Legal Information Center

Many recent arrestees facing criminal charges are confused about how the court system will ultimately resolve their cases, or, put differently, what will happen to them. They may also have serious questions about how much time it will take and other general questions concerning the overall process. Generally speaking, a misdemeanor case can take anywhere…

According to the New York Post article, former New York Giants star Mark Ingram recently pleaded guilty to a federal bail jumping charge in Central Islip, NY. Under New York State law, bail jumping is the Penal Law charge designed to punish those who abscond while free on bail pending criminal charges. There are three…

Yesterday the Appellate Division, First Department decided In re: Tatiana N., N.Y.L.J. (1st Dep’t April 8, 2010). The facts of the case were somewhat interesting: “This juvenile delinquency proceeding arose from events that occurred at a movie theater on East 161st Street in the Bronx, in which a family was subjected to a moviegoer’s worst…

Matt Galluzzo of The Law Office of Matthew Galluzzo and the New York Criminal Defense Blawg was recently interviewed for a blog post on the Public Service Law net blog. You can read it here. Matt touches on his time at the New York County District Attorney’s office, the differences between being a prosecutor and…

This post will provide the basics on the oft-cited provisions of the New York City Administrative Code dealing with the possession of open containers of alcohol on the streets of New York City. Simply put, it is illegal to possess open containers of alcohol in public places in New York City. Found in the “Public…

The topic of this post is New York Gang Assault Offenses, the crime defined in Article 120 of the New York Penal Law. Gang Assault can be described as a simple assault plus the “aided” element borrowed from the robbery statutes. There are two degrees of Gang Assault. The text of the base, or second-degree,…

On Tuesday, February 16, the Appellate Division, First Department, reversed the 2008 conviction of Freddy Rodriguez. Rodriguez had been convicted in Bronx County Supreme Court of manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, and two counts each of assault in the second degree, vehicular assault in the second degree, and DWI. The full text of the decision is available…

Lil Wayne will be sentenced today in Manhattan Supreme Court after pleading guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree in October 2009. According to the New York Post, he is set to receive a one year sentence. It is interesting to note that this is the same charge to which…

In People v. Ortiz, 2010 NY Slip Op 00387, the First Department overturned a man’s burglary conviction on account of numerous prejudicial trial errors. First, the court noted that prosecuting attorney improperly impeached the defendant by implying that his initial plea of not guilty to certain past convictions followed by a subsequent guilty plea implied…

The Court of Appeals last week decided the case of People v. Roland Ramos. In a memorandum opinion, the Court ruled that the prosecutor failed to lay the proper foundation under Civil Practice Law and Procedure 4518 to support the admission of several sets of business records. As the Court stated in a seminal case…