No one was injured, but Bynes now faces charges of reckless endangerment and drug possession. Because she repotedly did not cooperate with officers when they were investigating the incident, she also faces a felony count of tampering with evidence.
]]> We are not writing about this story because we are interested in celebrities (or former celebrities, in Bynes' case).Rather, what caught our eye was Bynes' evident fall from grace. Bynes was once a highly paid TV star and, for a time, had a blossoming career in youth-oriented movies. Something changed, though, and her career cooled off. In the last few months, tabloids and gossip sites have gleefully catalogued some strange behavior on her part, which they attributed to drug use.
We do not know Bynes personally, so we cannot say what is true and what is not.
That being said, as criminal defense attorneys, we have seen more than a few people who have been led to behavior they would never have contemplated prior to getting involved with drugs. Drugs often change people for the worst; sometimes, users know they need help and even want to seek it out, but do not know how.
As we said, the facts are not yet clear when it comes to Bynes' behavior and this arrest, but if she is indeed a drug user (notice we said "if"), we hope she is able to get the help she needs.
Source: New York Post, "Amanda Bynes arrested after throwing bong out of Midtown apartment building," Jamie Schram and Larry Celona, May 24, 2013
]]>The plaintiffs contend the stops were racially discriminatory and resulted in over-broad interrogations and intrusive searches without reasonable suspicion. The New York Police Department and the mayor deny the allegations of racial profiling and contend the frequent stops have helped prevent crime.
]]> At trial, several rank-and-file police officers testified about directions from supervisors to increase the number of stops in certain neighborhoods. If the officers did not comply, it would be considered a performance issue.
NYPD managers deny the existence of stop-and-frisk quotas. But the sheer number of stops over the last decade adds up to a huge number: nearly 5 million stops.
Plaintiffs' lawyers contend that very few of these stops actually led to arrests or the detection of illegal weapons. In many cases, stop-and-frisk encounters were used in cases of low-level marijuana possession - an offense that was supposed to have been decriminalized decades ago.
A ruling in the case is not expected for a few months. But the result will be eagerly awaited not only in New York City. As we discussed in our April 3 post, aggressive stop-and-frisk tactics are also under scrutiny in several other large cities around the country.
The outcome of the case could become part of a hotly contested debate about whether there should be increased oversight of the NYPD, such as by a newly created Inspector General. No matter how the class-action is resolved, we will continue to follow stop-and-frisk developments closely in this blog.
Source: "Court Case Winds Down In New York's Stop-And-Frisk Challenge," NPR, Margot Adler, 5-20-13
]]>Of course, the possibility of insurance fraud is also part of this system. New York State, in particular, is currently trying to crack down on it.
]]> The current efforts in the New York legislature involve a trio of bills.Another bill, S 3033, prohibits "runners" in car accident cases. Runners are defined, for purposes of the bill, as people who steer injured people to dubious medical facilities. Those facilities, in turn, bill insurance companies for services that are not needed or performed.
The third bill, S 1959A, would allow insurance companies to cancel policies that were taken out under fraudulent pretenses. In some cases, bill supporters say, such policies have been taken out only moments before a staged accident. And the payment has been with stolen credit cards or forged checks.
A lobbyist for AAA New York, has asserted that New York is facing a tidal wave of insurance fraud. But it is the New York Assembly's action on the bills, not AAA's endorsement, that will ultimately matter. It takes both chambers to pass a bill. And so far only the Senate has passed the three anti-fraud bills outlined above.
Source: "N.Y. Senate Tries Again With Auto Fraud - Fighting Bills," Property Casualty 360, Chad Hemenway, 5-14-13
]]>This is a time of year, of course, when concerns about not only underage drinking, but also underage DWI, are heightened. After all, this is prom season and graduation season, with many young drivers travelling to and from parties.
]]> Over the years, youth in New York and other states have sometimes relied on fake IDs in order to make these purchases. It remains to be seen, however, what effect the new design of drivers’ licenses in New York State may have on underage drinkingThe new licenses will make their debut in July. That is still a couple of months away, and the final design is not yet complete. But the company that is making the licenses for the state claims the licenses will be resistant to counterfeiting — and therefore able to cut down on the use of fake licenses by people too young to purchase alcohol legally.
People familiar with the bar and restaurant scene are not so sure that the new license will be so fool-proof. One bar owner in the Buffalo area dismissed the claim as, well, foolish. He said fake licenses can be quite sophisticated, so much so that they even pass the scrutiny of law enforcement officers.
It is also widely known that buying a fake driver’s license is hardly an unusual experience among young people. Indeed, the remarkable information-sharing ability of the Internet has made sources of fake IDs easier to find than ever.
Source: “New York licenses to get new look,” WIVB, Anthony Conigi, 5-2-13
]]>The ranks of people who have been placed on this status include high-profile people, such as the former major league baseball star Barry Bonds. A judge placed Bonds on home confinement after he was convicted of lying on oath in connection with an investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
In New York, a recent case involving a well-known person on home confinement concerns the rap singer who goes by the name Ja Rule. The 37-year-old rapper, whose recordings have gained platinum status, is serving out a federal sentence for tax evasion.
]]> Ja Rule was transferred directly to federal custody after earlier serving most of a two-year sentence in state prison for possessing a gun illegally. The gun charge followed a 2007 traffic stop for speeding. During this stop, police alleged they found a loaded semi-automatic weapon in one of the rapper’s car doors.According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Ja Rule left a federal prison facility in Adirondacks today. He will apparently be held on home confinement until his official release date of July 28. It is unclear whether the Bureau of Prisons will require community-based supervision during that time.
The federal tax evasion charge goes back to the years from 2004 to 2006. Ja Rule has admitted failing to pay taxes during those years, despite earning more than $3 million in income.
Please visit our page on criminal defense.
Source: “Report: Rapper Ja Rule Out of New York State Prison, Under Home Confinement,” CBS New York, 5-7-13
]]>Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a man charged with marijuana possession and possession with the intent to distribute should not face mandatory deportation because of the conviction. After living in the U.S. for over three decades as a legal resident, the man was stopped while driving his vehicle. The police officer searched his vehicle. The search revealed some marijuana, although only a very small quantity.
]]> The man agreed to plead guilty to the charges, as he was told he would not be required to face jail time and the charges would be erased from his record if he completed five years of probation. The man was not informed, however, that accepting the plea deal could lead to his deportation. After pleading guilty, officials determined that the charges amounted to an aggravated felony based on federal law. He was deported.The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that mandatory deportation was not required in this case, and that the charges did not even constitute a felony under federal law. The high court based its decision on the small amount of marijuana found in his possession and the fact that there was no evidence that he intended to sell the drugs. The man now has an opportunity to protest the deportation ruling. If he is successful, he will be allowed to return to the United States, his wife and his five children.
Source: NPR, "Justices Say U.S. Improperly Deported Man Over Marijuana," Nina Totenberg, April 23, 2013.
]]>Consider the enforcement of laws against the possession of small amounts of marijuana in New York. When the legislature decriminalized this offense 35 years ago, it was supposed to be treated as a violation similar to a traffic ticket. The response was supposed to be a small fine, not an arrest.
]]> But that of course is not what has happened consistently. New York City, in particular, continues to push its aggressive stop-and-frisk policy. That policy, a large-scale class action alleges, contributes to the problem of widespread racial disparity in the justice system. The data showing the negative impact of the policy on young men of color in certain neighborhoods is overwhelming.And yet there are times when the system does respond to low-level marijuana possession as the legislature must have intended all those years ago. This can be seen, for example, in the recent case of a New York State assemblyman who was picked up for speeding and had pot in the car with him.
The trooper did not subject the assemblyman, Steve Katz, to field sobriety testing or charge him with impaired driving. Last week, a court took the action of adjourning the marijuana charge “in contemplation of dismissal.” This action, called by the abbreviation ACD, means that the charge will be removed from Rep. Katz’s record after six months if he has no further incidents during that time.
Please visit our page on marijuana charges.
Source: Source: “High crimes & misdemeanors,” New York Daily News,” Bill Hammond, 4-30-13
]]>The Court did not issue a hard-and-fast rule for such cases. But the decision clearly showed it isn't enough for officers to merely invoke the claim of "exigent circumstances" justify a warrantless search.
]]> To be sure, blood-alcohol does dissipate with the passage of time. But in an electronically wired world, search warrants can now be processed with remarkable speed.Let's look at an example of just how quickly search warrants can be requested and, where appropriate, obtained. In a streamlined process now in use in Phoenix, the process to apply for search warrants to take blood samples in suspected DUI cases can take only a matter of minutes.
Phoenix police use a process they call an eSearch Warrant Application. When a patrol officer suspects someone of driving drunk, the officer uses a computer in the squad car to send a warrant application directly to a judge. The application appears on the judge's laptop.
The court does not linger long in making decisions on the applications either. Maricopa County Superior Court operates a Search Warrant Center that is available around the clock, including Sundays.
The court and the Phoenix police have been running the program as a pilot in the fall of 2012. It is apparently taking only about 10 minutes for officers to get responses back from judges on warrant requests.
Please visit our page on DWI defense.
Source: "Phoenix police speed up DUI search-warrant process," USA Today / Arizona Republic, Ceclia Chan, 4-12-13
]]>The accused teacher began working in New York schools in 2011. She was working as a special education teacher at the High School for Innovation in Advertising and Media in the Canarsie neighborhood when she was arrested on April 25. Police say that the teacher, 33, had sex with a male student in her car sometime in the last year. The student was 15 at the time and is now 16.
]]> The investigation began when someone made a complaint to the school, the special commissioner of investigation said. Police questioned both the student, who was still at the school, and the teacher before arresting the woman.Other students at the school said that the teacher spoke often about her husband and daughter. They said they were very surprised about the accusations against her. One student believed that the suspect "has too much respect for herself" to have an affair with a student.
Statutory rape differs from other forms of sexual assault in that neither of the parties may have objected to the activity but that one of them was under the state's legal age of consent. Legally speaking, in New York minors under age 17 are considered to be unable to consent to sex with an adult. The fact that the defendant was a teacher will likely also be a factor in the case.
Source: New York Daily News, "Female special ed teacher arrested for having sex with student, 15," Ben Chapman and Oren Yaniv, April 25, 2013
]]>Indeed, when DWI is suspected a driver can suffer penalties even before a formal conviction is obtained. Failure to abide by implied consent laws, refusing to submit to a breath test or to blood alcohol concentration tests of blood or urine, can prompt a hearing at which driving privileges could be lost for a year and a hefty fine imposed. That being the case, it does not pay to face such issues without the aid of an experienced New York attorney.
]]> A New York police officer may be mulling these matters over today. He reportedly was arrested earlier this week for alleged DWI. The police report on the arrest is somewhat sketchy. It says only that the 33-year-old officer was taken into custody early Monday morning in the 81st precinct.A newspaper report about the arrest indicates that the officer was in his personal vehicle and that he was off duty. The unattributed report suggests that the officer had collided with a parked van which struck a second vehicle and caused damage to both. But that supposedly happened hours before the arrest and the suspect was reportedly picked up just two blocks from the scene of the crash.
The news reports say the officer refused to submit to a breath test and there is nothing in the available reports indicating what other circumstances might have prompted police to suspect DWI.
If available legal options are exercised in this instance, the next step would seem to be for the accused individual to arrange for a hearing at which the procedures used by police in making the arrest can be scrutinized and possibly contested.
Source: WCBS-TV, "NYPD Sergeant Arrested For Driving Drunk," April 22, 2013
]]>New York City's stance toward reimbursing property damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, however, sends another message about political bodies and the citizens that comprise them. Earlier this month, Mayor Bloomberg admitted that fear of fraud was behind the city's reluctance to reimburse property owners for post-Sandy repairs.
]]> Many homeowners have spent tens of thousands of dollars to repair their homes after the devastating damage done by Sandy last fall. And the city is sitting on $1.8 billion in federal money that is supposed to be used for home repairs.But the major says he is concerned about sorting out the legitimate claims from the legitimate ones. But should the possibility of a few cases of fraud really be allowed to prevent the distribution of much-needed disaster relief?
New York State has answered that question in a different way. The state is responsible for allocating $1.7 billion in federal aid to residents of Nassau and Suffolk counties. Unlike New York City, the state is ready to move ahead with reimbursement of the federal aid it is overseeing.
Obviously could create a situation of great inequality across the metropolitan area. One set of homeowners, in Nassau and Suffolk counties, could get reimbursement while a similar set elsewhere in New York City does not.
The mayor's reluctance to reimburse residents, however, may not be the last word on the subject. Federal authorities from the housing and urban development department may force New York City to move ahead with reimbursements.
Source: "Fraud keeping city from reimbursing owners of Sandy-ravaged homes: Bloomberg," New York Daily News
Please visit our page on white-collar crime charges.
]]>But what authority do police officers have to insist that someone submit to a blood test? The U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion this week to clarify the law on that question. The fact that blood-alcohol content dissipates with the passage of time, the Court held, does not mean that police may always insist on a blood draw without a search warrant.
]]> The case was Missouri v. McNeely. It involved a man who was pulled over in a traffic stop and refused both a breath test and a blood test. Officers then drove him to a nearby hospital, where his blood was forcibly drawn.The Supreme Court said that evidence of this search was properly suppressed. But the Court declined to issue a bright-line rule on when a blood draw without a warrant would be justified in cases of suspected drunk driving. Instead, the Court said that it depends on the totality of the circumstances.
A key circumstance, in that analysis, will clearly be how quickly law enforcement officers could obtain a warrant. The Court noted that 30 states already allow electronic applications for warrants.
Again, as we've pointed out, breath tests are more common. But in New York, as in a number of other states, it's the law enforcement officer who gets to choose which types of chemical test a DWI suspect must take.
Source: "Court Says Police Need Warrant for Blood Test," The New York Times, Adam Liptak, 4-17-13
Please visit our page on drunk driving defense.
]]>But this does not mean that all forms of gambling have been legalized. Law enforcement authorities still pursue illegal gambling charges in certain cases.
According to news reports yesterday, federal authorities are taking action against an allegedly illegal gambling ring. Federal agents have made numerous arrests and served several search warrants in New York City in connection with the case.
]]> The FBI suspects that the ring in question is linked to Russian organized crime interests. Sources with knowledge of the FBI's investigation indicate that "poker dens" for high-stakes play may be involved, as well as large amounts of off-shore wagering on sports events. Prominent New Yorkers are said to have participated in playing high-stakes poker in these so-called dens.Federal authorities also assert that money laundering is also intertwined with the gambling operations that are under investigation. Such schemes tend to be quite complex, involving international transfers and shell companies.
So far, 34 people have been charged with offenses related to the alleged illegal gambling ring.
It should be noted that these are federal, not state, charges. But New York State does have an extensive set of laws on enterprise corruption offenses. These laws are similar in some ways to their federal counterparts, the laws known as RICO laws. RICO stands for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations.
Source: "FBI Takes Down Poker Dens, Sports Betting Ops in Organized-Crime Operated Gambling Ring: Sources," NBC New York, Jonathan Dienst and Shimon Prokupecz, 4-16-13
]]>But bribery is also the most modern of crimes. In a recent New York City bribery case, federal agents have arrested a city housing inspector for allegedly taking bribes in exchange for removing housing violations. The particularly modern twist is that the inspector also apparently struggled with a heroin addiction.
]]> The 45-year-old inspector has admitted to buying heroin with money he got from a building manager in the Bronx. The building manager wore a wire to gather evidence of bribery. Prosecutors charge that the housing inspector offered to resolve housing code violations in exchange for a bribe of $3,000.In formal legal terms, the change against the inspector is mail fraud, not soliciting a bribe. Mail fraud is a common white-collar offense, even in the age of the Internet. It was implicated in this case because the inspector sent letters through the mail saying he had taken care of the code violations.
But the U.S. mail was hardly the only source of evidence for FBI investigators. The FBI also went after text messages sent on the inspector's cellphone.
According to the charges, the inspector falsely cleared more than 200 housing code violations. These included violations involving lead paint, among others.
The charges against the inspector come on the heels of an earlier public corruption case in 2011. In that an assistant housing commissioner in the Bloomberg administration was charged with public corruption for taking bribes and kickbacks.
Source: "Bronx housing inspector busted for taking bribes from violators to support heroin addiction: FBI," New York Daily News, John Marzulli, 3-31-13
Please visit our page on bribery charges.
]]>Last month, however, the New York City Council turned its attention to enhancing penalties for burglary, property damage and several other offenses. The action came several months after Hurricane Sandy led to a spike in burglaries, looting and general lawlessness in many neighborhoods.
]]> In addition to burglary and property damage, the other offenses covered by the council's bill include trespass and impeding a government's emergency response. The bill also covered the impersonation not only of city officials, but of city contractors.Those who are convicted of violating these laws could be sentenced to as much as six months in jail. They could also be fined up to $5,000. And these penalties are in addition to the criminal penalties that were already in place for the offenses in question.
Another sentence enhancement involves offenses committed in areas that have been designated as evacuation zones. During a mandatory evacuation, an offense that occurs in such an area could result in a penalty of up to full year in jail. And the fine amount could be as much as $10,000.
Legislative bodies often respond to concerns about crime by increasing criminal penalties. The city council's bill seems to reflect that type of response to the excesses that abounded after Hurricane Sandy hit New York City last fall.
Source: "NYC Council Votes to Hike Penalties on Looters After Sandy Burglary Spree," New York Daily News, Erin Durkin, 3-13-13
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