Nassau

Published on: August 3, 2012

Court Questions if Search Warrants are Needed for Infractions

by Stephen Bilkis

The changes in the state of the economy have produced changes in living arrangements for many people. Most cities in the United States have legal codes that detail what type of structure a building is. If the structure is not zoned as a multiple family dwelling, it is illegal to use it as one. With the downturn of the economy, many larger homes in New York have been purchased by slum lords who illegally subdivide them into multiple family dwellings. A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said when a code enforcement agent is notified that an illegal boarding house is in existence, they must investigate the claim. Some of the indicators that they look for that suggest that a house is being used as an illegal rooming house involve the existence of extra kitchens, plumbing, or bedrooms located in a basement. Sometimes a home will have a mother-in-law suite in the basement that is occupied by a close relative. That is not an illegal boarding arrangement even if the relative helps with the bills on the house. If the mother-in-law suite is occupied by a family who is paying rent to the homeowner and is not related to the homeowner, they are probably in violation of the city codes.

When two distinct families are residing in a house that is zoned as single family dwellings, the homeowner could be found to be in violation of the housing codes. Another red flag that may expose an illegal rooming house is if the code enforcement investigator observes evidence that there are separately keyed entrances, or key locked doors on individual rooms within the house. Individual locks indicate that separate privacy zones exist in the house. A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said that these separate zones are the sleeping quarters of persons who are either distantly related, or not related at all to the home owner, it is possible that the homeowner is in violation of the housing codes.

Other evidence can also demonstrate that a house is being used as an illegal rooming house. One way that an illegal rooming house is exposed is often through the utility usages of the home. When more than the normal number of people are living in a single family dwelling, the utility usage becomes extreme. One of the first indicators of a large number of people in a single family house is an increase in garbage that is put out to be collected. More people make more trash. They also use more water and electricity. A spike in either of these utilities can indicate that a single family zoned home is being used as an illegal boarding house. Code enforcement agents may use search warrants, but they are rarely necessary in the course of their investigations. Some code enforcement agents in larger cities often use search warrants because it is the only way to see inside of the residence if the people living there refuse to allow them access. A Suffolk County Sex Crime Lawyer said when they do obtain search warrants, they are generally limited to warrants that are executed during the day, or other times when the intrusion is less invasive than execution of a warrant in the middle of night. The execution of a code enforcement warrant should be less of an intrusion into the private lives of the citizens of the jurisdiction than the execution of a criminal warrant. However, when law enforcement officers are involved, their expertise is often limited to criminal warrants and most have never served a code enforcement warrant in their careers.

Published on: August 2, 2012

Defendant Does his Own Research of Sex Offender Registration Act

by Stephen Bilkis

Statutory law is not as fluid as case law, but there are frequently changes that occur in the law that require the courts to adjust their actions in different cases. A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said tne case presented in New York, involved an inmate who wanted to be resentenced under the Sex Offender Registration Act. His argument was that he was sentenced as a higher level sex offender than he actually was. He wanted to be reclassified in order to obtain a lighter sentence and less controls on his liberty upon his release. He prepared his argument himself and incorporated his defense into a letter to the courts.

The court officers were impressed with his ability to research the law and to apply his research to his current case. He located a 1909 penal law that the court was not even aware existed. A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said his contention that the law established sentencing provisions that should apply to his case was an intriguing notion to the court. However, the court did not agree that the differences between the 1909 and the 1967 penal law established a premise to bring otherwise ineligible sentences under provisions that would enable them to be resentenced under the 2009 DLRA. The defendant stated that the 2005 provisions for DLRA are overly complicated is an opinion that is shared by the court. It does not enable the court to ignore the standards of law that are presented. The 2009 provisions are not as restrictive as the 2005 DLRA, but the two statutes are different. They do not negate the applicability of the case law.

The defendant argues that certain statements regulating the calculations of repeat felony offenders that are present in the 2009 DLRA mirror the wording of Article 70. He contends that this wording makes it possible for certain repeat felony offenses to be recalculated for the purposes of resentencing and eligibility for resentencing under the SORA statute. The court does not agree with his argument. The calculation provisions that are in place are there to restrict the offenders of violent or sexual offenses. A Nassau County Sex Crimes Lawyer said these provisions are aimed at offenders who are likely to repeat their offenses and endanger the public welfare. The court reviewed the subject’s history and determined that he would not be eligible for resentencing even if his argument was correct. It is up to the panel to determine who is and is not a good risk as far as their recidivism rates for the offenses that are listed in the law. In the case of this particular offender, he had so many offenses that even if some were reclassified, he would not have a sentence difference. According to the evaluation by the Supreme Court, his sentence of three and one half years to seven years would remain unchanged even if he were to have his offense reclassified.

Published on: August 1, 2012

Defendant Charged with Predatory Sexual Assault

by Stephen Bilkis

In New York, there are many different levels of sex crime offenders. A New York Sex Crime Lawyer said often the difference between the crimes are reduced to one or two words that are found in the different laws. In one case that occurred on May 2, 2011 and on May 14, 2011, the same offender was involved in both cases. On May 2, 2011, he was charged with sodomizing a young woman forcibly and against her will by forcing her to commit oral sex on him and then forced anal sex on her. On May 14, 2011, before he could be arrested on the first offense, he assaulted another woman. During this assault, he forcibly fondled the woman’s breasts and then raped her vaginally.

He was charged with Predatory Sexual Assault in both cases. However, his indictment passed down by the Grand Jury, only charged Predatory Sexual Assault in the case of the victim on May 14, 2011 and did not proceed on the charges of Predatory Sexual Assault in the case of the victim who was assaulted on May 2, 2011. The reason for this action, was that the charge of A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said predatory Sexual Assault requires that the action must have been taken on at least one prior occasion. In this case, a New York Criminal Lawyer the court determined that the more serious offense of Predatory Sexual Assault would only apply to the second offense with the first offense used to support the charge on the second victim. Predatory Sexual Assault is a more serious violation that is used to get serial sexual offenders off the streets longer than in the case of one time isolated incidents.

The defendant made a motion to the court to dismiss the charges in their entirety. He contends that since both cases were indicted at the same time, and the first offense was not indicted at all, that there is no precedent case to base the Predatory Sexual Assault charges on in the second offense. The prosecution contends that the Grand Jury heard the testimony in its entirety and determined that the indictment was prepared correctly. There is no wording in the legal statute that provides that the precedent case for Predatory Sexual Assault cannot be submitted at the same proceeding as the case that charges Predatory Sexual Assault. A Nassau County Sex Crimes Lawyer said the defense does not agree.

Published on: July 31, 2012

Defendant Claims Mental Illness as Defense to Sex Crimes

by Stephen Bilkis

Issues that involve mentally ill suspects can be difficult to manage in the criminal justice system. Mentally ill suspects are a special population of offenders that do not fit squarely in the legislative intent in most cases. A New York Criminal Lawyer said when a violent crime involves a person who is clearly mentally ill, the court must balance the rights of the victim’s family to see justice done with the ethical problem of managing an offender who may not be able to comprehend the trial process, his charges, or that what he did was wrong. There have been several laws throughout history that were designed to create a balance of determination where it regards mental competency to stand trial. The McNaughten Rule was the common choice for the last 100 years. The McNaughten Rule established that the offender had to know that what he had done was wrong.

In 1963, the New York Legislature passed document No. 8. On pages 18-19 of this docuent, the courts revised the McNaughten Rule’s theory of the offender knowing that what he did was wrong. The more modern view that encompasses the scientific knowledge of the day as it relates to mental illness, only requires that an offender has a substantial capacity to know or appreciate that what they have done is wrong. Some states include this wording in legal statutes that claim the person may be guilty, but still mentally ill. In states that have a guilty, but mentally ill statute, the person who is found guilty of the crime is sentenced to a mental institution until they are deemed cured, then they are transferred to a penitentiary where they will serve the remainder of their sentences. In 1970, this option was not available. One particularly heinous crime brought this legal problem to the forefront of public attention.

In 1970, a sixteen year old boy was working in a New York apartment building as a porter. One of his duties was to fix minor problems within the apartments. One day, a woman called in a problem with her blinds, the porter responded to fix them and entered her apartment. She was later found raped and brutally stabbed numerous times. The knife was left protruding from her buttocks when the offender left the scene. A New York Criminal Lawyer said before her body was found, the porter had shown up at the fire station next door to the apartment building with a severe cut on one of his hands. He told the firemen that he had cut his hand on some barbed wire. The firemen transported him to the hospital to receive stitches. The boy went home and told his mother that he had fallen on a bag that had glass in it and cut his hand. He was later arrested and told the police a different story about how he had cut his hand.

Published on: July 28, 2012

Court Looks at Sentencing in Violent vs. Nonviolent Offenses

by Stephen Bilkis

The Facts:

Defendant is charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, in violation of § 220.39(1) of the Penal Law, committed on 18 October 1973, and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, in violation of § 220.16(1) of the Penal Law, committed on 23 October 1973. The narcotic drug involved in each instance was heroin; heroin sale and heroin possession.

A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said that under the revised drug laws which became effective on 1 September 1973, each of the crimes charged is classified as an A–III felony, punishable by an indeterminate term of imprisonment, the minimum period of which, for a first offender, is from one to eight and one-third years, and the maximum of which is life imprisonment.

Published on: July 26, 2012

Court Decides Sexual Assault Case

by Stephen Bilkis

Incidents of rape and sexual assault cases involve many different laws. A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said each case is reviewed in relationship to how it addresses each element of each law. The most appropriate law or multiple laws are then charged by the prosecution. In some case, a charge is reduced to a lesser included offense because the jury or prosecutor decides that the lesser included offense if more appropriate to the actions of the charged offender. One case of this type occurred in 2008.

On May 21, 2008, a man was charged with rape. He was convicted after a jury trial on May 28, 2008 of third-degree rape, which is detailed under New York Penal Law § 130.25(3). This charge was determined by how the victim expressed her lack of consent to the sexual assault. This victim apparently never stated the actual term “no,” but rather testified that she had been crying the entire time and stating that she just wanted to go home. A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said the court concluded that any reasonable person observing this situation would conclude that the victim was not consenting to the act. The defense maintained that he did not consider her actions to be a refusal because she never actually stated that she did not want to have sex with him. The court evaluated the totality of the evidence which included the fact that this was his second or third offense of sexual assault.

They also reviewed the fact that the offender forced the woman into his apartment against her will and used threats of physical injury to prevent her from leaving. The court determined that when viewed in their entirety, the circumstances surrounding this assault clearly contained all of the necessary elements to be considered a rape. Because of this, the offender’s request to have his conviction overturned was denied.

Published on: July 24, 2012

Court Holds Defendant Fails to Establish Gender Discrimination

by Stephen Bilkis

Plaintiffs alleged that they were sexually assaulted and were subjected to unwanted and repeated sex crimes by their supervisor, one of the defendants in this case. New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said the plaintiffs were employed as data entry technician in a company engaged in children’s clothing apparel, another defendant in this case. One of the plaintiffs alleged that she underwent abortion as a result of the rape committed against her.

Defendant supervisor moved for a summary judgment to dismiss the case against him. According to the defendant, plaintiff’s testimony is incredible as a matter of law. He argued that plaintiff did not make her claim of rape until six months after the first alleged rape and four months after the second alleged rape. Additionally, there are records of numerous telephone calls and text messages between him and the plaintiff at all times of day and night, indicating that they engaged in a consensual sexual relationship Defendant supervisor’s passport unequivocally demonstrates that he was in Colombia on August 19, 2005, the date of the second alleged rape. A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said after some of the alleged acts of harassment occurred, the plaintiff signed a birthday card “Be healthy & wealthy” for the defendant on his birthday, and sent flowers to him on this occasion

The Court denied defendant supervisor’s motion for summary judgment.

Published on: July 23, 2012

Court Discusses Constitutionality of Police Stop

by Stephen Bilkis

In a criminal proceeding, a New York Criminal Lawyer said that, a computer store located at West 57th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues was burglarized. Police Officer Maselli, on patrol in an unmarked yellow cab, heard a radio run of two Black males who were involved in the burglary. A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said he proceeded to the scene of the computer crime where he spoke to the doorman of the building in which the store was located. This witness gave him the additional information that the two men were wearing blue jeans and sneakers and had last been seen running west on 57th Street toward Ninth Avenue.

A New York Criminal Lawyer said that, Maselli then began to drive around the area until he reached Eighth Avenue between 47th and 48th Streets, where he saw two Black people wearing jeans and sneakers, walking south. One, a man, was carrying what Maselli believed to be a television set. The other appeared to be female. Maselli stopped the cab approximately twenty feet from them and approached, displaying his shield, while his partner approached from the other side. Without making any inquiry whatsoever, Maselli put the two up against the wall and, after discovering that the “television” which the male put down was actually a computer, placed both under arrest. A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said the defendants were then taken to the computer crime scene where they were displayed to another witness, Linda Siegfried, who lived in an apartment above the store. After the witness identified them, defendants were taken to the stationhouse and booked; a cord belonging to the computer which Washington had been carrying was recovered from Perry’s pocket.

A New York Criminal Lawyer said that, Maselli testified to an incident prior to his initial arrival at the computer crime scene which allegedly connected Perry and Washington to the crime and explained his subsequent stop of them. Maselli told of seeing “two male blacks” turning into Eighth Avenue from 54th Street, where they had been walking in an easterly direction. One of the men was carrying a television, and it was his recollection of the two which caused him to drive to a more southerly area of Eighth Avenue after interviewing the doorman.

Published on: July 22, 2012

Court Discusses Jury Selection in Possible Death Penalty Case

by Stephen Bilkis

Crime occurs in every type of neighborhood. Domestic violence is not located in some other neighborhood, it is located in every neighborhood in the United States. When domestic violence advances to homicidal violence, it is especially tragic. A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said that family violence effects more than the two adults who participate in the fighting, it also affects the children of the adults. In some cases, the primary aggressor will batter the victim in front of the children. The effect on the mental stability of children of this type of violence is obvious. No child should have to see one of their parents murdered by the other parent, but it happens.

In a nice middle class home in Spafford, Onondage County, New York on a spring day in April of 1998 a couple determined that they could no longer remain married. Pursuant to New York divorce law, they filed a separation agreement and proceeded to wait the allotted time before they could file for the divorce. They decided that the divorce would be amicable and that they would continue to live in their home together but separately until they could file for the divorce. However, on April 21st, the couple engaged in a violent argument with their young children at home. A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said the husband and father grabbed a baseball bat and bludgeoned his wife about the head with it. During the assault, the woman cried out for her children to call the police before he killed her. The children were frozen in fear.

Following the assault, the husband realized what he had done. The wife was not dead and was moaning incoherently and bleeding profusely on the floor of the kitchen. The husband contacted his parents and they came over to help him. After his parents arrived, they summoned his brother who called a family friend who was a doctor to come with him to the house. When they arrived, they contacted the police. Upon arriving on the scene, the police found the wife still on the kitchen floor, barely alive. She had the imprint of the baseball bat in her left temple area. The husband had superficial cuts on his person that he claimed were the result of the wife attacking him with a knife from the kitchen. He stated that he had struck her in the head with the bat in self -defense.

Published on: July 21, 2012

Court Discusses Rules that Apply to Direct Evidence

by Stephen Bilkis

Many questions of law dictate the admissibility of evidence in criminal trials. One of the most common motions that are made by defense attorneys is to suppress evidence. Evidence in a criminal case may be either direct or indirect evidence. It may by physical evidence or it may be testimonial evidence. A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said because evidence is the crux of any criminal trial, it is important that the rules of evidence are followed carefully by the police and prosecution. The ability to contaminate evidence at any step in the location and collection process can have devastating results on the prosecution’s case against a defendant. Whenever a person is arrested, it is the responsibility of the police officers involved to ensure that the rules of evidence are carefully observed.

The rules that apply to direct evidence are easier to apply than those that apply to indirect evidence. Direct evidence is that evidence that directly links one particular individual to the crime that they have been charged with. Common direct evidence can be fingerprints on a murder weapon, or DNA belonging to the defendant located at the crime scene. Direct evidence must be carefully photographed, logged, isolated, and protected. A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said there must be a definable chain of custody of the direct evidence in order to maintain the validity of the evidence. If the evidence is mishandled in any way, there can be grounds to have it suppressed and not allowed to be mentioned to the jury during the trial of the person who was indicted. These rules of evidence are critical to protect the rights that American citizens hold dear. A criminal defense attorney considers himself the guardian of the rights of all American citizens to ensure that evidence that is submitted in court, has not been obtained in illegal means in violation of the United States of America’s Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution. Direct evidence is often physical evidence, but not always.

Physical evidence is evidence that has a physical component to it. Physical evidence can be a bullet, a body, or even a gun. Anything that can by physically touched is physical evidence. Physical evidence is usually direct evidence, but there are always exceptions. A Nassau County Sex Crimes Lawyer said it can be debated that photographic evidence is not physical evidence, but is actually a more solid form of indirect evidence.