New York Criminal Lawyer Blog

May 19, 2016

Blackmail, Extortion, Harassment, Hacking, Stalking & Other Victimization: Options to Protect Yourself Both Inside and Outside the Criminal Justice System

New York Blackmail and Extortion comes in different “flavors” and “sizes”. These cases are often as unique as the circumstances, victims and perpetrators. Often, when there is an extortion, threat of embarrassment, demand for money or mere harassment, a victim is hesitant to go to the police even when the law is clearly on his or her side. Similarly, there are situations where the harassment, emails, calls, threats, demands, stalking or other conduct may actually skirt violating the New York Penal Law. Call the police anyway? Risk your business, name or family relationships? Are there other options that can potentially put an end to this misery? Simply, when does a victimizer’s actions violate the New York Penal Law and what if anything should, or can, you do?

This blog entry will not serve as a substitute for an in depth analysis of your particular case. In fact, it in no way will address your case but instead identify potential issues and how you can take control of a situation that may derail your life if you let it fester and grow.

May 1, 2016

Airport Criminal Possession of a Firearm Arrest, New York Penal Law 265.01-b(1), Ends in Six Month Dismissal

by Jeremy Saland

Yes, the New York criminal lawyers at Saland Law PC represent numerous travelers flying in and out of area airports. No, just because the firearm is unloaded when you check it at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) or LaGuardia Airport (LaGuardia), doesn’t mean you will avoid an arrest. For that matter, merely because you checked in advance with the TSA or your airline, whether it is American, Delta, US Air, Southwest or JetBlue, that your hard side case was the proper means to store that pistol, in no way means police with the Port Authority will let you board your plane without an arrest. As you may only know now, your registration, carry permit or concealed license in Virginia, Texas, Ohio, Illinois or California (we can throw in Arizona or any other state if it makes you feel better), won’t shield you from an arrest and prosecution from the Queens County District Attorney’s Office. However, if there is any silver lining, albeit more of a silver colored paint as opposed to the precious metal itself, if an unloaded and unregistered firearm is recovered from you after you declare and attempt to check it, the crime you will face is not the dreaded Second Degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon (New York Penal Law 265.03). As you will soon find out from your criminal defense attorney and the court, instead of a Class C violent felony, you will be booked and arraigned on the Class E felony of Criminal Possession of a Firearm (New York Penal Law 265.01-b(1)). While Criminal Possession of a Firearm is not as crippling as an arrest for possessing a loaded revolver, pistol or gun, its all relative. Unfortunately, a recent Saland Law PC client learned that the consequences of a weapon and firearm arrest in Queens County for trying to check an “illegal” handgun at the airport is no less significant whether its locked and loaded or merely the weapon itself. Fortunately, however, Saland Law PC mounted a successful mitigation defense.

April 18, 2016

The Importance of Experience and Advocacy Before and During Trial: A Recent Criminal Defense Review

by Jeremy Saland

When I served as a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, my greatest achievement, selfishly or not, was securing a conviction after trial for Attempted Murder against a husband who had physically and emotionally abused his wife and children for years. From burning a son and repeatedly striking another child, his violent acts culminated when he repeatedly stabbed his wife after she turned down his sexual advances. Until that point, the wife, an immigrant without a full command of the English language, was hesitant to seek justice. While fortunately may not be the right term, on the night of this incident their pre-teen and fifteen year old children were home when their father went into a rage and began stabbing their mother with a knife he had been using to peal an apple. Not merely stabbing her once, the defendant stabbed the mother of his children repeatedly until the blade broke off in her shoulder and their fifteen year old son broke down the bedroom door with a hammer.

On many fronts, this conviction for Attempted Murder and the twenty five year sentence was gratifying. The bond and trust developed with the victims, providing them the protection they deserved, and bringing closure to a horrific time in their lives was rewarding. Why do I share this so many years later? I do so because despite the misconceptions that only prosecutors wear the “white hat”, criminal defense attorneys do so as well. Facing the same potential sentence of up to twenty five years in prison, a client of Saland Law PC was also brought closure as a victim even though he was charged with many crimes including Kidnapping in the Second Degree as opposed to being the accuser. After a lengthy trial, this innocent man was exonerated and found not guilty by a jury of his peers. Not due to a legal technicality, his innocence was “proven” because of my effort to provide justice to my client in the face of a fabricated story shrouded in what appeared to be significant and damning evidence. Through developing our own evidence and challenging the prosecution’s, and advocacy before and during trial, closure was seized. The following his this client’s review of our services as criminal defense attorneys and lawyers:

March 25, 2016

New York Loitering Arrests: Understanding the Different Crimes and Violation as Well as Legal Sufficiency

by Jeremy Saland

Yes, you can be arrested by the NYPD in New York City for Loitering. In fact, if you’re loitering in Manhattan, Yonkers, Brooklyn, White Plains, New City or Queens, the crime is still the same. Codified in the New York Penal Law under sections 240.35, 240.36 and 240.37. The first of these offenses is a violation while the latter two are misdemeanors. This particular blog entry will address the violation of New York Penal Law 240.35. However, we will also address the more serious criminal charges of PL 240.36 and 240.37 which you are likely to receive a Desk Appearance Ticket (DAT) should you have no prior criminal history and you are compliant with the arresting officers.

March 20, 2016

I was Arrested at JFK and LaGuardia Airpots for a Loaded Firearm: One Dismissal and Two Non-Criminal Resolutions

by Jeremy Saland

Don’t count on the TSA or your airline – Delta, JetBlue, American, United – to confirm whether or not the firearm you traveled with to New York from Colorado, Arizona, Michigan, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia or any other state in the Union is legal in New York. No official airline or TSA website will provide you that information and discuss the extent New York’s laws are in direct conflict with the Second Amendment or how your permit, license or registration in Texas, Maryland or California is not valid here. For that matter, the ticket agent, online booking website, the TSA or your airline will not explain that possessing the loaded firearm (loaded doesn’t require ammunition in the pistol or revolver) in New York without the proper permit is by default a class “C” violent felony punishable by a minimum term of three and one half years incarceration pursuant to Second Degree Criminal Possession of a Firearm (Penal Law 265.03). Certainly, you can follow the advice listed on the TSA website at your own peril. To some extent it is accurate. That is, wherever you may be flying to and from the regulations are the same. You must head to the ticket counter, have the unloaded firearm in a locked hard sided case, slap a sticker or a tag on that case, declare the firearm and ensure that no parts of the firearm are inadvertently taken with you as a carry-on onto the airplane. But that is where the TSA’s usefulness and value ends. Flying into JFK or LaGuardia (or for that matter any other airport) is one thing, but after checking the firearm at the ticket counter on your way home from one of these Queens County airports, you are going to be personally escorted to the “tombs” of Queens County Central Booking on your way to your arraignment on felony weapon charges at Queen County Criminal Court. A layover is one thing…but this is no what you expected.

February 7, 2016

Following and Nothing More: Does Stalking without “Fear” Violate New York PL 120.45 or 120.50

by Jeremy Saland

Some times the best legal advice a criminal lawyer can give is not legal advice at all. In fact, it can be more parental than lawyer-like. Unfortunately, just as we don’t always listen to our parents we don’t always listen to our criminal defense attorneys either. With that little life lesson behind us, try listening to this. The best way to avoid an arrest or conviction for a New York Stalking crime, whether or not it is one of the two misdemeanor Stalking offenses of Stalking in the Fourth Degree (New York Penal Law 120.45) or Stalking in the Third Degree (New York Penal Law 120.50), is to steer clear of following, threatening or harassing other people. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, maybe it is and maybe it isn’t, but what if you are arrested for merely following a person without any allegations of physical or verbal threats? Is that sufficient grounds for the prosecution to sustain a viable complaint for Fourth Degree Stalking, NY PL 120.45? The following blog entry will address this very question.

February 3, 2016

Queens CPW 2 Ends in ACD and Future Dismissal: Client Avoids Criminal Record After LaGuardia Airport Arrest for NY PL 265.03

by Jeremy Saland

Although the law does not provide for it, there is an objective difference between an possessing an unlicensed and unregistered loaded firearm and possessing an unlicensed and unregistered loaded firearm. Wait. What? In New York State, if you possess a loaded firearm outside your home or place of business and you are not registered or licensed to possess it, then you are guilty of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, New York Penal Law 265.03. While there different provisions and subsections relating to specified conduct, the “catchall” language often prosecuted by District Attorneys throughout New York City is PL 265.03(3). More of a strict liability crime, a murderous, violent or criminal intent to harm, menace or threaten another person is not required. Merely, if you knowingly possess that firearm and it is loaded, a conviction will land you in prison for a minimum of three and one half years whether you are a physician, steel worker, or a stay-at-home mother of three. So, why do I say that there is an objective difference between an possessing an unlicensed and unregistered loaded firearm and possessing an unlicensed and unregistered loaded firearm? Simply, from a mitigation perspective, if you are toting around a loaded firearm with a bullet in the chamber while walking the streets of New York as opposed to following TSA procedures at LaGuardia or JFK Airport and declaring your otherwise legally registered or licensed firearm with the airline while its secured and broken down (ammunition not inside the firearm) in a hard sided case, there should be a vast difference. Fortunately for a recent client of Saland Law PC, our New York criminal lawyers were able to convince prosecutors of just that and were not merely successful in reducing the Second Degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon from a felony to a misdemeanor or even a violation, but to an ultimate dismissal if our client does not get rearrested over the next six months.

January 28, 2016

New York Drug Crimes and Personal Possession: Can You be Prosecuted for Possessing Residue without a Chemical Analysis

by Jeremy Saland

Heroin. Cocaine. Ecstasy. Adderall. Molly. MDMA. New York’s list is long and vast. If you possess certain drugs, narcotics and controlled substances (including certain prescription drugs that you are not prescribed by a doctor), you can face a wide variety of crimes found in New York Penal Law Article 220. Even if you did not have the intent to sell those drugs (New York Penal Law 220.16(1) or New York Penal Law 220.06(1)) or actually sell the drugs (New York Penal Law 220.39(1) or New York Penal Law 220.31), possession for personal use is still a crime. New York Penal Law 220.03, Seventh Degree Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, is the catch all “personal use” offense in New York State whereby the police and the District Attorney can charge you with a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail for possessing small amounts of a controlled substance.

In the above scenarios, whether you find yourself arrested and hauled into Manhattan Central Booking or are given a NYC Desk Appearance Ticket in Brooklyn, the law actually permits an officer with the NYPD to claim the substance in your possession is a narcotic or controlled substance without ever testing the substance to confirm its an illegal drug. That is right, if the officer can examine the white powder, pill or anything else and claim his experience and training tells him it is a drug, then at the preliminary stage he has just bought you at least a temporary rap sheet, arrest, criminal complaint and date with the court for an arraignment on PL 220.03. The question posed in this blog is whether the same can be said for amounts that are significantly smaller and not so clear to the eye.

January 23, 2016

New York Criminal Defense Results: Arrest for Second Degree Assault with Vehicle Reduced from Felony to Non-Criminal Violation

by Jeremy Saland

Sometimes bad things happen to good people. When that bad thing is being accused of a crime, arrested, hauled into a precinct, fingerprinted, and thrown before a judge, the consequences to your mental state, career and outlook on life can be devastating. If a misdemeanor accusation is horrendous, a felony arrest is exponentially worse. It doesn’t matter if this happens to you in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Westchester, or any city, county or municipality in New York State (or elsewhere for that matter). Sadly, this exact scenario happened to a Saland Law PC client after our client was charged with numerous crimes including felony Second Degree Assault (New York Penal Law 120.05(1)), Leaving the Scene of an Incident without Reporting (Vehicle and Traffic Law 600), Second Degree Reckless Endangerment (New York Penal Law 120.20) and other offenses. It was alleged that our client, a college instructor and professional, struck the complainant’s car at a stop light and drove off through the following red light. After catching up to our client, it was claimed by the District Attorney’s Office that there was a second accident between the vehicles driven by the parties. Finally, after pulling into a parking lot, the complainants’ (a passenger and driver) alleged that after a brief conversation outside the vehicles our client got back into the car, drove at one of the complainants and struck her. This complainant alleged that our client then drove off with her on the hood through the parking lot until she fell off. At that time, the complainant contended she suffered and injury to her nose area requiring multiple stitches. Despite these claims, the severity of the arrest and nature or the crimes, our client stood firm and adamantly denied that the events of the evening in question occurred as set forth by the prosecution and complainants. After much hard work from our criminal defense attorneys, our client’s strength and perseverance was rewarded with a non-criminal resolution.

January 19, 2016

NY Drug Arrests, Brokers-Dealers and Investment Advisers: FINRA, Form U4 and New York Penal Law Article 220 Arrests

by Jeremy Saland

While nobody is asserting that financial services professionals, investment advisers, registered representatives or others regulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) are more prone to using, selling or possessing drugs, the reality is that an arrest in New York City or elsewhere for possession of cocaine, heroin, molly, MDMA, or even some prescription drugs can have dire consequences. Sale of these drugs (there need not be money exchanged) can magnify an arrest to a felony regardless of the amount. Simply, if you have a Series 3, Series 6, Series 7, Series 10, Series 11, Series 63, Series 65, Series 66, Series 79, Series 86 or any other securities license, your exposure is more than merely what you will face in a courtroom. Even when you close out your case there may be far reaching implications to your career. Although this blog entry will address the potential crimes and touch on the U4 reporting requirements, in no way is this article a substitute for a consultation with and the retention of a NY criminal defense attorney or criminal defense lawyer. Instead, the content contained here should solely be used as a launch pad to put yourself in the right place and to ask the right questions from your own counsel.