The indictment charges against defendant with others with various degrees of possession of a dangerous drug are as follows: Count 1: 1st degree–possession of 16 ounces and more of heroin; Count 2: 4th degree–possession of a narcotic drug (heroin) with intent to sell; and Count 3: 6th degree–possession of a…
Articles Posted in Criminal Procedure
New York law provides that the murders must have been committed by the person engaged in the commission of or an attempt to commit a felony
A man who owned a bar saw two of his customers having an argument while inside the bar. He went over to them and told them to take their argument outside. The two men left the bar and stayed on the sidewalk just outside the bar and the argument escalated…
Court Discusses Conspiracy to Sell Drugs Charges
This involves a case where the court ruled that the indictment against the defendant be reinstated. During 1981 police officers conducted a large-scale investigation into the distribution of narcotics in New York, Queens and Bronx counties. A New York Criminal Lawyer said the investigation, which included a number of drug…
Confidential Informants Can Establish Probable Cause
The April 25, 1975 affidavit of the State Police Investigator in support of the application for the warrant to search the house and automobile of the defendants contains five distinct elements which in some way indicate that defendants were keeping illicit drugs in or about their house. A New York…
Probable Cause Questioned in Drug Crime
A police officer was on patrol in her cruiser. She noticed a pick-up truck which was swerving and crossing over the solid yellow line dividing the two lanes onto the opposite lane. Then the pick-up truck swerved sharply back to its lane. The police officer then put on her siren…
Defendant Claims Due Process Rights Violated in Drug Charge
The police in Brooklyn suspected that a drug repacking business was carried out in an apartment building by the members of one family. They wrote down all the facts they have so far gathered about the heroin-repacking business in an affidavit and they applied for a search warrant. The judge…
Defendant Charged with Manslaughter in Heroin Case
The defendant, is twenty-two years of age, an admitted heroin user and, in all probability, an addict. At the time of this occurrence, he was living in an apartment over a bar located on Jericho Turnpike, Smithtown, New York. On September 9, 1971, at approximately 8:00 p.m., the victim was…
Court Decides Whether Prior DUI Convictions are Allowed as Evidence
The Facts of the Case: On 11 October 1988, the petitioner was charged in the circuit court with three traffic-related offenses. One of the charges was for DUI (DWI) in violation of the Florida Statutes, to wit: that any person who is convicted of a fourth or subsequent DUI violation…
Court Discusses Public Policy Regard Drug Treatment Programs
Plaintiff brought this action to recover damages for injuries he claims to have suffered as a result of being knocked down as he attempted to board a bus operated by the defendant which was traveling on Hylan Boulevard in Staten Island. At the time of jury selection, the plaintiff moved…
Defendants Claim Court Erred in Sentencing
The Facts of the Case: A building containing offices and retail establishments was broken into and burglarized. Moments after the silent alarm system went off, the appellants, along with a third person, were found inside including various tools that were apparently used in the burglary. Consequently, appellants were charged and…