New York Criminal Lawyer Blog

February 14, 2017

How do I get an Order of Protection and Restraining Order in Rockland County: Rockland County Family Court in New City

The names and places may be interchangeable, but the questions regarding how to get a Family Court order of protection or restraining order in Rockland County, New York all come down to the same thing. I need a restraining order against my ex-husband in New City, what is a petition? Where do I get a restraining order against a former girlfriend if I live in Nyack? I moved from Orangeburg to Nanuet, how do I get either a restraining order or an order of protection if I still reside in Rockland County, but my ex-boyfriend lives in Westchester County?

Assuming you reside in Rockland County or incidents transpired in Rockland County that violate the New York State Family Court Act (generally certain crimes found in the New York Penal Law), a victim of certain otherwise criminal acts can file a petition in Rockland Family Court requesting that a Family Court Judge issue a temporary order of protection in your favor and against a family member. These family members can include a current or former spouse, boyfriend or other person with whom you have had an intimate relationship. Additionally, the other party can be of the same sex, a cousin or parent as well as any other immediate relation.

February 10, 2017

New York Gambling Crimes: What Must I do to Advance from Gambling Activity in a Promoting Gambling Arrest

by Jeremy Saland

Black jack is fun. At least, I enjoy it…in Las Vegas. Some people like to play poker. Others simply put money – big and small dollars – on NFL, NHL, NBA and MLB games. Toss in college sports, there is no shortage of gambling opportunities. While some jurisdictions allow or permit gambling, others simply do not. In New York State there are many criminal statutes in the New York Penal Law that are both felonies and misdemeanors. Simply, New York State regulates, enforces and prosecutes illegal gambling. Vegas New, York City is not. One of the offenses prosecuted by local District Attorneys is Second Degree Promoting Gambling, New York Penal Law 225.05. This class “A” misdemeanor is punishable by as much as one year in jail. A person is guilty of PL 225.05 if he or she knowingly advances or profits from an unlawful gambling activity. What makes this crime a felony of First Degree Promoting Gambling, New York Penal Law 225.10, is that the accused either engages in bookmaking by accepting at least six bets with a total value in excess of $5,000.00 in one day or receives money or written records from another person who is not a player who’s playing or chances are reflected by these records or monies or this person receives more than five hundred dollars of money being played in any given day. A long run on type sentence? Maybe, but that is the law in the State of New York that you and your criminal defense attorney will face when or if you are charged with Either First or Second Degree Promoting Gambling. For the purpose of clarity so you can better understand the crime or crimes, this blog entry will address what it means to advance from an unlawful gambling activity.

February 7, 2017

Better Business Bureau Gives New York Criminal Lawyers Best Rating with Top A+ Designation

by Jeremy Saland

The New York criminal defense attorneys and former Manhattan prosecutors at Saland Law PC are excited not to announce another case result exonerating a client, avoiding prosecution or securing a non-criminal disposition in a New York City or suburban NYC arrest, but yet another “honor” bestowed upon the criminal defense law firm. No, this recognition has nothing to do with trial advocacy, a “top” NYC criminal lawyer award, or anything of that nature. Our criminal lawyers can never promise a client a certain result, but we can promise that we will do our best to conduct our business in a professional and ethical matter. Now our accreditation and “A+” ranking and review by the Better Business Bureau confirms that what we don’t merely make baseless assertions, but manage the law practice with nothing less than the highest standards.

February 3, 2017

7th Degree Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance Dismissed on Merits: DA Can’t Prove Client Possessed Cocaine

by Jeremy Saland

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 Saland Law 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 Saland Law PC secured an an outright dismissal for our client.

January 30, 2017

F1 Student Visa Holder Arrested for PL 221.10: Visa Revoked But Lawyers Get Dismissal and Sealing Allowing Client to Restore Visa

by Jeremy Saland

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 Saland Law PC dealing with this exact issue, that as a result of the mere arrest, their F1 or H1B visa is revoked. One such Saland Law PC client found himself in this predicament only days ago. Fortunately, the New York criminal defense attorneys at Saland Law 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.

January 17, 2017

Second Degree Aggravated Harassment: Is Threatening to Hurt Someone Always a Threat to Cause Physical Harm

by Jeremy Saland

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.

January 7, 2017

No Direct Proof I Caused Him Any Pain or Physical Injury: Circumstantial Third Degree Assault Arrests in New York

by Jeremy Saland

New York Penal Law 120.00 is New York’s misdemeanor Assault crime. As a result, any time a complainant or alleged victim makes an claim that another person struck, hit, punched, etc., him or her, prosecutors will routinely add Third Degree Assault to the list of crimes on a criminal court complaint. Similarly, Second Degree Harassment, New York Penal Law 240.26, is a violation that is not a legal “lesser offense,” but an offense nonetheless that Assistant District Attorneys will throw at the accused. Because PL 120.00, a misdemeanor carrying a sentence of up to one year in jail, is a gravely concerning charge whether by Desk Appearance Ticket or full on arrest and processing, it is imperative to do your best to challenge your arrest at every stage of the criminal process well before you on trial. One of the means to do so at the earliest stage is for your criminal defense attorney to file a motion arguing that the complaint against you is legally of facially insufficient to support the elements and crime of Assault in the Third Degree. On avenue your criminal lawyer may pursue is arguing that on the face of the complaint the prosecution failed to establish that as a result of your alleged actions, even if true, you caused the “victim” to suffer a physical injury and substantial pain.

January 2, 2017

Menacing with a Dangerous Instrument v. Weapon Possession in NY: Is an Operable Weapon Required for Both Crimes

by Jeremy Saland

It is well settled, and worth getting out of the way right from the start, that operability or a working weapon is generally an essential part of a Criminal Possession of a Weapon charge and crime pursuant to New York Penal Law Article 265. In substance, this means that if a person is accused of possessing a firearm illegally, one of the central elements it that the firearm – gun, pistol, revolver – actually be capable of letting off a shot. This is most easily confirmed through a ballistics test by the police department. If the firearm is incapable of shooting and the ballistics test confirms this failure, then the firearm will not qualify as a firearm for the purpose of certain sections of Criminal Possession of a Weapon. Should it not be operable, your criminal defense attorney would move for a dismissal of the Grand Jury indictment or the criminal court complaint.

While the above may seem great to an accused person, his or her criminal defense lawyer may have some bad news . Yes, an indictment or criminal court complaint may not be legally sufficient, for example, charging New York Penal Law 265.01, New York Penal Law 265.02 or New York Penal Law 265.03, but unless you are solely charged with possessing a weapon or dangerous instrument, does inoperability mean that all other crimes that you face that are associated with that weapon fail as well? The short answer is a resounding “no.”

December 29, 2016

Mace and Other Dangerous and Deadly Instruments: Must Prosecutors Prove Operability

by Jeremy Saland

A gun is not always a gun in the eyes of the law. A firearm is not always a firearm as it is defined by New York criminal court judges. An arrest for a can of mace, you guessed it, is not always a can of mace for the purpose of New York Penal Law 265.01. Confusing, right? Maybe not. A critical factor or element to weapon crimes in New York is whether or not that particular weapon is operable. It is not merely enough to possess a firearm, a “dangerous knife” or other “dangerous or deadly instrument” with the intent to use it against another person if operation is required. Certainly, these are elements to PL 265.01(2), but as your criminal lawyer should be able to explain to you, if the object in question is not operable, then you very well could, and likely should, have grounds to seek a dismissal of the Criminal Possession of a Weapon charge for which you were arrested.

December 20, 2016

Can I be Arrested for DWI if the Police Don’t See Me in the Car: Understanding Circumstantial Evidence in a VTL 1192 Arrest

by Jeremy Saland

Drunk Driving, Driving Drunk, DUI, DWI, Driving While Intoxicated…Whatever you call it, an arrest in New York for VTL 1192 has certain mandatory elements that the District Attorney must ultimately prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. Sure, most cases do not go to trial, but the NYPD or the County or local police in Westchester, for example, must still have probable cause to arrest a subject for VTL 1192. Simply, there must still be some level of evidence and reasonable cause to believe that you, or whomever the accused is, committed a crime of DWI. Being “drunk” is one thing, driving or operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated is quite another. One may a good time while the other endangers the lives of everyone on the road. In the realm of the New York criminal law, if there is no evidence or proof that you were operating a vehicle (not necessarily driving), then there is no criminal case. This particular blog entry addresses a scenario where the accused drunk driver was not merely not driving (double negative, but you get the point), but he was also not inside the vehicle. How then, or better yet, can prosecutors overcome a challenge to dismiss a VTL 1192 arrest in New York where neither the police nor any other witness observes or sees the defendant driving or operating a motor vehicle?