Sex Crimes

Published on: April 20, 2012

Court Decides if Attorney Charged with Domestic Violence Should be Sanctioned

by Stephen Bilkis

In August 2005, New Jersey, respondent engaged in a physical altercation with his wife that took place in March of that year. Respondent pleaded guilty to the crime of simple assault, for which he was sentenced to one year of probation. As a result of that conviction, respondent (who is also a member of the New Jersey bar) was censured by the New Jersey Supreme Court.

A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said that on December 2007, respondent had another instance in which he struck his wife while they were on vacation in the Caribbean.

In 2008, Virginia, respondent was involved in a domestic dispute with his wife in March of that year. The altercation culminated in respondent striking and restraining his wife, causing physical injuries to her that required medical attention. Respondent was arrested and subsequently pleaded guilty to the felony of unlawful wounding, in violation of the Virginia Code, for which he was sentenced to three years of incarceration with all but 12 months suspended, subject to certain conditions. Upon release from prison in February 2009, respondent was placed on probation until February 2011. An order of protection was also issued, which directed respondent to stay away from his wife and to make restitution to her in the amount of $2,283.43. The Virginia conviction gave rise to the instant proceeding.

Published on: April 19, 2012

Court Decides if Medical Records are Hearsay in Domestic Violence Case

by Stephen Bilkis

The police received a 911 call from a woman who claimed to being beaten up by her husband. The police arrived at the scene within one minute of the 911 call and found that a husband was yelling and berating his wife. The man was standing over his wife who was cowered and hiding in between the furniture, hiding her face which appeared freshly bruised. She was crying.

A New York Criminal Lawyer said when the responding police officer asked her what happened, she said that her husband had punched her repeatedly in the head, the face and the back. She appeared to be bleeding from her left ear. She was in pain.

The police officer who responded executed a sworn statement stating the circumstances of his response to the 911 call. He stated that he found the couple in their home with the man standing over his wife who appeared to be in stress. She was crying and seemed to be in fear. When he asked what happened to her, she replied that her husband hit her and beat her up.

Published on: April 19, 2012

Court Determines if Probable Cause was Present for a Stop and Search

by Stephen Bilkis

At around 9pm on September 26, 1985, a police officer was on radio motor patrol. As he was driving around the area of the corner of 204th Street and 113th Avenue, the police officer observed two men standing at that corner and one of them handed to the other a plastic bag containing smaller plastic packets. A New York Criminal Lawyer said the plastic packets contained a white powder-like substance. This was not the first time the police officer had seen plastic packets with a powder-like substance in them. He knew from experience that this is the common packaging for angel dust or heroin.

The police officer parked his patrol car and exited it. As he approached the two men, he saw the one who received the plastic bag stuff the bag in his shirt pocket. He also smelled something burning. The police officer had prior experience and instantly recognized the smell of burning heroin.

As the officer approached, the two men walked away. The police officer called out to the man who received the plastic packets. The man turned around and walked back to the officer. At this time, the officer observed that the man walked stiffly as though his legs couldn’t be bent at the knees. He was uncoordinated and walked like a tin man. A New York Criminal Lawyer said his previous experience with heroin addicts signaled to him that the man was exhibiting behavior common to people under the influence of heroin.

Published on: April 19, 2012

Court Determines Custody in Light of Domestic Violence Allegations

by Stephen Bilkis

A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said that the defendant-mother (hereinafter referred to as mother) and plaintiff-father (hereinafter referred to as father) were married in December 1996 and in 2003 were physically separated when the mother left the marital residence alleging abuse against her and the children.

The mother moved for an order of custody and modification of prior orders of custody entered in the Family Court, on consent. There are two (2) children of this marriage ages 14 and 9.

On 27 June 2003 the father filed a petition for custody in Family Court, Kings County.

Published on: April 18, 2012

Defendant Seeks to Annual Special Condition of His Parole

by Stephen Bilkis

A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said a man and a woman bring a special proceeding to the court requesting to show cause and seeks to annul the special condition on the man’s’ parole from the State Division that prohibits him from living with his wife and limiting the amount of hours that he can spend with his wife.

The man was arrested for repeatedly kicking and punching an individual in the face and body together with the un-apprehended individual in a bar. The incident caused serious injuries to the victim, including two large gashes on the victim’s head. The man eventually pled guilty to assault in the second degree. The man was sentenced to two and one-half years in prison and two years of post-release supervision.

Consequently, the man appeared before the State Division. The State Division noted that the man was arrested on several occasions in another country, including two arrests for domestic violence. The man admitted to the State Division with the reason of grabbing his then girlfriend and pushing the girl into a shallow end of a pool just a few months ago. A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said the man was convicted on charges that stemmed from both arrests. The State Division also noted that the man is a violent individual and will need to be strictly monitored upon release but recommended that he be released to parole supervision.

Published on: April 18, 2012

Court Decides of Removal of Children From Home is Appropriate

by Stephen Bilkis

A New York Criminal Lawyer says that New York Statutes relating to the removal of children from their natural parents is clear. The state will do everything possible to keep families together. Often the attempt to reunite natural families does more harm than good. Being a parent is more than bringing a child into the world. It is a big responsibility. It takes maturity and strength of character. People who are addicted to drugs or alcohol do not have the ability to care for children. Their addiction can lead to a hazardous home environment for children. Unfortunately, addicted individuals often lack control over their emotions and actions. This lack of control may lead to domestic violence. A home where the parents are violent toward one another is a home filled with fear. Children are generally unsupervised and often neglected entirely.

A New York Drug Possession Lawyer said that New York authorities will remove the child or children until they feel that it is safe for them to be returned to their parents. The parents are required to attend parenting classes and often drug and alcohol treatment before the children are returned. However, sometimes the children are returned during the classes. In some cases, the parents are unable to resist the pull of their addictions and chose their addictions above the lives of their children. In these cases, the New York Family court Act §1089 details the steps that are required to free the children so that they can be adopted by parents who are capable of caring for them.

In some cases, the children are removed, and reunited numerous times over several years before the state petitions to free the children for adoption. One case of this nature began with the parents of seven young children. A New York Criminal Lawyer said the entire family lived in a one room shelter apartment together. The children, ages nine, eight, four, one ½, and five months, were born to parents who were addicted to drugs and alcohol. The father was a convicted batterer of the mother. For the following ten years, these children were removed and replaced five times. Each time, the parents would claim that they were going to take the classes. They never did. The father was enrolled in counseling for batterers, but he never attended the classes. The parents were drug tested repeatedly. Each time that they were tested, they either failed the tests or the urine samples showed that they were tampered with. Most likely when they switched urine from a child for their own in an attempt to pass the test.

Published on: April 18, 2012

Defendant Argues that Revocation of Gun License is Unfair

by Stephen Bilkis

A man had applied for and was granted target pistol licenses for his two pistols since May 1967. In 2001 the License Division of the NYPD converted all target pistol licensed into Premises Residence Licenses. Accordingly, man’s the pistol license renewal applications were converted into renewal applications for Premises Residence Licenses. On September 10, 2004, the NYPD License Division approved his renewal application and issued him a new Premises Residence License.

A New York Criminal Lawyer said that in June 2006, the NYPD received a notification that the gun licensee was arrested for a domestic dispute. The NYPD confiscated the licensed firearms. When they came to his apartment, they found two rifles in his residence which were not licensed. These were confiscated by the NYPD as well.

The police were called to the home shared by the gun licensee and his wife. The wife testified that she and her husband had a verbal dispute and as a result of their argument, the gun licensee assaulted his wife by punching her and kicking her. The wife also retaliated and assaulted her husband by punching and kicking him as well.

Published on: April 18, 2012

Robbery Defendant Seeks to Have Confession Excluded

by Stephen Bilkis

On November 22, 1965, a Supreme Court judgment was handed down convicting a man of robbery in the third degree. He pleaded guilty and was given a sentence in accordance with the fact that he was a second felony offender. He later appealed on August 9, 1965 requesting that certain evidence should be suppressed. That motion was over ruled.

A New York Criminal Lawyer said on September 30, 1965, he attempted to have his alleged confession excluded and attempted that again on November 22, 1965. Both motions to exclude his confession and to withdraw his guilty plea were reviewed. The motion to exclude his confession was denied, but his motion to withdraw his guilty plea and substitute a plea of not guilty to the indictment was granted and the case was sent to trial. On September 30, 1965, the justices reversed the conviction on the law and then agreed to exclude his confession.

The defendant in question was arrested in the act of attempting to burglarize a closed and locked business at approximately eleven o’clock at night. He was seen standing on the roof of a garage, attempting to gain entry through a closed window. The defendant refused to answer questions at the scene and a search of his person revealed that he was carrying a knife that was partially broken apparently while trying to force open the window. Also on his person, were identification cards and papers that belonged to a pharmacist who had recently been robbed.

Published on: April 18, 2012

Robbery Results in Death of Victim

by Stephen Bilkis

On December 5, 1975, an elderly woman was living alone in her home in forest Hills, New York. A New York Criminal Lawyer said her home was attached to another home on the side of it and she had difficulties getting along with her neighbor. On December 5th , burglars broke in to her home and tied and gagged her as they rummaged through her home and stole her belongings including several fur coats. A piece of cloth was shoved into her mouth to work as a gag. During the robbery or shortly thereafter, the gag that was in her mouth cut off her oxygen supply and she suffocated.

On December 12, police arrested a 58 year-old used furniture store owner in Manhattan. He was not connected to the victim by any obvious means. The police also arrested two employees of the furniture salesman. One was a man with a lengthy criminal record for possession of stolen property and the other was a seventeen year-old female who was also an employee of the shop. The trio was transported to the 106th precinct where they were Mirandized. The seventeen year old girl had a history of drug usage and the police suspected that the events of that night were fueled by the prospect that the crime might be drug related.

However, when the trio was Mirandized, the defendant store owner stated that he understood his rights and that he did not want to make any statements. He did not request an attorney. After four and a half hours, the defendant called the detective to his cell and informed him that the wanted to speak to a District Attorney about a deal in his case. The officer informed him that the District Attorneys had already gone home for the day. The detective asked him if he wanted to tell him anything and the defendant did not respond.

Published on: April 17, 2012

Husband and Wife Both Seek Custody of Children

by Stephen Bilkis

A woman and his partner both filed for child custody petition in Court. The woman was born and raised in Florida where she lived with her mother and father until her parents divorced. She continued to live with her father until she was 22 and got her own apartment. The woman’s partner was born in Puerto Rico and was raised in Bronx. He has been living in New York for the past 10 years. The parties met on line in 2002 and they actually met in person when the woman came with a friend in New York for vacation. A New York Criminal Lawyer said in May 2004, the woman invited the man down to Florida for the weekend and their relationship became intimate. At some point during their relationship, the parties made the decision to have a child together.

In October 2004 the woman learned she was pregnant and that same month, the man took his two-week vacation and went to Florida to be with the woman. He brought his daughter with him and they discussed the possibility of him moving to Florida. While he was there, he looked for a job by posting his resume on a Web site and checking the local newspapers. The father got a couple of calls but when he went to be interviewed with the County school for a job as a locksmith, he was told that he was overqualified for he was making $17 an hour at his job in New York and they were offering only $10 an hour. A Westchester County Criminal Lawyer said that alhough he said he would start at any entry level, he was not offered the job.

At the end of 2004, the woman was terminated from her job as a general claims clerk in Florida for taking more time off than her allotted annual leave would cover. Although the father admitted they had plans to move, after she lost her job, he told her they would live better in New York since he had a stable job and stable home. The man’s mother would provide childcare, and he does not want anyone but family to care for their son. The woman never wanted to move to New York but agreed to do so because she felt that it would be only temporary until they have saved money for a house and move back to Florida. The woman admitted that her partner never gave her an exact time frame but she assumed that it would be within a few years.