Case Results

August 12, 2019

Why I am Proud to be a Defense Attorney: A Review from an Innocent and Falsely Accused Former Client

As a both a New York criminal lawyer representing the accused and serving as an advocate for complainants as well as a Title IX attorney representing alleged perpetrators and victims of Dating Violence and Gender Based Discrimination on college and university campuses, it is sometimes a heavy lift and difficult task to secure the justice a client wants, needs and deserves. While justice may manifest itself in different forms to different people, exoneration of the innocent is the pinnacle achievement and best outcome irrespective of the allegation.

With the above in mind, my words cannot accurately reflect the emotions – from anxiety and fear to joy and relief – that wash over the vindicated when the battles commence and rage until the almost literal war is over. It is the target of the wrongful, hurtful and traumatic claim that lives through these emotions who can best articulate them. The following is one such client’s review that makes me proud of my efforts and of my client’s strength while providing me with immeasurable satisfaction and relief that I delivered her the justice she unequivocally deserved.

June 24, 2019

Title IX Gender Based Misconduct & Dating Violence: Accused Exonerated & Accuser Found Responsible

by Jeremy Saland

College Title IX lawyers and student misconduct attorneys representing clients in cases alleging gender-based misconduct and dating violence accusations know firsthand how the system is not one founded in due process. Simply, university violations, from NYU and Columbia to Pace and Fordham, not only lack the checks and balances taken for granted in the criminal justice system but are enforced by university administrators often lacking the investigative experience necessary to pursue the right leads and effectively parse through the evidence. Couple these factors with a legal threshold that is not beyond a reasonable doubt but a preponderance of the evidence, the subject of an accusation is often left without the tools and recourse necessary to defend him or herself. Fortunately, for a client falsely accused of a horrific rape that morphed into claims she was a monster-like stalker and manipulative predator, after a five month long investigation and ultimate adjudication, the college exonerate our client. Only slightly less gratifying, the college found that the accuser was in fact the abuser leading to a responsible finding and multi-year hold on her diploma post-graduation.

May 23, 2019

ACS Withdraws Negligence Petition After Criminal Case Dismissed & Children and Family Services Finds Allegations Unfounded

by Jeremy Saland

Criminal charges dismissed on the motion of the prosecution [*check*]. Maltreatment and Negligence finding by the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) amended from indicated to unfounded [*check*]. Article 10 Negligence Petition filed by the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) withdrawn [*check*]. A Criminal Court and Family Court “hat trick” by Saland Law PC’s defense team? Check yet again.

While Saland Law PC’s family law attorneys and criminal defense lawyers secured yet another successful disposition, and more importantly fair and just one, above cases demonstrate once again that when accused of wrongdoing, one often has many battles ahead on one’s way to vindication. After being targeted by the mother of his child with fictitious allegations as a likely means to pry custody away from our client, the mother’s attempts ultimately backfired in spectacular fashion. The exoneration of our client aside, now it is she who appears to be the subject of an ACS investigation.

May 16, 2019

Second Degree Menacing and Fourth Degree Criminal Mischief Dismissed on Motion of Prosecution: Client Falsely Accused of Threatening Another with a Firearm and Preventing 911 Call

by Jeremy Saland

While our client charged with Third and Second Degree Menacing and Fourth Degree Criminal Mischief cannot get back the months of his life lost to the criminal justice system, what started off as a bogus claim and an arrest of a federal law enforcement officer finally ended with his complete exoneration in a New York City Criminal Court. Although our client can now pursue the back pay he was denied during his suspension, as grateful as he was that the system “worked,” our client unfortunately witnessed firsthand how difficult it is when the system sees you as guilty even if the law is supposed to protect you with the presumption of innocence. Thankfully, after months of back and forth with a prosecutor who did her due diligence and, even if disagreeing, kept an open mind, pushing the case to a trial and rejecting an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal was the final straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back of this unfounded case. A great effort – and even better resolution – for the criminal attorneys and former Manhattan prosecutors at Saland Law PC.

February 28, 2019

Mic Drop for Justice: Motion Alleging Misconduct Against Prosecution and Seeking Dismissal in Interest of Justice Leads to Dismissal within 24 Hours of Service

by Jeremy Saland

If fighting City Hall is difficult, battling the District Attorney’s Office is arguably harder when your arguments and evidence falls on deaf ears and your client’s exposure is not measured in money but a permanent criminal record and the duration of incarceration. Fortunately, however, when your client is left standing and walks away exonerated, there are few greater victories worthy of battle scars. For a recent Saland Law PC client arrested for Second Degree Burglary and other crimes, and subsequently charged with Third Degree Assault and Criminal Obstruction of Breathing or Blood Circulation, leaving the justice system unscathed other than by a undeserved and miserable experience could not be more rewarding. The following is lesson of how prosecutorial inexperience coupled with expansive power can result in potentially grave miscarriages of justice. Simply, no matter the allegation, it is incumbent upon any criminal defense attorney to question and challenge law enforcement to protect your rights.

February 14, 2019

Third Degree Assault Case Dismissed After Client Allegedly Punched Cabbie Twice Sending Him to the Ground with Injuries

by Jeremy Saland

If being arrested for a crime you did not commit isn’t bad enough, when you don’t live in New York City and your witnesses aren’t fluent in the English language and are returning to their homes in Europe that same day, its reasonable to assume that things are about to go from bad to terribly worse. While it is a legitimate thought to have as you are hauled away in handcuffs, charged with crimes including Assault in the Third Degree, New York Penal Law 120.00, and tossed into Manhattan’s Central Booking to wait and meet a criminal lawyer your friends or family retained, your initial pain need not foretell the ultimate outcome. As experienced by a recent Saland Law PC client, the trauma of being accused of Assault by a cab driver and the anxiety of being 1000s of miles from home was fortunately (if one can use that term when falsely accused of a crime) the worst part of a roller coaster ride that ended in a meritorious dismissal.

January 15, 2019

Menacing and Endangering the Welfare of the Child Dismissed by Prosecution on Merits

by Jeremy Saland

“Only the guilty hire defense attorneys.”

“If he was arrested, he clearly did something wrong.”

“Innocent people aren’t accused of crimes. Clearly, she’s guilty.”

Somewhat common refrains by those who have never had the misfortune of being accused of wrongdoing, whether fair or not, until you find yourself in handcuffs or before a judge it is quite easy to sit in judgment. However, when it is your name that is replaced by a docket number, the misconceptions you may have held will likely give way quite quickly. How are you going to get yourself out of this conundrum and who is the best attorney to protect your rights and bring your nightmare to a swift end? For a recent Saland Law PC client who found himself the subject of a wrongful arrest and prosecution, he took the right steps and debunked the myth as to why innocent people – or any accused for that matter – hire criminal defense lawyers.

November 6, 2018

160.59 Sealing Petition Results in “Public Expunging” of Client’s Firearm Conviction for Third Degree Weapon Possession

by Jeremy Saland

Can I have my firearm conviction sealed? Does New York Criminal Procedure Law 160.59 apply to weapon and gun crimes? The short answer to the above questions is “maybe.” Fortunately for a recent Saland Law PC client, the specific answer was “yes.” A complicated sealing application, after litigating an old 1980s conviction for New York Penal Law 265.02(1), Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, where the prosecution argued that the sentencing court incorrectly recorded the conviction as a non-violent offense, the presiding judge agreed with our lawyers’ motion to “expunge.” In substance, the District Attorney argued that the charges contained in the indictment were violent felonies and, as a result, the conviction was not an eligible offense pursuant to CPL 160.59(2)(a).

October 3, 2018

Sealing Criminal Records with NY CPL 160.59: Three Representative Results of New York’s “Second Chance” and “Expungement” Law

by Jeremy Saland

Since New York CPL 160.59 went into effect in 2017, many hard working and honest people have asked, “Can I seal my old criminal conviction or get it expunged?” Once they realize that they can, their asks routinely morph into, “How do I seal my criminal record?” While the process is not overly complicated to the untrained eye, attention to detail and the proper application of the law is critical. After all, you only get one bite out of the proverbial apple. Fortunately for clients who retained Saland Law PC to seal their respective misdemeanor and felony records, “can” and “how” are questions of the past. No longer haunted by past wrongdoing north of a decade old, their criminal convictions are sealed to the public, friends, and employers. From Forgery in the Second Degree to Attempted Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, class D and C felonies, to lesser misdemeanor crimes, our New York conviction sealing lawyers are proud to provide closure to our clients’ shameful pasts and an end to the painful stigma they endured for years.

September 16, 2018

Student Misconduct Lawyers: NYC Student Avoids Adverse Finding in Title IX Misconduct Investigation and NYPD Closes Criminal Case without an Arrest

by Jeremy Saland

When, as a college student, you are accused of violating a Title IX policy or the Code of Conduct of your respective university, both your academic career and otherwise clean criminal record are often put in harm’s way. Whether or not you are arrested by the NYPD or local police department, accused of a crime or allegedly committed a form of sexual or gender-based misconduct or harassment, the consequences are quite real even if your case never reaches a technical disciplinary hearing. What is not real, however, is that every claim of wrongdoing is true and accurate. While the legal standard employed by Title IX Coordinators, the Dean of Students, or any administrative body at a New York City or New York State college or university is a preponderance of the evidence – quite lower than the criminal threshold of proof beyond a reasonable doubt and devoid of the due process rights we all take for granted – that does not mean you cannot successfully challenge a complaint. In fact, having successfully represented student accusers and the accused in college Title IX, Student Misconduct Hearings, Disciplinary Hearings and other infractions at universities such as NYU, Fordham, CUNY, SUNY Binghamton, Columbia and others, Saland Law PC’s Title IX counsel recognize there are strategic avenues to pursue should you find yourself on either side of the law. In fact, a recent and successful resolution of multiple alleged Title IX violations against a student at a large New York City university is a testament to the advocacy of Saland Law PC’s Title IX attorneys.