New York Criminal Lawyer BlogAlthough sex crimes prosecutors and New York criminal defense attorneys defending individuals investigated for and accused of Article 130 crimes including Rape, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Misconduct, and Forcible Touching respectively are aware of the September 1, 2024, changes to the New York Penal Law, it is equally likely that those not versed in these statutes are ill-informed at best. With this in mind, this blog entry will highlight the significant changes to the various crimes and legal definitions found in this section of the criminal code so that you can better understand the future of sex crimes prosecutions in New York. To that end, following terms have been repealed, renamed, substituted, or even incorporated into new statutes: sexual intercourse, vaginal sexual contact, anal and oral conduct and contact, Criminal Sexual Act, and Rape. While each of these definitions are critical to understanding the law and its application going forward, what most will likely see as the biggest take away is the new and far more expansive definition of what constitutes the non-violent and violent felonies of Third, Second and First Degree Rape.
Petitioner Withdraws Order of Protection After Motion to Dismiss Before Client Avoids “Mandatory” Domestic Violence Arrest Based on Allegations
Though it may seem politically incorrect, when you are accused of a crime…political correctness doesn’t mean squat. Instead, facts, evidence, and the law is what matters. With that in mind, Saland Law is pleased to share that a recent client not only avoided a Domestic Violence arrest after his ex-girlfriend falsely made a criminal complaint, but that she also withdrew her Article 8 Family Court Order of Protection petition against him after we filed a motion to dismiss and made it clear that we would be drafting our own petition backed up with actual evidence to set the record straight.
Domestic Violence Assault Dismissed After Client Accused of Stabbing Boyfriend
Whether in Westchester, Manhattan, Brooklyn, or any borough of New York City or county in the state, District Attorneys prioritize Domestic Violence related arrests, and rightfully so. Similarly, Domestic Violence lawyers who represent individuals accused of these crimes equally prioritize these cases knowing that both the police and prosecutors aggressively pursue what they believe, right or wrong, is accountability on the part of their clients. When the crime is a felony, such as for First or Second Degree Strangulation or Assault, or one that involves any type of weapon, both the prosecution and the defense often find themselves in an “all hands on deck” situation, albeit on different sides of the criminal justice system.
With this in mind, Saland Law is pleased to share that a recent client accused of First Degree Assault after allegedly stabbing her then-boyfriend in the upper shoulder/chest area, was completely exonerated after finding herself in the crosshairs of a such a prosecution. Facing a five-year minimum prison term if convicted, Saland Law’s client was nonetheless rightfully unwilling to accept a plea offer to any crime. Through months of uncertainty as the case slowly moved through the court process, our client, the real victim, stood firm until prosecutors exonerated her by dismissing all the charges upon Saland Law’s application even before the case reached the speedy trial threshold.
JFK & LaGuardia Airport Weapon Arrests & Summons Update: Saland Law Secures Firearm & Other Weapon Dismissals & Non-Criminal Violations
Any attorney who holds him or herself out as a New York firearm lawyer or an airport weapon attorney, and serves clients arrested or issued summonses in Queens County’s JFK or LaGuardia Airport for weapon possession crimes, must have more than a basic legal and practical knowledge of how these offenses are prosecuted, how to identify the right strategies, and the best means to implement the strongest defense. Why is that? While it is not atypical for the Port Authority Police to arrest travelers for crimes including both misdemeanor and felony Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance for possessing heroin or cocaine in checked luggage or carry-on bag, the most serious offenses often involve criminal possession of a firearm, and to a lesser extent, batons, brass knuckles, knives, ammunition, and other weapons. Whether your baton, knuckles or ammunition was inadvertently left in your carry-on bag screened by TSA, or, even worse, you thought you were abiding by the law and doing the right thing when you declared your otherwise legally owned pistol or revolver to a TSA agent or airline employee when you were checking your luggage, the immediate and collateral long-term ramifications are as potentially severe as they are career and life altering.
With the above in mind, Saland Law is please to share that over this past summer, north of ten different clients charged with Second Degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon (Penal Law 265.03), Criminal Possession of a Firearm (Penal Law 265.01-b(1)), Fourth Degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon (Penal Law 265.01), and Unlawful/Criminal Possession of Ammunition (NYC Administrative Code 10-131) all had their cases dismissed or walked away with non-criminal violations. What started as a missed flight and trip to Queens County Central Booking, being printed and released with a Desk Appearance Ticket (DAT), or finding themselves with a pink criminal summons in hand, not a one of these men and women ended up with a criminal record. Instead, each of them moved forward in their respective lives and careers without a blemish.
Saland Law Title IX Appeal Exonerates Student After College’s Initial “Responsible” Finding
As a Title IX attorney routinely representing clients accused of dating violence or some form of harassment or sexual misconduct at a college or university, I sometimes find it incredibly frustrating to deal with the general lack of due process provided to students, especially the accused. Compounding matters, as an advisor to these students, I have witnessed time and time again the lack of practical and actual experience those in charge of investigating criminal-type offenses have despite their ability to upend the academic lives and futures of so many young people. Sadly, even with the flimsiest of evidence, the power bestowed upon these administrators, investigators, and fact-finders by way of Title IX creates a lethal combination that can define and destroy a student well beyond the four walls of his or her institution of higher education. With that in mind, on the heels of a recent exoneration of a student falsely accused of sexual misconduct and dating violence at a different university, Saland Law is once again pleased to share another victory after a successfully appealing a college’s initial determination that our client violated a no contact order by way of third-party.
Saland Law Secures Mistrial for “Empty Chair” Client Before Jury Hangs in Loaded Firearm Trial
There are few things more difficult as a criminal defense attorney than representing an “empty chair” at trial where that chair, or, better stated, client, is accused of possessing a loaded and disguised “cell phone” gun in a vehicle he is driving without any passengers. OK, well, maybe that is surmountable, but throw in the fact that the evidence before the jury demonstrated that the accused’s DNA was on both the firearm trigger and grip, and that he had what police called a “holster”, things tick up in difficulty. Sound insurmountable? Well, you’d be wrong if you said “Yes”, but that is not all Saland Law faced in defense of a client standing trial for Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, Penal Law 265.03. In fact, there is much more…
New York Criminal Lawyer Secures Dismissal of Domestic Violence Assault & Criminal Obstruction of Breathing Charges
On the heels of a “Not Responsible” finding for a client accused of dating violence at his college in violation of Title IX policies against sexual harassment and domestic violence, New York criminal lawyer Jeremy Saland is once again pleased to share that Saland Law exonerated another client accused of domestic charges and crimes. Arrested for Third Degree Assault, Penal Law 120.00, Criminal Obstruction of Breathing or Blood Circulation, Penal Law 121.11, and other crimes after our client’s then-girlfriend alleged he choked her, tore off her necklace, and repeatedly struck her in a hotel room during a holiday visit to Manhattan, prosecutors moved to dismiss the case before picking a jury and commencing a trial in the Jury Court Part. Though it was both deserved and a long time coming, what started off as a frightening night in custody, sending our client’s life spiraling, ended up in a complete and total exoneration.
Another Saland Law Client “Not Responsible” After Title IX Dating Violence Hearing at Top University
Since starting my career in 2000 as a lawyer in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and establishing a successful criminal defense firm that has grown into servicing other areas of law, I have become all too familiar with the gravity and magnitude a criminal accusation can and does have upon a person and his or her family. More specifically, as my law practice grew into representing clients involved in university and college Title IX and code of conduct investigations, I quickly learned that even beyond a criminal case, any allegation is overwhelming. When the target or subject of misconduct is a young person – a college, university, or high school student – an allegation that he or she violated a school’s Title IX policies against dating violence, sexual harassment, or some other infraction involving the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) amendments to the Cleary Act, the emotional burden for a client is often at its greatest. Why? Without an adult’s life experience, lack of a local support structure or fear of involving parents, and perception that their “life is over”, these teens or twenty-somethings find themselves in a place of despair, facing a stained academic career with the real possibility of suspension or expulsion, and a future life and career on the precipice.
Saland Law’s New YouTube Channel Features 75 Plus Network Interviews of More Than 150 Conducted Over Past 10 Months
Over the past twenty-three years as a practicing attorney, first as a Manhattan prosecutor and then a criminal defense lawyer before expanding my legal services, I have had the professional good fortune to successfully represent clients in an assortment of criminal charges and trials, Article 8 family court orders of protection proceedings, Title IX and collegiate code of conduct investigations, and sextortion and blackmail related matters. I’ve done all this while serving as a local prosecutor and then an elected official, even temporarily serving as acting supervisor, aka, mayor, in a Westchester County municipality.
However, since District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s New York County indictment of former President Donald Trump’s alleged “hush money scheme involving Stormy Daniels on dozens of counts of First Degree Falsifying Business Records, a new and unexpected opportunity arose that has been professionally and personally rewarding: working as a legal analyst on national networks from CNN and MSNBC to more NYC centric stations like Spectrum’s NY1 and Fox 5 NYC.
Saland Law Sees Uptick in Arrests & Summonses for Gun, Knife, Baton & Ammunition Crimes at JFK & LaGuardia Airports
Over the past year alone, Saland Law, PC, a New York criminal defense firm, has represented well north of two dozen clients arrested, given Desk Appearance Tickets (DATs), or given pink summonses or tickets by police officers with the Port Authority Police Department for a litany of New York weapon crimes at Queens’ LaGuardia and JFK Airports. During that time, we have seen, and continue to see, what appears to be an uptick in law abiding people being charged with violating Penal Law Article 265 or the NYC Administrative Code for not just guns and knives, but “weapons” as innocent as batons.
Whether a client has a loaded or unloaded firearm, baton, switch blade, brass knuckles, or even one single bullet, the common thread across these cases is that either the individual was unaware possessing these items was criminal in New York State when they attempted to check the weapon, even if they legally possessed it elsewhere, or they had no idea the contraband in question was in their bag when they were screened by TSA agents. Regardless of the reason and no matter whether they are taken into custody or given an NYC Desk Appearance Ticket (DAT), these otherwise law-abiding citizens find themselves charged with misdemeanors or felonies.