New York

Published on: February 25, 2012

Court Rules on Sex Crimes Case

by Stephen Bilkis

Sex crime related cases come in unique stories of its own according to a well versed New York sex crime lawyer who has been practicing his profession for many years now. Here we talk about the case of Mustafa Rashid who was once charged for robbery, burglary, rape and sodomy. He was sentenced to eight to 16 years but was given a supervised parole after having served 11 years inside prison. After this release, unfortunately, he got into another robbery trouble again which just made everything worse for his case.

As per the facts gathered by a New York Sex Crimes Lawyer, he was sent back to prison for the violations he made. He was then again released and yet created a crime again. This happened over and over as it is one big cycle to play. He was even sent to Rikers Island where he would spend his time in a correctional facility. In this case, another lawyer involved in the research who is a New York child pornography lawyer as well believes that Rashid falls under the category of the Mental Hygiene Law. This could not work for those who are already serving their sentence but with an exception to those whose sentences have expired like Rashid.

The court then as heard by a Nassau County Sex Crimes Lawyer took the decision to send him to a treatment facility or hospital as per the Mental Hygiene Law article 9. This involves the law that any person who is mentally ill should go through proper treatment so as to not harm the society. This is just the right thing to do especially for people like Rashid who just cannot seemingly control himself from doing such crimes that hurt others and put others’ lives at risk.

Published on: February 24, 2012

Understanding How SOMTA Works For Sex Offenders Who Are Mentally Unstable

by Stephen Bilkis

There are many sex crimes these days that are discovered by or have been caused by mental health or abnormality. Aside from SORA there is also the SOMTA or what is called as the Sex Offender Management and Treatment Act which deals with sex crimes that involve the Mental Hygiene Law. In this particular case, the one accused is convicted of promoting prostitution, kidnapping and also bail jumping. He was given the charge of 9 to 18 years for kidnapping, 4 to 8 years for the kidnapping, and 3 to 6 years for the bail jumping.

The defendant forced his victim and raped her over and over again. He even forced her to be a prostitute and even physically beat her including the involvement of drugs. He was a detained sex offender who was found out to have been suffering from some kind of mental abnormality. According to a New York law as discussed by a New York Criminal Lawyer describes SOMTA as crimes that are sexually motivated.

Hence, it is the court’s decision to find out if the previous crimes committed by an accused person are motivated by a mental abnormality that is driven with the need for sex. All these should go through the proper criminal proceeding to make it very fair and carry out justice pretty well. Such acts like SOMTA are meant to protect the society from the danger of these free roaming sex offenders. It is only through the programs for treatment and proper management to help the accused to recover and have a bright future and at the same time to protect the citizens of the society.

Published on: February 24, 2012

Court Rules in Sex Crime Case

by Stephen Bilkis

Justice and fairness are the two main things that every New York sex crime lawyer aims to achieve in such cases that they handle. Majority of them are way too sensitive especially if it involves women and children. In fact, even in today’s modern times, it is easy to find also the young men being abused especially by the older pimps in the society. This particular case talks about handling juvenile cases whether it should be led to a Civil or Criminal proceeding. According to an expert New York rape lawyer, it is the petitioner who serves as the overall complainant or the victim.

The example taken was about a certain William S. who was accused of alleged sex crime acts in a total of three legal proceedings which were distinct from each of the others. This is because one crime can be deemed unrelated with each other and that it becomes totally unfair to consolidate them all just to push someone down. Other cases quite similar to that of William S. was taken into consideration for better examples to clarify the entire situation. In this case, it was about a certain Turner who was accused.

According to the New York Criminal Lawyer who once researched about the case, he was charged with killing his own mother last March 7, 1968. The other case was about being charged for the death of his grandmother at the same means of how his mother was killed – through shooting. The sides in the court requested to just consolidate the cases but before doing that, the court had to analyze well whether the two scenarios are really related to each other. And this of course, requires solid and hard evidence.

Published on: February 24, 2012

Sex Crimes Against a Minor

by Stephen Bilkis

It is the children whom we need to protect the most from the harm done by sex crime offenders lurking in the society today. However, it can be truly sad when the offender comes from within the basic unit of the society which is the family. According to a New York sex crime lawyer, this is case with this particular father who was charged of rape of a minor. The unnamed suspect had sex with a minor, specifically younger than 15 years old.

He was also found to be patronizing prostitution. He was sent to spend time in prison for one year and was also released after he served the required time. By 2007, the Dutchess County Department of Social Services or the DSS filed a petition involving their being negligent parents. This was because of the scenario that the released father was still an untreated sex offender while the mother was not proven to be capable of protecting her own kids from the father.

A New York criminal lawyer who did thorough research on this learned that a caseworker from the said group investigated pretty well on the family. However, he had no proper documents at that time that would prove the father was not appropriate for his own children. The wife on the other hand testified that she was completely innocent of the crimes of her on husband. It never got into her mind that her husband would be a threat to their children for she never saw him show such a negative behavior in their family. In the end though, the Family Court made a conclusion that there was clearly a negligent act on both parents.

Published on: February 24, 2012

Defendant Charged with Sex Crimes Against a Minor

by Stephen Bilkis

These days, it is very hard to trust others especially when it comes to leaving our kids with people who you can truly rely on. There are many cases these days where nannies and even babysitters are accused of committing sex crimes that involve the children of their own employers according to a New York sex crime lawyer. This goes the same for this case that is considered as an example here in this report for you to understand better the legal proceedings for such cases. The one involved here as the accused is James Watt.

Watt was convicted of rape, sodomy and for putting into danger the welfare of a little child. A New York Sex Crime Lawyer said the crimes involved in his case are considered very heinous since it was committed against innocent and helpless tiny girls who are under 11 years old. These kids according to their parents were entrusted to him since he operates a basement based daycare center in the community. The problem that made everything worse according to another New York child pornography lawyer is that the daycare center was not registered.

All of the kids involved as victims gave their testimonies in detail even if it was really heinously specific in detail. The Nassau County Sex Crimes Lawyer backed this all up with formal medical evidence from experts done through proper medical examinations of the children. Many of them already showed suffering from diseases which are sexually transmitted. It was actually very sensitive to discuss but this could be a true learning experience for many and how they would be able to protect their children. The total number of crimes that was perpetrated against him includes twelve kids. This of course means that this case should be well investigated and be well prepared.

Published on: February 23, 2012

Court Addresses DWI Case of a Minor

by Stephen Bilkis

A man filed a legal action to discharge him against a complaint for failure to state a cause of action. It involves alcoholic beverage control law concerning underage drinking. The man states that there is no issue of fact by which he may be held liable and that no legitimate cause of action has been set forth in the complaint. The corporation, who stands as the opponent, opposed the legal action, stating that they claim a cognizable common law cause of action, and cross-move to modify their answer.

According to a New York Crimal Lawyer, said the bar (under the said corporation), who filed a complaint against the man is licensed to offer alcoholic beverages, to sell and for consumption on its premises by customers over the age of 21 years. The man at the time of the incident was a 19-year-old student. He was stopped by the police early in the morning while walking back to campus in an intoxicated state. He was brought to the police station on an unrelated matter and told the police officers that he was underage and had been drinking at the tavern earlier in the evening. He further told that he had gained access to that place by use of a false driver’s license. He purchased and was served alcoholic beverages.

The police officers then accompanied him to the bar, where he identified the employee, who used to be the longtime president of the corporation as well as the owner of the bar, as the person who had served him the alcoholic beverages. The president was charged with the penal law crime of unlawfully dealing with a child for allegedly selling alcoholic beverages. In addition, alcoholic beverage administrative proceedings were commenced against the company for the revocation of its liquor license because of the alleged sales of alcoholic beverages to several other underage college students.

Published on: February 23, 2012

Court Decides Several Sex Crimes Cases with Common Denominators

by Stephen Bilkis

Every New York sex crimes lawyer has been able to handle a wide variety of cases that deal with sexual abuse of minors and other similar scenarios. With the modern world of today becoming filled with so much of the online community, it is also common to find cases where minors are sexually abused through online chatting. This is the exact case that happened to a professional attorney who was arrested for sex chatting with a 13-year-old and even meeting up with her in person to have actual physical sexual encounter.

There were two witnesses who emerged. The first witness testified that he knew the accused attorney to be a very dignified professional. In fact, Steven J. Lever, the attorney accused, is waiting for a job offer from the firm of the first witness. The second witness is a close family friend and testified too that Lever is a very honest person aside from being smart. The first hearing led for the suspension of the attorney for six months since the court was not convinced that he really had sexual contact with the minor involved.

But as per the view of an expert New York Criminal Lawyer, the sentence for the accused should be greater than that. Anything that abuses the rights of minors should definitely pay for all the consequences that come with such actions. Another credible lawyer believes that the abuse of Internet to take advantage of minors for sex, or endangering the welfare of a child, a grave misconduct, especially for another professional who should be smarter than the average person in the society. It is just right to not let any attorneys like Lever to still practice law with such an immoral background.

Published on: February 22, 2012

Court Rules on Defendant’s Second DWI

by Stephen Bilkis

In this DWI case, the defendant has formerly entered a guilty plea to the charge of driving while intoxicated. The guilty plea of the defendant was found to be satisfactory for other charges like resisting arrest and the failure to undergo a sobriety test. Following the arraignment, the legal counsel of the defendant had filed several motions.

A New York Criminal Lawyer said the motions filed were subsequently contested until a hearing to establish probable cause was scheduled. However, the hearing did not push through on that date. The matter was dismissed later on. On the same day, a conference before the trial was held in chambers with counsels also appearing. During the conference, the prosecution offered the defendant to make a guilty plea on his charges to reduce his sentence if convicted.

Before taking the plea offer of the prosecution, the court advised the defendant of his constitutional right to appear before the jury and stand on trial. The court also advised him that the prosecution had the burden of finding evidence against him. This means that the jury must be unanimous in convicting the defendant.

Published on: February 22, 2012

Court Decides Sex Crimes Case

by Stephen Bilkis

Many cases in court somehow prolong before a decision is called especially when the corroboration is set to be enforced. In this case presented by a New York sex crimes lawyer, the case of Roger Doyle is set to be a rape case but they fight on the non-corroboration of other crimes that he is accused of like larceny, robbery and event assaults. He was believed to have risked the welfare of a child along with committing sexual abuse under the Penal Law which was made effective last September 16, 1967.

The complainant made a testimony against Doyle for intercourse and sodomy. The complainant’s side truly wanted to have the valid conviction of the accused for a case of consummated rape without the case of corroboration. As per the law, any individual can be deemed guilty of sexual abuse in the third degree if he creates sexual contact with another without getting the consent. It was compared to another case such as that of English. In that case though, a consummated rape happened but the accused was acquitted from it and instead was charged for assault, robbery and larceny.

Another Nassau County Sex Crimes Lawyer also compared it to other cases like that of Lo Verde, Young, Moore and Radunovic. In those cases, the rationale presented was still clearly valid for the prosecutors then cannot avoid the requirements of corroboration for the crime of rape. The concept of corroboration requires some limits. It is clear when a rape has happened, the sexual abuse in the third degree would be interdependent with the rape meaning it is related to it in an intrinsic level. This means that it is in aid affecting the crime if there would a testimony that would really prove its relation to it.

Published on: February 21, 2012

Court Rules on Vehicuclar Manslaughter Case

by Stephen Bilkis

A driver from New York appealed when he was convicted of the crimes of vehicular manslaughter in the second degree and two counts of DWI (driving while intoxicated) and the traffic infraction of failure to keep right.

In tne early morning, following an evening of drinking at a bar, the defendant commenced driving his car with one passenger in the front and the victim, who was acutely intoxicated in the back seat. Shortly afterwards, the defendant was involved in a single vehicle accident, in which his car struck a guide rail, crossed the road and went into a ditch. Although the front seat passengers were not seriously injured, the one seated at the back died. A New York Criminal Lawyer said the pathologist who conducted the autopsy concluded the cause of death was Aspiration gastric contents due to Concussion. A jury found the defendant guilty on all four counts. His subsequent sentence included a prison term, a fine and restitution for vehicular manslaughter, one year in jail on each of the driving while intoxicated counts, and a fine for failure to keep right. All the prison terms were concurrent.

Records revealed that the defendant argues that his conviction of vehicular manslaughter in the second degree was not supported by legal sufficient evidence. When analyzing legal sufficiency, the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution and determine whether there is a valid line of reasoning for a rational jury to have found beyond a reasonable doubt each of the essential elements of the crime. Vehicular manslaughter in the second degree is comprised of criminally negligent homicide in which the death is caused by an operator who is driving while intoxicated. The defendant contends that the evidence failed to establish criminal negligence and failed to show that his conduct caused the victim’s death.