A person is guilty of criminal mischief when having no right to do so nor any reasonable ground to believe that he or she has such right, he or she intentionally or recklessly damages the property of another person or when such the defendant prevents another person from making […]

According to New York Penal Law §205.30, a person is guilty of resisting arrest when he or she intentionally prevents or attempts to prevent a police officer or peace officer from effecting an authorized arrest of himself or herself or another person. Resisting arrest is a class A misdemeanor punishable […]

  A person is guilty of forcible touching when such person intentionally and for no legitimate purpose forcibly touches the sexual or other intimate parts of another person for the purpose of degrading or abusing such person or for the purpose of gratifying his or her sexual desire. That includes […]

   Arraignment is the initial Court appearance in a criminal court after the person is arrested. In New York State once the person gets arrested, he or she may be issued a Desk Appearance Ticket (“DAT”) after being fingerprinted and processed at the police station and directed to appear in […]

In our extensive criminal defense and family court practice we often come across the Order of protection violations. In New York State, two types of Courts may issue Orders of protection – Criminal Courts and Family Courts. For the Criminal Court Judge to issue an Order against any person, that […]

Domestic violence is a general term describing various crimes and offenses committed between spouses or former spouses, between parent and child, or between the members of the same family or household, as this term is defined in the New York Family Court Act (“FCA”). Domestic violence crimes include crimes committed […]

Sometimes our clients who have been charged with a crime are asking us an interesting question – why do I need to hire you, a private attorney, if I already have a free lawyer appointed by the Court? It is definitely a legitimate question, and people who are unfamiliar with […]

A person can get arrested for an assault charge as a misdemeanor or a felony. A person is guilty of Assault in a Third Degree (misdemeanor) when he causes physical injury to another person with the intent to cause such injury, recklessly, or negligently by means of a deadly weapon […]

Today we would like to discuss a common criminal charge in connection with fake (forged) motor vehicle license plates. Most of these cases are charged as class A misdemeanors (a crime)- Criminal possession of a forged instrument in the third degree in violation of NY Penal Law (“PL”) section 170.20, […]

Our firm has a lot of clients who received a Desk Appearance Ticket because they were arrested for a misdemeanor crime, photographed and fingerprinted in the police precinct and let go with a Desk Appearance Ticket to appear in a Criminal court at a later date. Some of these clients […]

What is a jury trial? When does it take place?  Does it always take place?  Who decides if the case will be tried? Is jury trial a good option for a criminal defendant? Jury trial (JT) is a trial, a process when a panel of 6 jurors (in a misdemeanor […]

When the person gets arrested for the first time, he or she will be most likely terrified and shocked and will have tons of questions regarding the process and its outcome. Often, family and friends get involved in looking for a criminal defense attorney and they as well will have […]

   Among the cases our firm handles in the Federal courts, the absolute majority are the cases related to white-collar crimes, such as wire fraud, money laundering, and related conspiracies. What is the difference between the state and the federal court system? As it relates to criminal cases, the Federal […]

   A felony charge in New York is a serious criminal charge when an accused faces potential punishment of over 1-year imprisonment.  A felony charge is more serious than a misdemeanor, which is a criminal charge when an accused faces potential punishment of imprisonment of up to 1 year. A […]

  Among other criminal cases, our law firm (DWI Lawyer) specializes in Driving While Intoxicated (“DWI”) or Driving Under Influence (“DUI”) and Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs. It is very important that these kinds of cases are handled by the specialist, DWI Lawyer and not the general practice lawyer, […]

    I got a call from a law enforcement officer asking me to meet and answer questions.  Should I talk to this detective? Do I need an attorney? Often times in our practice we get a call from a potential client who was contacted by a police detective asking him […]

Sealing of Criminal Record. On October 7, 2017, a new law went into effect in the State of New York, that allowed for sealing the criminal record under certain conditions.  This was codified in New York Criminal Procedure Law (“CPL”) section 160.59 “Sealing of Certain Convictions.” This section provides that […]

  Sometimes our clients are asking us why they are being directed to appear for an interview with NYC Medicaid fraud investigators in their offices. Usually, the client gets a letter in the mail from the NYC investigator directing him to appear in the Manhattan office for a Medicaid fraud […]

When a person gets arrested for, detained, or charged with a Petit Larceny offense in New York, {s}he will undoubtedly have a lot of questions about what will happen next. Petit Larceny is a class “A” Misdemeanor, (PL 155.25), which is a crime in New York State. People convicted of […]