The New York Police Pilot Android Smartphone Program, which began last summer, provides police with thousands of criminal records while they canvas a particular building or area. Over 400 phones have been distributed to police officers since the program began. Police can now access your criminal history and your neighbors by tapping on their smartphone […]
READ MOREUnited States Sentencing Commission Proposes Amendment to Acceptance of Responsibility Guideline
The United States Sentencing Commission recently released proposed amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Among the proposed changes, including changes relating to [insert list here], is a proposed change to the guidelines regarding acceptance of responsibility. The Commission, through this proposed amendment, seeks to reconcile to conflicting circuit opinions regarding the interpretation of the existing […]
READ MOREQueens Man Arrested for Firing a Realistic Toy Gun in Queens Park
A Queens man by the name of Jack Pawlowski was arrested on Wednesday, May 8, 2013 for firing a toy gun that resembled a real weapon and then handed it to his three year old son and other family members to play with. Apparently some people at Ditmar’s Park thought the gun was real. Maria Smilios […]
READ MOREFelony Cases in Bronx Have Longest Delays
One of the central ideas of our criminal justice system is the promise of a speedy trial. Felony cases in the Bronx have seen the longest delays in New York City. Seven in 10 cases have surpassed the state’s guidelines, which require that most felony crimes be tried within 180 days. Cases are piling up […]
READ MOREInside Traders Beware: Sentencing Commission Pushing for Much Harsher Penalties
In the wake of recent Wall Street scandals and the growing perception of corruption within the financial industry, the federal government is taking dead aim at insider trading. Within the last few years, we have seen the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act and a series of highly publicized insider trading prosecutions, including the one resulting […]
READ MOREWhy Winning at All Costs Compromises Justice
There’s an old “joke” among prosecutors that anyone can convict the guilty, but it takes a really exceptional prosecutor to convict the innocent. Not very funny, is it? The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Smith v. Cain, 132 S.Ct. 627 (2012), demonstrates that there are still criminal prosecutors out there who either don’t understand […]
READ MOREJustice Department Defends the Role of Deferred-Prosecution Agreements in Corporate Crime Enforcement
A top attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice recently defended the use of deferred-prosecution agreements (DPA’s) to combat corporate wrongdoing. On September 13, 2012, Assistant U.S. Attorney General Lanny Breuer, spoke to the New York Bar Association and maintained that that the increased use of such agreements has had a “transformative effect” on corporate […]
READ MORENew York Attorney Salvatore J. Piemonte Acquitted on Federal Charges of Allegedly Aiding and Abetting Drug Dealers
Salvatore J. Piemonte, a former prosecutor for the Onondage County District Attorney’s Office in Syracuse, New York, for seven years, and former a local judge, was indicted last November in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York for allegedly aiding and abetting the sale of marijuana, according to Syracuse.com. The government charged […]
READ MORESEC Enforcement Actions – No Discovery Rule Available to Extend the Statute of Limitations
The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that SEC enforcement actions against investment advisors must be filed within five years from the date of the alleged fraud, not from the date the fraud was discovered by the governmentwas discovered by the government. In Gabelli v. SEC, the SEC sought civil penalties against the chief operating officer and […]
READ MORESyed Haris Ahmed Trial: Final Day and an Unorthodox Closing Argument
John Murgatroyd at CNN, Bill Rankin of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Greg Bluestein of the Associated Press have weighed in on the final day of the trial of Atlanta area resident, former Georgia Tech student, and alleged terrorism supporter Syed Haris Ahmed. Ahmed delivered his own closing argument yesterday in his bench trial before U.S. […]
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