There are generally no classifications of people who are exempt or disqualified from jury duty in New York State. However, in order to be initially selected for the jury pool in your county, you must be a citizen of the United States as well as a resident of the particular…
Another compelling reason not to allow the issuing officer to also act as the prosecutor in a New York traffic violation case is supported by the Latin maxim “inclusio unius est exclusio alterius”. What this Latin Maxim means is that where a law expressly describes a situation where it applies,…
The simple fact is, the practice of the issuing officer prosecuting their own New York traffic tickets is allowed only because of an outright Judicial hijacking by the court’s of the State Legislature’s power. Generally, the New York State Constitution establishes that the Legislative Branch (consisting of the New York…
As I explained in a previous blog, the practice of officers prosecuting the New York traffic tickets they issue was upheld by the New York Court of Appeals case; People v. Soddano. Soddano and it’s holding that officers may act as prosecutors for their tickets is flawed for several glaring…
The answer to this question is fairly simple; when it comes to New York traffic violations, the Courts of New York State have allowed deeply rooted judicial principles founded on fairness to be disregarded. As I said in a previous blog, far too many judges have no apparent concept of…
So your New York Criminal case is heading to jury selection. At jury selection both your criminal defense attorney and the prosecutor will have an opportunity to question potential jurors chosen from the jury pool. (Jury selection itself will be discussed in a later blog). How is the jury pool…
How jury pools are chosen in a New York misdemeanor cases depends on what type of court your case is in. Section 2012 of New York’s Uniform District Court Act, New York’s Uniform City Court Act or of New York’s Uniform Justice Court Act, prescribes how jury panels are chosen…
The order of proceeding in a jury trial in a New York State local criminal court is the same as those in a jury trial in a superior court when one is charged by indictment. CPL § 360.05. Therefore, the order of a jury trial in local criminal court is…
As a New York criminal defense attorney, at a law firm that handles a lot of criminal trials, I often am asked by clients charged with misdemeanors and/or violations in a New York State local criminal court if they must appear in court with me for trial. Generally a defendant…
So you’ve decided to take your New York criminal case to trial. The People’s plea offer is unacceptable and your attorney, after carefully weighing the odds and risks, has advised you to reject the People’s offer and go to trial. As I said in my last blog, at the New…