In many ways, a Desk Appearance Ticket does not feel like such a big deal. The arrested person is usually handcuffed and taken to a police station where they are fingerprinted. They typically wait a few hours in a holding cell until they are given a piece of paper telling them the date and location of their appearance in court. Before Desk Appearance Tickets became routine, criminal defendants could expect to get “sent downtown” and spend the night in jail before seeing a judge. Obviously, Desk Appearance Tickets are preferable for criminal defendants because they spend less time in custody and also have the opportunity to choose counsel for themselves prior to going to court.

Make no mistake, however: the issuance of a Desk Appearance Ticket is in fact an arrest – it is not “just a ticket”. More importantly for visa holders, this event is not going to “fly under the radar” with the immigration agencies. If you were arrested and given a Desk Appearance Ticket, your fingerprints and the arrest charges have been sent to a New York state agency (the Division of Criminal Justice Services) and to the FBI, which maintains a federal nationwide law enforcement database of all arrest events across the United States (the Interstate Identification Index). Visa and green card holders should understand that the immigration agencies, in processing visa renewal requests, access this database to investigate whether the visa applicant has an arrest record. Indeed, some visa holders actually receive emails from Department of Homeland Security (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) agents after their arrests, because the agency was notified of the arrest via the fingerprint database.

Generally speaking, visas will not be renewed if a visa holder has a pending (meaning unresolved) criminal case. Our office has worked with many people whose visas to work or attend school in the U.S. were denied on account of having a pending criminal case, either forcing them to return to their native country or preventing them from returning to the United States. Of course, certain types of convictions can also prevent the renewal of a visa, and can even result in removal or deportation for green card holders. The rules pertaining to the effects of various convictions are too complicated to full explain here – you should consult with an experienced attorney on the subject.

If you received a Desk Appearance Ticket, it should tell you what you can expect to be charged with when you go to court. Specifically, it will list a “Penal Law” charge with the phrase “PL” followed by a number next to the term “Top Offense Charge” or “Top Count”. The most common types of Desk Appearance Tickets include charges of Petit Larceny (or shoplifting, PL 155.25), Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree (PL 220.03), Theft of Services (PL 165.15), Criminal Possession of a Weapon (PL 265.01), Assault in the Third Degree (PL 120.00), Trespass (PL 140.10), Public Lewdness (PL 245.00), Forgery (PL 170.20), Unlawful Possession of Marijuana (PL 221.10), and Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree (PL 130.53). These charges are all misdemeanors punishable by up to 90 days or 1 year in jail.

Most individuals (without prior arrests) charged with these crimes do not incur criminal convictions. However, many of the “best” dispositions for these cases – called Adjournments in Contemplation of Dismissals (or “ACDs”) – involve long “probationary” periods of six months or a year, during which time the defendants agree to remain arrest free and complete community service or counseling in exchange for a dismissal of the charges. Dismissals are generally great for defendants, so it is hard to refuse such an offer from the prosecutor and court, normally. Unfortunately for visa holders, these “probationary periods” sometimes overlap with the deadlines for renewals of their visas, and since the criminal charges are technically still pending during these probationary periods, visas can and will be denied during these periods. There are a number of possible solutions to this problem. Oftentimes, we seek to have court dates advanced for our clients to avoid deadline problems, meaning that the cases are brought to court sooner than originally scheduled. Sometimes we are able to convince prosecutors to dismiss charges outright. Other times, we simply petition prosecutors to shorten the “probationary periods” on the ACDs to give our clients the opportunity to apply for their visas without this impediment for renewal.

Criminal defendants holding visas and facing Desk Appearance Tickets should also consult with an attorney prior to traveling abroad. New executive orders signed by the President have complicated foreign travel for such individuals. Indeed, foreign visa holders could risk being denied re-entry into the United States by traveling while a criminal case is pending.

Our attorneys regularly represent foreign citizens charged with Desk Appearance Tickets. In fact, on account of our close relationships with several foreign consulates in New York City, over half of our criminal defense clients are citizens of foreign nations. As a result, we understand the unique challenges that holders of green cards of visas face after receiving a Desk Appearance Ticket, and we understand how to best help our clients avoid serious consequences for their visas or immigration status. We have helped countless individuals with F1, K1, H1B, J1, O1, E3, H2B, B1, and other visas remain in the United States so that they could pursue their careers and educational opportunities, and we are proud to have been able to do so.

If you or a loved one are a foreign citizen and have received a Desk Appearance Ticket, you should seriously consider the experienced criminal defense attorneys at the Law Office of Matthew Galluzzo. Their team of former Manhattan prosecutors will help you navigate the confusing criminal-immigration system and work with your immigration attorneys to do everything possible to ensure that your application for a renewal of your visa or green card is unaffected by these criminal charges.

The most common illegal knife charge in New York is Penal Law § 265.01, or Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree, a Class A misdemeanor. A person is guilty of this charge when he or she possesses any… gravity knife, switchblade knife, pilum ballistic knife, metal knuckle knife, or cane sword (among other items). The most typical arrests are for so-called gravity knives and switchblade knives.

GRAVITY KNIVES

A gravity knife is specifically defined in Penal Law Section 265.00(5) as “any knife which has a blade which is released from the handle or sheath thereof by the force of gravity or the application of centrifugal force which, when released, is locked in place by means of a button, spring, lever or other device.”

Knife manufacturers, enthusiasts, and historians would correctly point out that the gravity knife was originally designed for paratroopers in World War II. Paratroopers needed a blade that they could open with just one hand to free themselves from entanglements in trees. Thus, the gravity knife had a long thin blade that would fall out of the top of its handle when released, and lock into place. Unlike so many of the knives seized by police in New York nowadays as purported “gravity knives,” there was no lever or folding action to the original gravity knife. This video below demonstrates the traditional “gravity knife” originally used by paratroopers.

However, New York state courts and law enforcement have expanded this definition of the gravity knife to include folding knives that can be flicked open with one hand. Even knives that were not originally designed to flick open with one hand can still be illegal if the folding hinge has become so loose as to allow a skilled police officer to flick it open forcefully with one hand. The person in the video below demonstrates this wrist flick with a folding knife that would certainly be considered a “gravity knife” under Penal Law Section 265.00(5). Note: physicists might argue that the actual force being used to open the knife is centripetal force, rather than centrifugal force, but to our knowledge this argument has never been successful in a New York criminal court.

SPEED ASSIST KNIVES AND SWITCHBLADESAnother confusing situation involves “speed-assist” knives, sometimes colloquially referred to as Kershaw knives. These type of knives can be opened with one hand by pushing on a button that triggers an internal spring that locks the blade quickly and easily into place. Though these are not the sorts of items that we traditionally think of as “switchblades,” we have seen individuals charged with possessing switchblades under Penal Law 265.01 for having them. Indeed, one of our attorneys tried just such a case before a jury (and ultimately achieved an acquittal by convincing the jury that it was not a switchblade). Nonetheless, law enforcement officers – especially police officers in the City – continue to treat these types of knives as illegal switchblades.Below is a link to a video showing various “traditional switchblades” at work.

Below is a link to the “speed-assist knife,” oftentimes mistakenly charged as a switchblade in New York.

Below is a video comparing the automatic switchblade to the speed-assist knife.

These issues can prove especially harrowing for individuals that have criminal records, because any individual with a prior criminal conviction – even an old misdemeanor – found to be in possession of such an illegal knife can be charged with a felony. Penal Law Section 265.02 (Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree) makes it a Class D felony to commit the crime of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree (subsections 1, 2, 3, or 5) in cases in which the defendant has previously been convicted of any crime. Thus, a person with a previous old conviction for a single minor misdemeanor could potentially face a jail sentence in excess of one year for simply possessing one of these illegal blades.

NYC Administration Code § 10-133 prohibits the possession of the two main types of knives. First, subdivision (b) makes it illegal to carry a knife with a blade length of four inches or more. Obviously, the average chef’s knife has a blade that long, as do many folding knives used for hunting or fishing. Fortunately, subdivision (b) does permit you to carry such a knife “to or from a place where it is used for hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, picnicking or any employment, trade or occupation customarily requiring the use of such knife.” In our experience, though, police officers are frequently not persuaded by the explanation that the knife is used at work to open boxes, and will issue a ticket anyway. You can also avoid a conviction for this violation if you can show that the knife “is being transported directly to or from a place of purchase, sharpening or repair, packaged in such a manner as not to allow easy access to such knife while it is transported”. So, if you just bought a long kitchen knife from Bed Bath & Beyond, you can safely take it home so long as it remains in the package. There are various other exceptions for the four-inch blade rule that are rarely applied (see below).
But even knives with blades shorter than four inches can still get you in trouble if they are publicly displayed or worn. Subdivision (c) of NYC A.C. § 10-133 makes it illegal “for any person in a public place, street or park, to wear outside of his or her clothing or carry in open view any knife with an exposed or unexposed blade unless such person is actually using such knife for a lawful purpose as set forth in subdivision d of this section.” Basically, this means that should not carry your clip-on knife on the outside of your clothing.
The full list of exceptions to the rule prohibiting publicly displayed knives and knives with blades of four inches or more is in subsection (d) of Administrative Code 10-133, and includes: 1) persons in the military service of the state of New York when duly authorized to carry or display knives pursuant to regulations issued by the chief of staff to the governor; (2) police officers and peace officers as defined in the criminal procedure law; (3) participants in special events when authorized by the police commissioner; (4) persons in the military or other service of the United States, in pursuit of official duty authorized by federal law; (5) emergency medical technicians or voluntary or paid ambulance drivers while engaged in the performance of their duties; or (6) any person displaying or in possessin of a knife otherwise in violation of this section when such knife (a) is being used for or transported immediately to or from a place where it is used for hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, picnicking or any employment, trade or occupation customarily requiring the use of such knife; or (b) is displayed or carried by a member of a theatrical group, drill team, military or para-military unit or veterans organization, to, from , or during a meeting, parade or other performance or practice for such event, which customarily requires the carrying of such knife; or (c) is being transported directly to or from a place of purchase, sharpening or repair, packaged in such manner as not to allow easy access to such knife while it is transported; or (d) is displayed or carried by a duly enrolled member of the Boy or Girl Scouts of American or a similar organization or society and such display or possession is necessary to participate in the activities of such organization or society.

If you or a loved one have been arrested or given a Desk Appearance Ticket or summons for a knife offense in New York, you should strongly consider contacting the experienced criminal defense attorneys at the Law Office of Matthew Galluzzo. They have had significant success in defending against all types of knife possession charges and are prepared to assist you as well.