New York Criminal Lawyer BlogWhile online and offline extortionists may try to couch their efforts to obtain money from you as something other than what it is really is – a crime, the offenses they commit are not always the same. To that end, while Extortion, aka, Blackmail, is the most common infraction, Coercion rears its ugly head as well. Chances are, when you were caught up in the moment justifying your actions, you likely had no idea which crime you committed even if you are probably committing at least one of them and potentially other crimes as well.
Applying NY’s Revenge Porn “Digitization” Language to CSAM Crimes of Penal Law 263.10, 263.11, 263.15 & 263.16
In the context of unlawful intimate and sexual imagery, the ease by which malicious actors can create “deep fakes” and AI generated images to harm or harass others in every facet of their lives both online and off has led New York State to broaden the criminal code to address the growing trends of today. To that end, as of July 2025, what was not a crime not too long ago may very well potentially be criminal today.
Title IX Case Against Client Dropped at Top National University After Client Files Own Complaint Against False Accuser
As a lawyer who regularly serves as a Title IX attorney-advisor to students and faculty at Ivy League, elite, and other highly respected colleges and universities both in New York – Columbia, Barnard, NYU, Cornell, Fordham, Pratt, Binghamton – and in many other states, I am well aware of how difficult it is for both respondents and complainants to manage their lives as they advocate for themselves and fight through Title IX and other student disciplinary/misconduct processes governing dating violence, stalking, sexual assault and harassment. When a respondent, sometimes referred to as a defendant, is a young student, as opposed to a faculty member or administrator, sometimes they fail to fully grasp the magnitude of the claims against them, properly prepare themselves to respond to and defend themselves against the accusations, and truly appreciate the lack of due process protections that are otherwise afforded to them in a real courtroom where judges uphold the rule of law as opposed to college and university administrators who are influenced by their own biases and desire for self-preservation. This is true, and arguably more so, when the allegations are baseless and born from jealousy or revenge, and there is strong evidence of the respondent’s non-responsibility, aka, innocence.
Student Avoids Multi-Semester Suspension & No-Contact Order Dissolved After University Title IX Dating Violence Hearing
As a college and university Title IX attorney-advisor, I have shepherded many a client through either a fact-finding hearing or informal/administrative resolution resulting in a finding of no responsibility, aka, an “acquittal”. Whether they were accused of violating Title IX’s provisions against dating violence, stalking and/or sexual assault due to a lack of affirmative consent, I have repeatedly done so for clients at highly respected colleges and universities including Columbia, Barnard, NYU, and Binghamton, among others. In fact, over the past months and years, through preparation and advocacy, these students were able to return to their normal and pre-accusation life with no further or future implications to their academic status and careers.
Felony & Misdemeanor Charges Across Three Arrests Dismissed for Client Wrongfully Charged for Domestic Violence Crimes
Even if I am always professional in my interactions with prosecutors and often more than cordial and friendly, I routinely disagree with prosecutors and regularly have an adversarial relationship with them as a criminal defense lawyer. Simply, that is the nature of the criminal justice system. We all have a job to do, and I recognize the central role prosecutors play in securing the overall good, safety and welfare of the people they are sworn to protect even if I disagree with a particular stance on a specific case. Unlike criminal defense attorneys who must advocate for their client regardless of what that person did or did not do, and what the evidence can or cannot prove, prosecutors must ensure the rule of law is upheld and, when necessary, use their discretion no matter their personal views. Having worn that proverbial hat myself and knowing the hard work that the men and women who serve as Assistant District Attorneys and Assistant United States Attorneys do every day, I appreciate the weighty burden they knowingly accepted upon their shoulders when they took to their oath.
NYC Trial Lawyer’s Motions to Dismiss Serves Clients Far Better than Trials Themselves: Alleged Domestic Violence Assault Cases Dismissed
As a trial attorney in New York’s criminal courts, I am certainly not afraid to “go the distance” if needed to exonerate a client. However, I can unequivocally say that even if a client desperately wants his or her day in court, finding the right resolution without a trial may be the best solution to a case despite a client’s wishes. No, that does not mean selling out or accepting responsibility for a wrongful allegation, but if you can avoid the uncertainty, emotional capital, and expenditure of time and dollars, and do so with the right disposition, it very well can be an absolute win for a client. Sometimes, that win is achieved through presenting evidence mitigating or challenging the allegations and other times through motion practice such as by way of a motion to dismiss. Cases in point? Saland Law is pleased to share that in two recent matters, despite prosecutors taking unreasonable stances in cases that should have likely been resolved well before the courts took that power and responsibility away from them, we secured two dismissals after judges agreed with our applications and handed down two respective written decisions dismissing clients’ charges in their entirety. I share one of those decisions below.
Prosecutors Failed Discovery Obligations: Certificate of Compliance Invalid
Extortion Lawyers Shut Down Attempted Long-Term Affair Sextortion & Online Blackmail of Two Clients
Sextortion and Blackmail in New York City and well beyond are crimes that are boundlessly expanding in terms of who is targeted and the means by which the crimes are perpetrated. One of likely very few Extortion attorneys and lawyers genuinely skilled and actually experienced in protecting victims from these criminal violations and personal intrusions as a prosecutor and a “fixer” outside the courtroom (but well within the four corners of the law), just as cloaked criminals online and known abusers offline are getting more brazen, creative and aggressive, Saland Law has doubled its efforts with great success shutting down sugar babies, escorts, former affairs other bad actors who threaten humiliation and career destroying exposure in return for tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars and far, far more.
Saland Law Secures Non-Criminal Plea for Pro-Bono Client Charged with Violent Felony Gun Possession
Saland Law is proud to share a pro-bono client’s non-criminal disposition after her arrest in Manhattan and subsequent charge of Second Degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon, New York Penal Law 265.03. A legal firearm owner who possessed a conceal carry permit in her home state, our client had inadvertently left her small, but loaded, .22 pistol in her large bag when she drove to New York City for an event honoring a family member’s volunteerism. Unfortunately, when private security scanned the bag upon her entrance into a building frequented by tourists, the search revealed the firearm in her bag and the security officers called the NYPD who placed our client under arrest.
New York Article 130 Penal Law Update: September 2024 Change in NYS Sex Crime Laws & Definitions
Although 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.