Articles Posted in Desk Appearance Ticket

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The types of drugs that routinely flow through New York City and throughout other New York municipalities range from unlawfully possessed prescription drugs such as Oxy and Adderall to the more common cocaine, heroin, MDAM, Ecstasy and Molly. The law is generally clear and a criminal defense attorney you need not when determining what controlled substances you can (or cannot) possess. For that matter, you neither need a drug lawyer nor your mother to advise you that you can’t have any of these narcotics barring a prescription (or at all) unless your goal is trying to violate a New York drug crime.

You may enjoy getting hopped up, rolling, taking a bump or just getting annihilated and, by all means, that is your decision. It is not my job, as a criminal lawyer, to be your father and lecture you on the ills of drug use and abuse. Its my job to help you when you call me panicked after your arrest. That said, before doing so, just hear me out. Know that there are very real consequences to your actions well beyond those that may land you in handcuffs and before a judge.

Brief pseudo-lecture aside, the purpose of this blog entry is not to address the direct and collateral consequences to drug use and arrests in New York, but to make it clear how low the threshold is for prosecutors to proceed on criminal charges when you are accused of violating New York Penal Law 220.03, Seventh Degree Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance. In fact, as this blog will make clear, neither Assistant District Attorneys nor police officers need to actually test the drug in any capacity to draft a legally sufficient complaint charging you with this drug crime. What does this mean to you? The law can take you right past Go and directly to Jail in the game of Monopoly that has unfortunately become your life.

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During the day you are a lawyer, work in finance, a licensed real estate broker, or a school teacher. Maybe you’re a stay-at-home mom or you’re just figuring out what the heck you want to do with your life with your BA in History from Generic State University. Reliving your glory days in college pretending the babysitter isn’t at home with your kids or just trying your hardest to ignore the fact that you have a mortgage or rent payment coming up after the encore, what could be better than getting lost in the moment to Phish’s “Fluffhead” and “Harry Hood?” The real question, however, is not what could be better, but what could be worse? The answer? An arrest for Seventh Degree Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, New York Penal Law 220.03.

On its face, going to see Phish certainly could be a release and even a religious experience, but you’re not a reckless college kid anymore (or maybe you are) and you weren’t fooling anyone “hiding” a baggie of cocaine, Molly, MDMA, ecstasy, marijuana or any other drug in your sock. It’s just like telling your parents you only had two beers. You didn’t. They knew that.

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Second Degree Aggravated Harassment, New York Penal Law 240.30, is a fairly common misdemeanor crime charged by the NYPD and prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys throughout the City of New York. A common Domestic Violence crime, but not always a “DV” offense, an arrestee can be prosecuted by means of a trip to Central Booking for up to 24 hours or a Desk Appearance Ticket whereby the accused merely spends a few ours in custody at the precinct of arrest. Simply, none of these scenarios is appealing.

Not a full analysis of all legal challenges and issues associated with NY PL 240.30, the question addressed by this blog entry briefly touches on what constitutes free speech and whether one communication can be grounds for committing Second Degree Aggravated Harassment if it is not a “true threat” of physical harm.

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My case was dismissed in New York criminal court. Does that mean the record is expunged? I received an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal (ACD), is that also considered an actual dismissal? What happens to my criminal record? What about my fingerprints? Even though I was charged with a crime, how do I get my record wiped clean and my fingerprints out of the system and destroyed?

The above questions are all reasonable questions that are often asked to New York criminal lawyers, but not always answered in the most simple way. In fact, there are multiple answers to these questions and issues. Whether you were initially charged with and arrested for a felony Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a misdemeanor Assault in the Third Degree, issued a Desk Appearance Ticket in Manhattan or you were indicted in Brooklyn, there really is no engagement in New York State. That’s correct. Other states may have a process to expunge criminal convictions, but New York is not one of them. There is, however, a means by which you – a person accused of a crime and later exonerated, found not guilty, acquitted or merely the rightful recipient of a dismissal – can clean up the records of your arrest including those related to fingerprints so that your personal and professional exposure of a criminal past does not exist.

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Although not exclusive to drug and marijuana crimes, otherwise fairly simple offenses such as Seventh Degree Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, New York Penal Law 220.03, and Fifth Degree Criminal Possession of Marihuana, New York Penal Law 221.10, are often complicated when the police not only arrest a person for possessing heroin, molly, MDMA, adderall, oxy, cocaine, ecstasy, marijuana or any other drug, but also charge that person with an additional crime when he or she attempts to hide or dispose it before the police can get their respective hands on controlled substance. In these circumstances the NYPD or other local police department often charges the accused not only with the PL 220.03 or PL 221.10, for example, but also with either Tampering with Physical Evidence or Attempted Tampering with Physical Evidence, a class “E” felony and class “A” misdemeanor respectively. While the latter offense, New York Penal Law 215.40, is punishable by as much as four years in prison, an attempt to commit the same crime is “only” punishable by up to one year in jail.

Because both the police and prosecutors often charge a variation of PL 215.40 whether by Desk Appearance Ticket or Central Booking processing, a charge of Tampering with Physical Evidence is far from atypical. However, an arrest and charge does not automatically equate to proof beyond a reasonable doubt if at all. This blog entry will address the fairly common scenario where an accused merely throws to the ground, drops or discards the physical evidence in question and whether that rises to the level of either a completed or attempted Tampering with Physical Evidence crime.

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I have drafted many blog entries and as a New York criminal defense lawyer represented many clients accused of violating New York Penal Law 265.01, Fourth Degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon. Usually the crime involves either a resident of New York or someone visiting from outside New York City who is unfamiliar with the strict standards of New York crimes involving knives. The law is superficially clear in its application even if it is not known to most New Yorkers. NY PL 265.01(1) codifies the class “A” misdemeanor of knowingly possessing a knife that is either a gravity knife or a switchblade knife. No, this entry will not dwell on the often overreaching impact the crime has on people who use gravity knives at work, purchased them at hardware stores or Amazon.Com, or have no criminal history and completely lacked any nefarious intent. Instead, this entry will review the less common charge of NY PL 265.01(2).

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There are few worse things than being accused of a crime you did not commit. It really does not matter if you arrested for Aggravated Harassment, Assault, Criminal Possession of Stolen Property or any other offense. Arguably it is worse to spend a night in Central Booking than it is to be given a Desk Appearance Ticket in New York, but at the end of the day if you are arrested and prosecuted for something you did not do, then no matter the circumstances it is miserable experience. The above scenario recently played out for a client of Crotty Saland PC arrested for possessing cocaine in Manhattan. After the police arrested our client and prosecutors charged him with PL 220.03, Seventh Degree Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, our client had the “good fortune” of being given a DAT. From there, things went from bad to worse before the New York criminal lawyers at Crotty Saland PC secured an an outright dismissal for our client.

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I don’t think anyone would disagree. There are consequences for breaking the law. Just don’t do it. That said, all of us make mistakes. Good people commit crimes. No, not the most vicious and amoral offenses, but some of the lesser crimes that can still be life altering to the accused. This could not be more true than in situations where a foreign national attending college or a university to complete his or her studies at an American school is arrested in New York for what otherwise is a fairly small offense. In such situations, a $100 shoplift arrest in Queens, a Desk Appearance Ticket for possessing marijuana in Manhattan or even a dispute with a cab driver that ends in an arrest for Theft of Services in Brooklyn can all have major implications for an immigrant and foreign national in the United States. In fact, it is possible, and clients have come to the New York criminal lawyers at Crotty Saland PC dealing with this exact issue, that as a result of the mere arrest, their F1 or H1B visa is revoked. One such Crotty Saland PC client found himself in this predicament only days ago. Fortunately, the New York criminal defense attorneys at Crotty Saland PC rectified the situation in a timely manner to allow this client to secure the proper visa and legal status and return to the United States to continues his education.

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While I certainly do not condone violence, if you punch someone two or three times in the face with a clenched fist, bloody up their mouth and cause them to go to the hospital for a stitch or two, an allegation of Third Degree Assault would likely survive a criminal defense attorney’s motion to dismiss the charge of New York Penal Law 120.00(1). No, it doesn’t mean you will not or cannot have defense at trial (self defense for example), but from a legal perspective your conduct satisfies the elements of the crime almost on its face. Again, you may still try, but seeking a dismissal for legal sufficiency will likely be quite difficult. Despite this, not all crimes or criminal conduct is so clear. When a court has to examine words used, the intent of those words and the reasonable implications of your speech, the court has much more to juggle than determining your intent when you balled up your fist. This more difficult type of review happens with a greater degree of regularity in cases involving Second Degree Aggravated Harassment pursuant to New York Penal Law 240.30. A class “A” misdemeanor, Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree is a crime often seen, but is not exclusive to, New York Domestic Violence cases. Where an arrest or allegation does not involve a familial or intimate relationship, the police will consider issuing the accused a Desk Appearance Ticket. Regardless of how a PL 240.30 case is prosecuted, words, and how they are reflected in a criminal court complaint, matter. This blog entry will address how words and statements that may seem threatening on their face may not in fact violate certain sections of the New York criminal law.

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A few years ago the New York State Legislature tightened up the Second Degree Aggravated Harassment crime found in the New York Penal Law. Whether by Desk Appearance Ticket in Manhattan or by Domestic Violence Arrest in Brooklyn, the law was no longer vague. More specifically, addressing solely subsection (1)(b) or New York Penal Law 240.30, it is a class “A” misdemeanor if you have an intent to harass another person and you cause a communication to be initiated by telephone, email, or any electronic means. This communication must be a threat to cause physical injury or unlawful harm to the person or property of that person or a member of his or her family or household. Moreover, when making your communication you should reasonably know that it will cause a reasonable fear of such an injury or harm.

Well, if that isn’t wordy enough, let’s try to get right to the point of this blog. Simply, what type of speech or statements violate PL 240.30(1)(b) and when does your language necessitate the assistance of a criminal defense attorney to challenge the legal sufficiency of a complaint you face in a New York criminal court?

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