An observer at a New York City criminal court arraignment may hear a judge set bail in a certain amount and will then hear the judge say “and I am ordering a 72-hour surety.” Clients, their families, and defense attorneys are annoyed when they hear the judge order the...

In my previous post, I discussed how bail works in New York. The next question that usually comes up when discussing this topic is: what are the types of bail that exist? What happens after a judge just set a dollar amount of bail necessary to ensure your return to...

In any jurisdiction in the United States, a person who is accused of a crime is presumed innocent unless and until his guilt is proven beyond a reasonable doubt as to each element of every crime charged in either an indictment or other accusatory instrument. It stands...

I am often asked by clients to explain to them the differences between the criminal justice system on the state and federal level. I will try to explain some of the differences in both a succinct way and then in a more elaborate way. Some people mistakenly think that...