Over 7 million people are reported to have criminal background information in the state of New York as of the end of 2012 according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, and that number has only increased since then.  This makes up approximately one-third of the population of New York State who may suffer often unexpected collateral consequences as a result of a criminal conviction.

Earlier this month, Michael Cibella, as President of the Kings County Criminal Bar Association, organized a Continuing Legal Education program to examine the myriad of potential collateral consequences of criminal convictions here in New York State. These consequences can affect your right to enter or remain in the United States if you are not a citizen, as well when searching for employment, student financial aid and housing.

Crime impacts many people within the city of New York every year. Many thousands fall victim to various crimes, while others, who either committed a crime or are accused of committing a crime, fall victim to going through the criminal justice system without adequate representation. The more serious the charges and crime, the bigger the risk the accused party takes by working with an overworked public defender.

A subway snatch and run with a twist

Allegations of committing a white collar crime are nothing to brush off. Although these crimes are generally non-violent in nature, they can come with harsh criminal penalties. As a result, anyone charged with a white collar crime should take the charges seriously.

The first step is to have a better understanding of the charges. One common white collar crime is tax fraud. Anyone facing tax fraud charges can benefit from the following information.

Criminal charges were recently dropped against the Bronx cab driver who beat his wife’s would be rapist to death last May. Mamadou Diallo initially faced assault and weapons charges after bludgeoning Earl Nash to death with a tire iron. Nash was a career criminal who had knocked on the door and pushed his way into the Diallo apartment in the Claremont Village neighborhood. He proceeded to punch Diallo’s wife, Nenegale, several times in the face, telling her he wanted to rape her as he tore clothes off of her body. A Diallo cousin who was also in the apartment at the time, helped fight off Nash and he eventually fled the apartment.

Diallo’s wife had immediately called her husband after the attacker fled and told him what had happened. Diallo, who had been out parking his car, rushed in and met Nash at the elevator. When his wife pointed at Nash, saying he was the attacker, Diallo proceeded to beat Nash for two minutes. Nash later died from his wounds in a hospital, which led to the death being ruled a homicide in August.

Almost everyone has heard of their “Miranda” rights, but not everyone may understand the history behind the rights, or even what is specifically granted by these rights. So let’s talk about that today.

Miranda rights are named after a famous Supreme Court case from 1966. The case stemmed from a 1963 arrest of Ernesto Miranda, who confessed to crimes after hours of interrogation. However, the police never informed Miranda of his right to legal counsel, and as such his confession was ultimately inadmissible. The 1966 case gave us “Miranda” rights, and they read as such:

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.”

Should juveniles ages 16 and 17 be automatically charged as adults in criminal cases? Until this week, New York laws stated that they should.

On Sunday, April 9, New York approved legislation in the state budget to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 18. Under a new system, to be launched over the several years, 16- and 17-year-olds will go through the family court or new youth courts and be incarcerated in juvenile facilities instead of adult prisons.

Doctors would probably never think that prescribing medication to patients could land them in jail. After all, if someone is in pain it is the duty of medical professionals to help them, right?

According to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Center for Disease Control (CDC), there is a fine line between performing your duty of care and over-prescribing – particularly in terms of opioids.

Washington D.C. was the scene of a bizarre incident recently where an explosion at a police evidence vault left one person injured and a bevy of evidence in the vault “significantly” damaged. 150 packets of evidence were deemed “significantly damaged” out of the 52,000 narcotic evidence packets that were contained in the vault. The incident is still under investigation, but at this time a lot of questions are surrounding the evidence contained in the locker.

Let’s begin with the most obvious question: what does it mean for the evidence to be “significantly” damaged? The significance of the word “significantly” is profound in this context. Does it mean that the evidence is beyond recognition or unable to be analyzed? If so, would the cases tied to those pieces of evidence be thrown out?

Anyone who is charged with driving under the influence of drugs has a lot to lose. This is even more so the case if you hold a job as a teacher, police officer, or high-ranking business executive.

While driving under the influence of drugs may not be as common as driving under the influence of alcohol, it is still a major problem in the United States. For example, a 2010 survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration notes that approximately 10 million Americans drove under the influence of an illegal drug.

Authorities recently arrested several people whom the police say were selling drugs in what was described as a “quiet” neighborhood in upper Manhattan. Although the police arrested 21 people and brought them before a local judge, 11 other suspects reportedly remained at large. It is not clear whether additional arrests have been made.

The judge conducting the initial hearing entered not guilty pleas on behalf of those detained and ordered them to be remanded into custody without the possibility of bail. The group faces conspiracy and other allegations of committing drug crimes. The alleged leaders of the group face the possibility of between 25 years and a lifetime in prison, if convicted.