05
2014Arrested for DWI in Queens and wondered about the timing of Blood Alcohol Tests – Is a BAC conclusive?
Most states, including New York, penalize as a crime (misdemeanor and possibly a felony) the operation of a motor vehicle while the driver has .08 of one percent or more by weight of alcohol in the person’s blood as shown by chemical analysis of such person’s blood, breath, urine or saliva. But is that the end-all, be-all of a DWI Arrest? What about the Timing...
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04
2014“THE WRONG MAN” – IDENTIFICATION TESTIMONY
After 33 years of practice, it has become readily apparent that, contrary to what jurors are pre-conditioned to believe (and what they need to be re-programmed about in jury selection and trial) is that eye witness identification testimony is inherently faulty and the main result of wrongful convictions. Defense counsel has to be intricately aware of the dynamics involved in such testimony and how it...
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04
2014Faulty Evidence Frees Queens Man From Prison After 24 Years
This has been a busy summer for New York’s wrongfully convicted. At age 79, Han Tak Lee is both the oldest and newest addition to an ever-growing list of exonerated defendants — a list which already includes Jonathan Fleming, Jabbar Collins, David Ranta, and the members of the notorious “Central Park Five.” Lee was convicted of murdering his mentally ill daughter by way of arson in 1990, and spent nearly a...
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04
2014
What Happens if I Miss My Court Date?
No one relishes the thought of going to court. No one wants to be questioned about their personal lives, to have to explain their actions to a room of strangers, or to face the prospect of being handed a life-changing sentence. Sometimes, criminal defendants dread the prospect of appearing in court so much that they simply don’t do it. After all, judges are busy people — maybe...
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29
2014
Queens Teen Joseph Beer Convicted of Vehicular Homicide in Marijuana DWI
Two years ago, 17-year-old Queens teen Joseph Beer was driving around Long Island with four of his friends. Impaired by marijuana, Beer crashed his Subaru Impreza into a tree at over 100 mph, totaling the car and killing all four of his teenage passengers in a fiery wreck. Now 19, Beer has been sentenced to five to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated vehicular...
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28
2014
Shootout Erupts Between U.S. Marshals and Suspected Drug Smuggler in Queens
For one neighborhood in Queens, the otherwise peaceful evening of Tuesday, August 26 erupted into chaos when a group of U.S. Marshals entered into a shootout with assault and cocaine trafficking suspect Oswald Lewis. Lewis was wounded in his left arm, while no Marshals were injured. Lewis’ criminal charges date all the way back to 1991, with two additional drug-related convictions in 1986.
26
2014
Brooklyn Bridge Climber Arrested, White Flags Removed
When the morning of July 22 dawned, mysterious white flags were billowing atop the Brooklyn Bridge, replacing the normal American flags and leaving the NYPD baffled. Who had done it, and why? Was it a terrorist threat, an art project, or just a bold statement? On August 21, Berlin-based artists Matthias Wermke and Mischa Leinkauf took responsibility and returned the original flags, saying they performed the stunt to commemorate the 145th anniversary of the...
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22
2014
Police Investigating Queens Hit and Run: Why You Should Never Flee the Scene
Yesterday, we wrote about the case of Joseph Caleca, who allegedly hit and dragged Sikh man Sandeep Singh with his truck in a racially-fueled attack. The case has received attention primarily as a hate crime, but in addition to the more attention-grabbing charges of murder and assault, Caleca is also being charged with leaving the scene of an accident — a violation typically associated with hit...
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21
2014
Man Charged with Hate Crimes After Dragging Sikh Victim with Car in Queens Murder Attempt
In the crowded city, fights over driving are commonplace — but this is an extreme instance. 55-year-old Joseph Caleca of Setauket in Suffolk County has been arrested and charged with felony assault, hate crimes, and attempted murder after allegedly dragging 29-year-old construction entrepreneur Sandeep Singh at least 30 feet after hitting him with his truck in July. Eye-witnesses to the incident are positive Singh’s ethnicity was...
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19
2014
Judge May Dismiss Indictment Against Four Men in Queens Murder Case
Judge Richard Buchter shocked Queens’ legal community in May when he declared a mistrial in the case of four men indicted on murder charges for the 2010 shooting of 37-year-old Damian Champbell. At a hearing scheduled to take place sometime after September 1, Judge Buchter will have to decide whether or not the indictment should be dismissed altogether. The cause? An alleged procedural violation by...
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