Sex Crimes

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 4, 2012

Defendant Set Up in Sting Operation

by Stephen Bilkis

When police officers make an arrest, it is important that they do so in the proper jurisdiction. The case must then be presented to the Grand Jury if it is a felony. A New York Criminal Lawyer said hat Grand Jury must be in the correct venue to draw an indictment. If it is not, then the case is not legal. One such case was served as a motion from a defendant on June 5, 2005. The defendant claimed that the indictment against him needed to be dismissed because the crime had not occurred in New York County.

The police detective contends that over a period of several weeks, he had telephone conversations with a confidential informant. This informant provided him with information that the defendant and several of his friends had a plan to rob some drug dealers. He stated that the group planned to stockpile some weapons (possession of a weapon) and create a robbing gang. This gang would target drug dealers and rob them of their drugs and cash. The informant contacted the police department. The police detective told the informant to give this robbing gang bad information about a non-existent drug dealer who had 60 kilos of cocaine and a large amount of money. The gang began to make their plans. The detective told the informant that the address that he was to give to the gang was an address in the Bronx. The defendant and his accomplices were arrested and indicted. They maintained that none of the telephone conversations that were the crux of the case occurred in New York County. Because they did not occur in New York County, the state could not prosecute the crimes of conspiracy to commit a crime and the numerous other charges that the gang was indicted on.

The prosecutor makes the argument that the intended target was an address in the Bronx which was in New York county. The prosecutor contends that the intended target would make the case venue New York County. The Supreme Court disagreed. A Long Island Criminal Lawyer said they made several disparaging remarks directed at the prosecutor and at the detectives involved in this case. They contend that the detective did not ascertain the jurisdiction that he or the confidential informant were in at the time that the phone calls were made. Since the jurisdictional issues cannot be formulated based on the locations of each party to the calls, then the court is not able to establish venue for the hearings. They contend that the argument that would apply the jurisdictional issue to the proposed target location is not realistic. The court contends that the crime took place at the location in which one or both of the parties to the telephone conversation were located at the time of the conversation. If the jurisdiction cannot be determined, then the case is not able to continue.

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 3, 2012

Court Determines if New Sentencing Statute Applies

by Stephen Bilkis

The Facts:

On 15 December 1981, defendant was convicted of several drug crimes (which includes marijuana possession, heroin possession, etc.), viz: Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree, Conspiracy in the Second Degree and Criminal Use of Drug Paraphernalia in the Second Degree. Defendant was sentenced to various terms of imprisonment.

The Issue:

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 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 Moves to Suppress Physical Evidence

by Stephen Bilkis

The Facts:

An NYPD Officer, a nine-year veteran, investigates drug sales in lower Manhattan. He has made 500 narcotics-related arrests.

A New York Criminal Lawyer said that on 28 February 2010, the officer and his partner entered the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) building. They were there to conduct a vertical floor-by-floor patrol of the premises during which the officers search for loiterers, drug users, people consuming alcohol and trespassers. In housing projects, unlike police procedures applicable to private apartment buildings, officers may question anyone they encounter to determine whether they are on the premises lawfully. Sometimes, at his discretion, the officer requires that purported residents provide identification or a key. Such individuals must prove that they are not trespassers and persons claiming to be legitimate visitors must also supply corroboration.

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: 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.