Category: Arrests

2 REASONS SEXUAL ASSAULT DATA IS WRONG AND WHY NYERS SHOULD CARE

Sexual assault data is far from accurate. Data from 2011, for example, finds reports of sexual assault or rape cases that range from 244,000 to 2 million. A recent piece by National Public Radio (NPR) discussed this disparity, noting that the two most common reasons behind the discrepancies are variable definitions for these legal terms and the evolving nature of the law.

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WHICH THREE STOPS ARE LEGAL IN NY?

This isn’t the type of quiz that should make you break out in a cold sweat. Unfortunately, this type of quiz has implications that can have a much larger impact on your life than a pop quiz in your high school history class.

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IS NEW YORK CITY ABOUT TO EASE UP ON PETTY CRIMES?

Last April, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito announced that she wanted to go easier on several low-level offenses in New York. Her list of bullshit crimes we shouldn’t be sweating too much included urinating in public, making unreasonable noise, and hanging out in a park after

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CURSING POLICE NOT PROBABLE CAUSE FOR ARREST

The Court of Appeals needed only a memorandum opinion to explain that police did not have probable cause to arrest, for disorderly conduct, a man who shouted obscenities at them in a subway station. Unlike typical probable cause determinations that are beyond review in the State’s high court because they involve mixed questions of law and fact, there was “no record support for the motion court’s determination that the defendant’s rant against the police officers constituted disorderly conduct.”

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WHAT IS AN ACD AND WHEN SHOULD A DEFENDANT ACCEPT IT?

Generally speaking, an offer of an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal (“ACD”) to resolve criminal charges is usually a very attractive plea bargain offer to a criminal defendant. After all, the most important goal for any criminal defendant should be the dismissal of all criminal charges. Also, individuals receiving an ACD usually have their cases dismissed and sealed after 6 months. Understanding this, are there any negative or unforeseen collateral consequences that come with the acceptance of an ACD?

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GUN CONFISCATIONS AT AIRPORTS ARE ON THE RISE

It is a common occurrence these days to be held up in the airport screening line because someone forgot to remove their water bottle or shampoo bottle or forgot to put their laptop in a separate container. But increasingly, screeners for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are detaining travelers for forgetting to remove their guns.

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NYPD GLOATS AFTER ARRESTING GRAFFITI LEGEND COST

In an NYPD internal directive issued on May 2, 2014, a re-emphasis was placed on wiping out graffiti in New York City. Now, police officers carry black, red, and white aerosol spray paint with orders to photograph graffiti, then “box it out” and paint it over “in a professional manner.” According to the directive, officers should target “identifiable tags, not large murals” such as those produced legally by the Bushwick Collective in areas such as Williamsburg and Long Island City, where the internationally famous graffiti mecca 5 Points was recently white-washed by developers. Graffiti patrols are currently stalking Bushwick, Brownsville, and Bedford-Stuyvesant, and the there has been an increased emphasis on arresting graffiti artists.

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