Drug Possesion

Published on: August 6, 2012

Court Determines Confession is not Valid

by Stephen Bilkis

New York statutory law requires that certain crimes be convicted only if there is corroboration that the event took place. If there is no corroboration, then the defendant cannot be found guilty. However, the statutory law does not include this requirement for corroboration if the crime that has been committed is a misdemeanor. In 2011, a defendant challenged his conviction on misdemeanor driving while under the influence, because he claims that the admission of the evidence does not provide corroboration of the crime by the admission of additional evidence.

The prosecution claims that on the night that he was arrested, he was not guilty of any illegal action. A New York Drug Possession Lawyer said he contends that an officer approached him while he was standing next to a car. He was not physically in control of the vehicle at the time that he was approached. The police officer contends that he observed an obviously intoxicated man standing next to a vehicle. He stated that the defendant had watery eyes, slurred speech, was unsteady on his feet and had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on or about his clothing. He asked the defendant if he had been driving the vehicle and the defendant told the officer that he had. The officer arrested him for driving while under the influence of alcohol and transported him to the location of the intoximeter breathalyzer machine. The defendant was requested to blow his breath into the machine. The machine reported that the defendant had a blood alcohol content of .141 which is considered to be over the legal limit.

The defendant stated that because there was no corroborating evidence that he had been driving the car except for his confession, that the confession is not valid. The Supreme Court evaluated the problem. They observed that although the legislature intentionally put a statement into action in regards to felony confessions, they did not list a corroborating evidence clause in misdemeanor cases. A New York Drug Crime Lawyer said the court is certain that the absence of this corroborating evidence clause was not merely an oversight. Since, the legislature saw fit to include the corroborating evidence clause in the felony statute, it stands to reason that the failure to include this clause in the misdemeanor segment of the statute is clearly the intent of the statute. If the legislature had intended that corroborating evidence is necessary if a defendant confesses to a misdemeanor offense, they would have specifically spelled out that qualification in the law. A Suffolk Drug Possession Lawyer said because it is not spelled out in the law, the court does not find that it would be appropriate to assume an intent that has not been demonstrated.

Published on: August 6, 2012

Probable Cause Questioned in Drug Crime

by Stephen Bilkis

Drug offenses are governed by numerous laws of varying degrees. Each one is reliant on the laws of search and seizure at the federal and state level to ensure that the officers and prosecutors do not overstep their boundaries in a zealous attempt to make more cases. A New York Criminal Lawyer said if they do, then they jeopardize the trust that the citizens have placed in them. The laws of search and seizure are in place to protect all citizens from illegal intrusions into their homes and businesses. If the prosecutorial team violates that trust, then it is a threat to the freedom of all people, not just the defendant in the drug crime case.

On January 19, 1973, at around 7:30 at night, a narcotics officer was observing activity in a known high drug trafficking area from the roof top of an eighteen story building. He observed a man approach a suspected drug dealer and offer him money. The suspected dealer refused the money and the man produced a larger amount from his pocket. The dealer accepted that amount and left to enter a building. He came back a short time later and put his hand on top of the recipient’s hand in an awkward hand shake. The officer stated later in court that in his experience, that type of hand motion is used to conceal the passing of narcotics from one person to another.

The observing officer communicated with a uniformed chase officer on the roadway that he had observed the drug transaction. He described the defendant by his physical description and by his clothing. He told the chase vehicle that the defendant was walking down the roadway toward his location. He observed the recipient as he walked right up until his contact with the chase officer when the observing officer told the chase officer that it was the man right next to him.

Published on: August 6, 2012

Court Hears Illegal Abortion Case

by Stephen Bilkis

In 1955, abortion was illegal in New York State. That meant that the only termination of a valid pregnancy was if it was necessary to save the life of the mother. In the case of an abortion to save the life of the mother, it is called a therapeutic abortion. In legal terms, an abortion is any pregnancy that is spontaneously or induced to be terminated. In a spontaneous abortion, the pregnancy is terminate by a cause that is a natural act that is either normal or abnormal. The key is that a spontaneous abortion is one that occurs without any outside force being placed upon it either legally or illegally. A New York Criminal Lawyer said the code section that applied to abortions in New York in 1955 was the Sanitary Code of the City of New York § 224. At the opposite end of the spectrum defined by §224, is the induced abortion. An induced abortion is one that is caused by a person by artificial means. An induced abortion may be caused by a doctor, nurse, layperson, or even the woman herself.

A spontaneous abortion is most commonly referred to as a miscarriage and cannot be governed by the laws of society. In 1955, the prosecutors became concerned that there were illegal abortions being performed by a local hospital. The District Attorney of Kings County went to the Grand Jury of Kings County and requested an inquest to determine if the hospital was covering up illegal abortions. A Nassau County Criminal Lawyer said they stated that they thought that the doctors were not reporting the illegal abortions that were brought to them.

The law stated that anytime that a woman arrived at the hospital and the doctor believed that she had attempted to perform an illegal abortion on herself that they had to call the police and report the incident. The police would arrive and charge the woman with the misdemeanor offense of inducing an abortion in violation of the laws of the state. If a woman presented at the hospital and someone else had attempted to perform an illegal abortion on her, the doctors are responsible for notifying the authorities to come to the hospital and investigate the situation. The hospital administrator is responsible for keeping track of all of the numbers of miscarriages and abortions that are treated at the hospital. These statistics are turned in to the state and are reviewed. In reviewing these statistics, the District Attorney determined that they were not accurate. He had no proof that they were not accurate, only that he believed that they were not being reported correctly.

Published on: August 2, 2012

Defense Argues Probable Cause Not Present

by Stephen Bilkis

A woman is charged with three counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon. She has moved to suppress the firearms that were seized from her and her boyfriend’s house following the issuance of a search warrant that was targeted not at her, but at her boyfriend. She contends that the search warrant violated her constitutional rights because there was an absence of probable cause to search the premises. Furthermore, there was a lack of sufficient evidence to believe that the woman’s boyfriend lived at the house and the inclusion in the warrant of a no-knock provision was unjustified.

A New York Criminal Lawyer said that in June 12, 2008, a police officer obtained a no-knock search warrant to search the premises of a house in New York, where the woman resides with her boyfriend. Specifically, the warrant was sought to permit a search for marijuana possession, firearms, and ammunition.

According to his warrant application, the police officer believed that the woman’s boyfriend, whom he had been trying to put on surveillance, was a marijuana dealer. The police officer obtained information from the gas and electric company that an individual identified as the woman’s boyfriend used the gas & electric utility services.

Published on: August 1, 2012

Defendant Charged with Cocaine Possession

by Stephen Bilkis

A man was standing in the corridor of a public housing project in Manhattan. A New York Criminal Lawyer said the housing projects are known to be a place frequented by drug dealers, drug addicts, those publicly drinking alcohol, trespassers and other persons engaged in criminal acts. Police officers have been assigned to conduct floor-by-floor patrols of the housing projects because of the prevalence of the crime in those areas.

On February 28, 2010, two veteran NYPD police officers made floor-by-floor patrol of a housing project in Manhattan. The police officers asked anyone they encounter in the housing projects their names, their addresses and even ask where they are going. When the police found persons in the corridors who are not tenants of the public housing apartment building they are patrolling, they ask for the persons reasons for being there. A New York Criminal Lawyer said they asked whether they are visiting, they asked the name and apartment number of the person they visited and they confirm with the tenant.

When the police officers encounter people who claim to be residents, they ask the people to prove their identity and prove their residence in the building by asking them for their key and asking for any identification that states their residence in the building.

Published on: August 1, 2012

Defense Moves to Supress Evidence

by Stephen Bilkis

A detective led a police team that was investigating the deaths of a two man. The bodies of the two victims were discovered in the bathroom of the other man’s apartment. Both men had been bound with duct tape and shot through the head. A New Criminal Lawyer said when the detective and his colleague went to the apartment, they smelled a strong odor of marijuana and observed marijuana residue. The police later discovered that the other man had been a low-level drug dealer.

A witness, who claimed to have been a close friend of the other victim undergone interview with the detective, during their discussions, the witness stated that he knew the victim and they had been friends for fifteen years. The witness also stated that the victim had been a marijuana dealer with regular clientele. He also revealed that he had been present in the victim’s apartment when the victim sold between a half-pound and a pound of marijuana to another man. The witness also asserts that the victim had also been well acquainted with his client, whom he sold the pound of marijuana. A New York Criminal Lawyer said the witness further states that the victim told him about a shipment of 30 to 50 pounds of marijuana and had some out-of-town buyers for it. The victim was nervous about so large a shipment and his client was present when the victim mentioned the prospective sale to the witness.

A New York Criminal Lawyer said the police utilized the information from the witness to obtain a photograph of the victim’s client. They put the photograph into a computer-generated photo array which they showed the witness. The witness identified the person pictured in the photograph as the client who purchased the marijuana from the victim. The police also obtained a number of addresses of locations that were linked to the client. A New York Drug Possessionhttp://http://www.newyorkcriminallawyer24-7.com/lawyer-attorney-1732528.html Lawyer said another detective informed the head detective that the victim’s client had a reputation for robbing drug dealers. At about 7:00 pm that same day, the detectives visited one of the apartments in the hope of finding the victim’s client.

Published on: July 31, 2012

Court Decides if Defendant is Eligible for Resentencing

by Stephen Bilkis

The Facts:

On 16 October 1994, defendant was arrested for selling $20 of cocaine to an undercover police officer. On 27 January 1997, he was convicted of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree (drug possession). He was sentenced as a Second Felony Offender to concurrent indeterminate prison sentences of 5 1/2 to 11 years. He was convicted in that case of. On 19 May 1999, defendant was released on parole.

Approximately 6 months later, he was arrested for another drug sale charge. On 4 August 2000, he pled guilty to Attempted Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a class C felony. A New York Criminal Lawyer said he then apparently failed to appear in court for sentencing and a bench warrant for his appearance was issued on 28 February 2001. He was returned on that warrant a little more than two years later on 2 May 2003. He was sentenced upon that conviction on 12 June 2003 to an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment with a term of 3 1/2 to 7 years.

Published on: July 31, 2012

Teenager Charged with Cocaine Possession

by Stephen Bilkis

On January 23, 1990 a police detective was looking through a one-way mirror at the passengers lined-up waiting for a bus to go to Virginia. The detective noticed a girl who looked no more than 13 years old lined up all by herself without a parent or guardian travelling with her. The detective also noticed that she had a bulge underneath her zipped-up coat.

A New York Criminal Lawyer said aware that some drug dealers used teenagers as drug mules to bring drugs across through state lines, and fearing that the teenager may be a runaway, the detective approached her and talked to her.

The detective sat behind her on the bus. The detective asked her first if she didn’t mind speaking to her and she assented. He asked her if she was travelling alone, how old she was and where she was headed. The girl confirmed that she was travelling alone and that she was on her way to visit family in Norfolk. She also claimed that she was 18 years old.

Published on: July 30, 2012

Attorney Disbarred for Criminal Offense

by Stephen Bilkis

This matter deals with David A. Appell, who is an attorney and the respondent in the case. The petitioner in the matter is the Departmental Disciplinary Committee for the First Judicial Department. The case is being heard in the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, First Department.

A New York Criminal Lawyer said this is a disciplinary proceeding that has been instituted by the Departmental Disciplinary Committee for the First Judicial Department.

Case Background

Published on: July 29, 2012

Case Brought for Defrauding Investment Companies

by Stephen Bilkis

The plaintiffs and appellants in the matter are B.B.C.F.D., S.A., etc., et al. The defendants and respondents in the case are Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd., et al., and Mina Persyko. The case is being heard in the First Department, Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York.

A New York Drug Crime Lawyer said the plaintiff in this matter is seeking to appeal a verdict that was made on the 7th of November, 2008. The previous order dismissed some of the claims that were made by the plaintiff and denied the motion from the plaintiff to recall and modify the complaint.

Case Background