Recent Blog Posts
Yale Rape Verdict Shows Differing Standards For Consent In Criminal Courtrooms Versus Campus Panels
The trial against the Yale student accused of rape has been in the headlines of late, especially when the jury returned a verdict of not guilty on March 7th, after less than three hours of deliberations. The message received from the trial was loud and clear: prosecuting sex crimes in a court of law… Read More »
Neuroscience Gains Increasingly Important Role In Criminal Defense
According to this recent piece featured in Scientific American, neuroscience is playing a larger and larger role in criminal defense cases every day. Specifically, criminal defense strategies are including behavioral tests, brain scans, and psychological evaluations more and more in an effort to mitigate potential punishments for criminal defendants. As scientific methods to measure… Read More »
New Jersey’s Liquor Laws Generate Significant Confusion
New Jersey’s liquor laws have long been the source of much confusion: While one law limits towns to one liquor license per 3,000 people, another limits markets and other companies to two retail licenses only. While some towns often have their own regulations regarding whether or not liquor can be sold on Sundays, others… Read More »
Will New York Add Another Anti-Smoking Law To The Books?
On March 21st, a bill making it illegal to smoke while walking in New York City was introduced into the New York legislature. While smoking is already banned in a number of public spaces in New York City, the proposed legislation would impose a $50 fine on anyone caught smoking and walking on city… Read More »
New York’s Marijuana Arrest Statistics Shock Many And Reveal Room For Progress
As we previously discussed, in January, Governor Cuomo ordered a study to be conducted on the recreational use of marijuana via the New York State Department of Health. That study has since been released, and has shocked a number of New Yorkers. The arrest statistics alone are alarming: There have been close to 900,000… Read More »
Criminal Indictments Served On New York Towing Companies
On February 21st, New York district attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. issued four indictments charging at least 17 people and 19 companies in New York with conspiracy and corruption with respect to illegally controlling the list that police officers rely on to call towing companies in response to vehicle collisions. Specifically, Vance called it… Read More »
Spring 2018 New Jersey Legal Update
Below, we discuss some important legal updates that have recently happened, or are coming this spring, for the state of New Jersey: Huge Drop in New Jersey’s Jail Population; Thanks To Bail-Reform According to a recently released report, New Jersey’s cash-bail reforms have successfully improved criminal justice in the state of New Jersey, decreasing… Read More »
New Jersey Moves To Criminalize Certain Activities Involving Guns
In the wake of the Florida school shooting tragedy, some New Jersey lawmakers are advancing measures to tighten state already-strict gun laws, and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has indicated that he (at least conceptually) embraces the move. The proposed bills would criminalize certain types of activities both for businesses that sell guns and… Read More »
Are New Jersey Towns Banning Marijuana One-By-One?
Even as the state of New Jersey’s new governor and legislators take steps to try and improve how effective the state’s medical marijuana program is in reaching people who need it, some New Jersey towns are enacting bans and making the substance illegal within their own borders. During the week of February 28th, the… Read More »
Rikers Island Facility May Close Early To Better Protect Inmates’ Civil Rights
A 70-page report delivered to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature on February 14th documents the rise in violent incidents and violations of inmates’ constitutional rights at Rikers Island, leading the state commission that oversees New York City’s jail system (the Commission of Correction) to possibly try to close the… Read More »
