Blog Posts in May, 2014

Many criminal law practitioners believe the criminal justice system is broken. Most believe the reason it is broken is because the plea-bargaining system is broken. Federal Judge Jed Rakoff offered ...

Most people know it is not illegal to defend yourself if attacked. That can be true even if you end up killing your attacker. The law has historically always recognized that it is not a crime to ...

Last week, a Manhattan jury found an Occupy Wall Street protestor guilty of Assault in the Second Degree . Cecilly McMillan now faces up to 7 years in prison for elbowing a police officer during a ...

On March 28, 2014, David Tarloff was found guilty of murdering a psychologist in a botched robbery. This was the third time Mr. Tarloff was put on trial for the crime. In 2010 , Mr. Tarloff was ...

These developments make it almost impossible to prevail in an insanity defense. In New York, the insanity defense is listed in Penal Code Section 40.15 . In the section, the law states “[i]n any ...

Several convictions have recently been overturned in New York. This has lead to a movement aimed at liberalizing New York’s strict discovery laws. The movement hopes to create what is commonly ...