Peter Tilem‘s appearance on the Johnny Mandolin radio show went well yesterday. All types of criminal cases were discussed including DWI, speeding, New York’s crack down on possession of knives, gun cases and the criminal justice system as a whole. The show is available on demand at www.centannibroadcasting.com.
Senior partner Peter H. Tilem will be on the radio this evening speaking about New York knife laws and some of the recent cases involving knife charges. Mr. Tilem will be appearing from 7-8pm on the Johnny Mandolin show and you can listen live or listen to a recording of the show at www.centannibroadcasting.com.
New York criminal defense law firm, Tilem & Campbell scored a major victory on a Rockland County Assault case when an Orangetown Judge dismissed the case after a suppression and probable cause hearing. The defendant had been charged with Assault in the Third Degree based upon an altercation that occurred in December 2009. The defendant had faced up to one year and jail on the “A” misdemeanor and had already been suspended from his job as a result of the incident and the charges.
http://www.tilemlawfirm.com/lawyer-attorney-1282538.html had filed a pre-trial motion back in May asking the Court to suppress statements and/or hold a suppression and probable cause hearing. The Hearing was held on July 28, 2010 and one investigator from the New York State Police testified. On cross-examination by Mr. Tilem the investigator admitted that the defendant had been attacked by the victim using eyeglasses as a weapon, that the victim was the initial aggressor and that he had probable cause to arrest the victim but chose not to arrest him.
In a decision dated August 3, 2010, the Judge ruled that the District Attorney’s Office failed to establish probable cause for the arrest and dismissed the Assault in the Third Degree charge.
Leaving a young child home alone can and often does lead to a parent being charged with Endangering the Welfare of a Child under the New York Penal Law. But at what is age is a child old and mature enough to be left home alone in New York? While some prosecutors choose to charge parents who leave young children (and even teenagers) home alone with Endangering the Welfare of a Child, the reality is, there is no set age in New York for a child to be left alone. The determination is based upon several factors including the age of the child, the maturity of the child and the length of time the child is left alone.
In fact, the City Court of Mt. Vernon has held that leaving a six-year-old child at home alone for one hour during the night, without more, is not criminal and does not support a charge of Endangering the Welfare of a Child. (See People v. Seward, 173 Misc. 2d 1020 (City Ct. Mt. Vernon 1997). The Seward decision cited Augustine v. Berger, 88 Misc. 2d 487 (1976), where the Suffolk County Supreme Court held that leaving a one and a two year old alone for a half hour at night did not amount to maltreatment under the Family Court Act. Similarly, the Kings County Criminal Court has held that leaving a five, seven, twelve and thirteen year old home alone without more supporting facts is insufficient to support a charge of Endangering the Welfare of a Child. People v. Smith, 178 Misc. 2d 350 (1998).
For more information about this, and other criminal law issues, please contact Tilem & Campbell toll-free at 1-877-377-8666 or visit the web at www.tilemandcampbell.com.
A new law which takes effect on August 15, 2010, makes the installation of an ignition interlock system mandatory on all convictions in New York for DWI charges. The devices which are required to be installed at the defendant’s expense will not permit the car to start if the operator registers a .025 or above of alcohol in their blood. The new law will effect the approximately 25,000 people per yera who are convicted of drinking and driving.
The law first became effective December 18, 2009 as reported in our prior blog and starting in little more than 2 weeks, the aspect of the law requiring ignition interlocks will become mandatory.
The cost of installation of an interlock device is expected to be about $100 and the required monthly monitoring will cost between $70 and $100 dollars per month. The devise will require the motorist to blow into the device to get the vehicle started and require that the driver blow into the device at regular intervals.
New York criminal defense firm Tilem & Campbell, scored another big victory in a Queens gun possession case when the Queens District Attorney’s Office agreed to reduce the class “C” violent felony gun charge to Disorderly Conduct a non-criminal violation. The client who was arrested with the handgun inside LaGuardia Airport as he was about to board a flight was originally facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 3 and 1/2 years in a New York State Prison. The client will pay a $250 fine and have his record sealed.
The client was originally arrested after he attempted to check the pistol in his checked baggage at the airport and was apparently not aware of New York’s very strict gun laws. In New York, possession of a loaded firearm outside a person’s home or place of business carries a mandatory minimum of three and a half years in prison even for a first arrest. In addition, the pistol does not actually have to be loaded to be legally “loaded” simply possessing the ammunition and the gun capable of firing that ammunition at the same time is enough to constitute a “loaded firearm” under New York law.
This is the second such victory this year for Tilem & Campbell. Earlier this year, in March, Tilem & Campbell scored a disorderly conduct violation on another gun case from LaGuardia airport. Senior Partner Peter H. Tilem a former prosecutor, worked in the Firearms Trafficking Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and has a tremendous amount of experience in handling New York gun cases and other types of New York weapons cases.
If you cause serious physical injury to another person in New York while Driving While Intoxicated (VTL 1192(2), (3)) or Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs (VTL 1192(4)), in addition to DWI charges, you may also face the more serious charge of Vehicular Assault in the Second Degree (Penal Law 120.03(1)). Vehicular Assault in the Second Degree is a Class E Felony for which you could be sentenced for up to four years in state prison.
For a driver to be guilty on Vehicular Assault in the Second Degree, the prosecution must prove not only that the driver was intoxicated by alcohol or impaired by the use of a drug or the combination of alcohol and any drug or drugs, but also that the intoxication and/or impairment was the cause of the serious physical injury to another. Of course, the prosecution must also prove a serious physical injury as well. (Penal Law 120.03(1)).
However, if a driver causes a serious physical injury to another while operating a vehicle while intoxicated or impaired by the use of drugs or the combination of drugs and alcohol, the law creates a rebuttable presumption that that the driver operated the vehicle in a manner that caused the serious physical injury to another. In other words, if you are Driving While Intoxicated or impaired by drugs and someone suffers a serious physical injury it is presumed that the serious physical injury was caused by how you drove the vehicle.
As a prominent criminal defense firm our lawyers have become aware of the dramatic increases in knife arrests in New York City and we have been examining the defenses available to our client’s who find themselves charged with possession of a gravity knife, switchblade or some other dangerous knife in New York. While this is not the forum to disclose the details of our defense strategies to our opponents, there are some generalities that need to be examined.One of the most basic and obvious defenses is the knife itself. Does it function the way the police say it functions. A surprising number of knives that the police claim are gravity knives or switchblades do not constitute the legal definition to make them illegal.
Another basic defense to any type of possession crime involves the constitutionality of the police conduct. Why the the police stop you, search you and seize the knife? If the police acted illegally then the knife can be suppressed by the Court and the case dismissed.
In addition to issues pertaining to the function of the knife and the police conduct in recovering the knife, there are statutory exemptions which may provide a defense and permit certain people to certain knives under certain circumstances. For example New York law permits people with hunting or fishing licenses to possess switchblades under certain circumstances.
Tilem & Campbell managing partner Peter Tilem is certified in Driving Under the Influence Detection and Field Sobriety Testing. He has taken the same training many law enforcement officers have. He has also completed the National Association Criminal Defense Lawyers 2009 DUI Defense Seminar. Mr. Campbell is an experienced New York DWI trial attorney having tried both felony and misdemeanor DWI cases.
Peter Tilem is a former prosecutor who is experienced in not only defending DWI cases but with prosecuting them as well. Having been a former prosecutor who prosecuted thousands of cases, including DWI, Mr. Tilem brings a unique perspective to DWI defense. Together, Mr. Campbell and Mr. Tilem provide you with a competent, aggressive, experienced and knowledgeable defense team.
Generally, people charged with crimes fall into two categories: (1) true criminals; or (2) decent people who happen to commit an offense. The large majority of individuals charged with Driving While Intoxicated (VTL 1192(2) and/or VTL 1192(3)) fall into the second category. In other words, generally, those charged with DWI are otherwise law-abiding, gainfully employed decent members of society who happen to commit the crime of Driving While Intoxicated. Unlike most crimes, Driving While Intoxicated affects all socio-economic classes, all neighborhoods, all races, all ethnicities, all religions, all professions and all cross-sections of society.
There are two local New York City laws that have been aggressively enforced in the five boroughs of New York City recently and our firm has seen numerous people charged with these offenses. They involve possession of a knife over 4 inches (4″) and possession of a knife in public. Both laws can be found in the New York City Administrative Code §10-133.
Section 10-133(b) makes it an offense, punishable by up to 15 days in jail to possess any knife with a blade of 4″ or more in length in a public place. This very broadly worded statute can include use of a steak knife at the outdoor seating area of a restaurant and a whole bunch of other innocent situations.
Section 10-133(c) makes it an offense to possess any knife in public view or wear a knife which is outside the clothing of any size in any public place. Again, this statute makes it an offense to possess knives in New York City in a wide variety of innocent situations including at block parties, picnics or barbeques.
New York Criminal Attorney Blog
