Legal Information Center

The topic of this post is New York Gang Assault Offenses, the crime defined in Article 120 of the New York Penal Law. Gang Assault can be described as a simple assault plus the “aided” element borrowed from the robbery statutes. There are two degrees of Gang Assault. The text of the base, or second-degree,…

On Tuesday, February 16, the Appellate Division, First Department, reversed the 2008 conviction of Freddy Rodriguez. Rodriguez had been convicted in Bronx County Supreme Court of manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, and two counts each of assault in the second degree, vehicular assault in the second degree, and DWI. The full text of the decision is available…

Lil Wayne will be sentenced today in Manhattan Supreme Court after pleading guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree in October 2009. According to the New York Post, he is set to receive a one year sentence. It is interesting to note that this is the same charge to which…

In People v. Ortiz, 2010 NY Slip Op 00387, the First Department overturned a man’s burglary conviction on account of numerous prejudicial trial errors. First, the court noted that prosecuting attorney improperly impeached the defendant by implying that his initial plea of not guilty to certain past convictions followed by a subsequent guilty plea implied…

The Court of Appeals last week decided the case of People v. Roland Ramos. In a memorandum opinion, the Court ruled that the prosecutor failed to lay the proper foundation under Civil Practice Law and Procedure 4518 to support the admission of several sets of business records. As the Court stated in a seminal case…

Criminal Procedure Law section 190.75[3] prevents a prosecutor from resubmitting a charge dismissed by grand jury absent leave of court. In People v. Davis, N.Y.L.J., Jan. 6, 2010, at p.34, the prosecution presented evidence to a grand jury (“GJ1”) concerning an incident in which the defendant and a co-defendant allegedly slashed the complainant’s face with…

Among the constitutional protections afforded to Americans by the bill of rights is the Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures. Of course, under the fourth amendment, police officers are not permitted to arrest or search a person without a warrant or probable cause. There are, however, a number of exceptions to this general…

On November 18, 2009, the New York State Legislature announced the passage of Leandra’s Law. Hailed as the toughest DWI law in the nation, the legislation is designed to enhance penalties for those found guilty of drunken driving with a child passenger in the vehicle and require the installation of ignition interlock devices for all…

The New York Criminal Procedure Law sets forth a mechanism by which certain records relating to cases resulting in convictions of violations, such as Disorderly Conduct, PL 240.20, or traffic infractions, such as Unlicensed Driving, VTL 509, are either returned to the person, destroyed, or sealed. CPL 160.55. As always, this entry meant to be…

In the famous case of Brady v. Maryland (373 U.S. 83), the US Supreme Court in 1963 expanded Constitutional due process rights for criminal defendants by requiring prosecutors to disclose exculpatory material to defense counsel. “[T]he suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused upon request violates due process where the evidence is…