Sample Criminal Cases-2013/2014
Case #1 - Felony Drug Possession
Client charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled
Substance in the 5th Degree, a "D Felony." Client was exposed to as much as 7 years incarceration in state prison and 5 years
post release supervision.
After investigating the facts we concluded that charges against our client were not supported
by facts that justified a felony charge based upon the specific substance involved. Multiple discussions with the District Attorney's
Office resulted in the charges being reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor. Further negotiations with the DA's office resulted
in a plea agreement that reduced the charge to a non-criminal offense. Client pled guilty and was sentenced to a small fine.
Case
#2 - Felony DWI
Client charged with felony DWI following an accident and exposed to 1-4 years incarceration and/or 5 years
probation. Charge was based on a prior conviction 2 years earlier in another state. A careful examination of the out-of-state
charge convinced us that the law in that state was not the equivalent of the law in NYS and, therefore didn't amount to a "predicate"
offense that would trigger a felony DWI charge. Based on extensive case research we provided to the District Attorney's office
they eventually agreed that they would not be able to sustain a felony DWI indictment. The charge was reduced to a misdmeanor.
Case
#3 - DWI & Refusal Revocation
Client was charged with DWI and refusing a breath test following a stop at a "DWI Checkpoint."
Cross examination of the arresting officer at the refusal hearing produced clear evidence that the checkpoint had not been conducted
in a constitutional manner. Based upon the officer's testimony at the hearing we made a motion in criminal court to suppress
all the evidence against our client. The court granted that motion and the DWI charge was dismissed.
At the NYS-DMV refusal
hearing the DMV judge found that our client had refused a breath test and revoked his driver's license for 1 year. We immediately
obtained a "stay" of the revocation and appealed the finding of the DMV judge to the DMV appeals unit. Our appeal was denied
and client's revocation was reinstated. We immediately filed an action in County Supreme Court to reverse that finding.
Upon hearing the facts of the matter the Supreme Court issued an immediate and permanent order restoring our client's license.
Case
#4 - Felony Forged Gov't Document
Client charged with possessing a forged government document, a "D Felony." Extensive
negotiations with the DA's office resulted in the charge being reduced to a non-criminal offense and client paid a small fine.
Case
#5 - Felony Assault & Grand Larceny
Client charged with multiple felonies including Assault in the 2nd Degree, Criminal Mischief
3rd and Grand Larceny, along with 2 counts of DWI. Following investigation and interviewing witnesses we were able to establish
that the client had been drugged by a companion while out at a bar. All felonies were eventually reduced to misdemeanors and
clent entered a plea to a single misdemeanor, all other charges were dismissed.
Case #6 - Driving While Ability Impaired
Client
charged with Driving While Ability Impaired when stopped by the police in the parking lot of her apartment building. Following
a detailed examination of the facts surrounding the stop we convinced the District Attorney's Office that the case
wasn't prosecutable. The DA eventually agreed to reduce the charge to a parking violation with no impact on our client's license.
Case
#7 - Felony Welfare Fraud
Client charged with felony welfare fraud. Extensive research into the case revealed that the
facts did not warrant a felony charge. Multiple meetings with the District Attorney's office eventually resulted in the charge
being reduced to petty larceny. Client agreed to pay be disputed funds and was conditionally discharged by the court.
Case
#8 - Felony Possession of a Weapon
An out-of-state commercial truck driver charged with felony possession of a weapon,
a Class D felony, for having a loaded pistol in the cab of his truck and was exposed to significant state prison time.
After
investigating the facts surrounding our client's arrest and discovery of his pistol we were convinced that the evidence against our
client should be suppressed. After multiple discussions with the District Attorney's office we were able to get the charge reduced
from a felony to a misdemeanor and, eventually, negotiate a plea to a non-criminal offense with a small fine.
Case #9 - DWI with
.15% Breath Test
Client stopped after failing to signal a turn coming out of a bar parking lot. After arrest client blew
.15% on chemical breath test. Charged with 2 counts of DWI and traffic violation. After a hearing motion was made to suppress
all evidence against client based on the fact that failing to signal exiting a parking lot is NOT a violation of NYS Vehicle &
Traffic Law and, therefore the stop of client's vehicle was unconstitutional. Court agreed with our position and granted motion
to suppress all evidence and
Client #10 - Felony Criminal Mischief
Client was an out-of-state
resident who had a felony charge from when he was a teenager. Given that there was an existing felony warrant, Client could not
risk returning to
After researching the procedural history of the case, we discovered that the State failed to
take any action on the case in the entire 25 year period. Several conversations with District Attorney's Office later, the matter
was dismissed and the warrant vacated.
Client # 11 - Possession of Marijuana
Client was charged in the
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Unlike most attorneys I came to the practice of law as a second career. Prior to becoming an attorney I spent 20 years as a business executive, eventually running a large subsidiary of a Fortune 500 company. While those years in private business were challenging and rewarding, there came time that I wanted to do something different and more directly related to assisting other people. So, I left the business world, went to law school, passed the New York State bar exam and became a practicing attorney. You can read my full bio here and meet our staff here.
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Client charged in the
Case #2 - Speeding
Client charged in
Case #3 - 12 points
Client was charged in
Case #4 - 11 points
Client was charged
in the
Try as we might, we were unable to discover the basis of the officer's allegations since there were no admissions by our client and the officer never observed the accident. After negotiating with prosecutor, we ultimately entered a plea of guilty to one parking ticket in full satisfaction of the charges.
Case #5 - CDL Truck Driver
Client
was a truck driver passing through the
After providing proof to the prosecutor that the client's passenger was properly secured and that the issuing officer had simply misread the log book entries, we were able to resolve all charges with a plea to a single parking ticket.
Client #6 - Vacating convictions to save license
Client was a
The court granted our motion the matter was returned to the court's calendar. After negotiating with
the city attorney, we resolved the matter by entering a plea to two parking tickets and a single two point moving violation; none
of the points were transferable to his
Client #7 - multiple misdemeanors and 21 suspensions
Client
was a
After
thoroughly researching every suspension and charge, we began to address each matter in turn. Over the course of 4 months, were able
to address every outstanding misdemeanor, infraction, and suspension. We were ultimately able to clear all suspensions and resolve
every charge, without pleading to any misdemeanor or receiving any additional points on his license.