The legalization of marijuana for both medicinal and recreational use has been on the rise nationwide for several years. Although many states have acknowledged the value in medicinal marijuana, only two have taken steps to allow the legal use of marijuana...
Have You Been Charged With A Serious Crime?
Criminal Law
Cooperating With the Prosecution
The use of confidential informants in law enforcement can sometimes be a grey area that can be exploited by both the informant and the law enforcement agents involved. Becoming a confidential informant can be a way to avoid going to prison, although it may also mean...
Federal Requirements for Campus Assault Investigations
When a sexual assault on a college campus is reported and an accused named, it can have far-reaching effects for both the victim and the accused. Unfortunately, the investigations surrounding campus sexual assaults have been criticized as being both unfair to the...
University Students May Soon Receive Additional Rights When Faced With Disciplinary Action
College students at any institution in America are fully aware that a disciplinary hearing facilitated by a university is nothing to joke about. Not only can a student potentially be expelled or suspended, but the stigma that goes along with being the subject of a...
Second Circuit: Drug Buyer Not Automatically Part of Drug Distribution Conspiracy
Federal drug allegations are serious matters. Many federal drug prosecutions involve potential mandatory minimum prison terms that require convicted drug offenders to spend a minimum amount of time behind bars. One of the most serious types of drug-related convictions...
Justice Department Seeks to Prevent Criminal Record Expungement
The purported purpose of the criminal justice system and in particular, the Department of Justice, is to transform those who enter the system from convicted criminals to functioning members of society. The sad truth is that a federal prison or a stint on federal...
Illegal Re-Entry: Am I Automatically Deported?
New York shares a border with Canada over four hundred miles long. Syracuse is conveniently located a little more than an hour's drive on Interstate 81 from the US-Canada border, which makes it a prime target for both legal and illegal immigration. The United States...
Bitcoin: Online Currency and the Black Market
In May of 2015, Dylan Soeffing, a senior in college, was arrested at his apartment with over eight-hundred Xanax pills, a small amount of marijuana, and more than $170,000 in cash. Mr. Soeffing allegedly told police that he had coordinated his year and a half old drug...
How New York’s New White Collar Criminal Task Force May Affect You
In October 2012, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance along with Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen M. Rice created a White Collar Crime Task Force looking to revise New York's current criminal scheme. The experts involved in the task force recommended...
Dog Sniffs are Not Routine Traffic Stop Procedures: Rodriguez v. United States
In a drastic shift in Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, the Supreme Court recently decided that, absent reasonable suspicion, an officer cannot extend a traffic stop to conduct a dog sniff of the vehicle. Any stop that exceeds the time necessary to handle the initial...