to act as a pimp or madam. Specifically, the four degrees of Promoting Prostitution make it illegal to knowingly advance or profit from prostitution. First Degree Promoting Prostitution (230.32) makes it a Class B felony to knowingly advance or profit from prostitution of a person less than eleven years old, whereas Second Degree (230.30) makes it a Class C felony to knowingly advance or profit from prostitution of a person less than sixteen years old and Third Degree makes it a Class D felony to promote a prostitute less than nineteen years old (230.25). Furthermore, it is a Class B felony to knowingly advance or profit from prostitution that is compelled through force or intimidation (230.30). Finally, managing, supervising, or owning a brothel or “house of prostitution” – and thereby profiting from the prostitution of two or more persons – can subject a person to arrest for Promoting Prostitution in the Third Degree, a Class D felony (230.25).