New York

Repeat offender who met with clients at bar association law library gets time for posing as attorney

A nonlawyer who brazenly offered his services as an immigration attorney and met with clients in the Brooklyn Bar Association’s law library, which he called his office, has been sentenced to a 2- to 4-year prison term. Howard Seidler, 70, pleaded guilty last month to grand larceny and immigrant services…

Mar 10, 2016 10:40 AM CST

How much is a year of wrongful incarceration worth? $1.5M is too high, federal judge rules

A federal judge in Manhattan has cut the award for a man wrongfully convicted of rape from $18 million to $12 million. U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin reduced the award to Alan Newton in a decision (PDF) on Friday, the New York Times, the New York Daily News and Reuters…

Mar 8, 2016 6:15 AM CST

Judge tosses First Amendment suit challenging statehouse ban of food truck with slur in name

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the state of New York’s decision to ban a food truck from a vendor program because its name was an Italian slur. U.S. District Judge Mae D’Agostino of Albany tossed the suit in a decision (PDF) on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal…

Mar 4, 2016 5:45 AM CST

NYPD, Manhattan DA announce they will now issue summonses for low-level offenses

Good news for Manhattan residents who enjoy drinking alcohol in public or riding between subway cars: As of next Monday, you will no longer be arrested, thrown in a holding cell and arraigned in criminal court. You will still have to answer for your actions, though. The New York Police…

Mar 2, 2016 11:50 AM CST

Suit alleging fraud by Trump University isn’t time-barred, New York appeals court rules

A lawsuit filed by New York’s attorney general seeking restitution for Trump University students because of the school’s alleged fraudulent practices may proceed as a result of a ruling on Tuesday. New York’s Appellate Division, First Department, ruled that the statute of limitations does not bar the fraud suit by…

Mar 1, 2016 2:38 PM CST

Apple doesn’t have to unlock iPhone in New York drug case, federal magistrate rules

The All Writs Act does not give judges power to order Apple to assist the government in opening an iPhone, a federal magistrate judge has ruled in a New York drug case. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein of Brooklyn ruled (PDF) on Monday in a case interpreting the 1789 law, report…

Mar 1, 2016 9:44 AM CST

Criminal cases being decided based on ‘high-sensitivity’ DNA analysis that experts are debating

Judge and juries are being asked more and more to decide criminal cases based on “high-sensitivity” DNA analysis—which amplifies extremely faint, sometimes second hand samples—despite the fact that DNA experts themselves debate its accuracy, the Associated Press reports. New York prosecutors are among the most aggressive in using so-called low-copy…

Feb 29, 2016 1:25 PM CST

Man gets 46 months for email scam that told lawyer to send client’s $250K to 3rd party

An Ohio man was sentenced this month to 46 months in federal prison for sending a spoofed email that tricked an upstate New York real estate attorney into sending $250,000 from a client’s real estate transaction to a third party. Paul Lacey, 56, was also ordered to pay $337,002.64 in…

Feb 24, 2016 2:10 PM CST

Jury awards $183M to firefighters’ families in fatal ‘Black Sunday’ blaze; NYC owes $140M

After a decade of courtroom battle over a fatal “Black Sunday” blaze that resulted in the immediate deaths of two New York City firefighters and severely injured four others, a state-court jury on Monday awarded $183 million to five of the victims and their families. The family of the sixth…

Feb 23, 2016 4:05 PM CST

New York lawyer is fatally shot by police in domestic incident

A New York lawyer was fatally shot by police outside his home in a Connecticut suburb Tuesday morning, after he attacked his family, authorities said. Christopher Andrews, 51, was standing outside when Fairfield police arrived in response to a 911 call, holding an undescribed weapon. His 15-year-old son was also…

Feb 17, 2016 1:25 PM CST

Recent law grad charged with Dewey leaders will be dropped from case

A recent law graduate of Georgetown University who was criminally charged in 2014 along with three former leaders of the now-shuttered Dewey & LeBoeuf law firm has won a reprieve. Under a deferred prosecution agreement, no case will be pursued against Zachary Warren so long as he performs 350 hours…

Feb 16, 2016 4:10 PM CST

Judge is ticketed for drunken driving while en route to work

A municipal court judge in Rochester, New York, was ticketed for misdemeanor driving while intoxicated in Monroe County on Saturday as she was en route to work. State police said Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio, 34, refused a Breathalyzer test, according to the Democrat and Chronicle and WHAM. Troopers…

Feb 16, 2016 11:10 AM CST

New York appeals court says client can sue lawyer over Wall Street Journal comment

A former client can sue his lawyer for malpractice over a comment made to the Wall Street Journal, a New York appeals court has ruled. Founding partner Jeffrey Liddle of Liddle & Robinson had argued that plaintiff Michael Barr can’t prove the media comment caused him to lose a $1.3…

Feb 12, 2016 3:25 PM CST

Burberry sues Penney over plaid products, faces unrelated customer suit on outlet store price tags

It has been a busy week for Burberry in the American legal system. On Tuesday, the British luxury goods seller known for its trench coats and cashmere scarves sued J.C. Penney Co. in federal court in Manhattan over claimed misappropriation of Burberry’s iconic plaid “check” pattern. Although the pattern has…

Feb 12, 2016 2:45 PM CST

Trial judge got it right by appointing new counsel despite defendant’s objection, top NY court says

Reversing an intermediate appeals court that had granted a defendant a new trial because his lawyer was removed against his wishes, New York’s top court on Thursday unanimously ruled that a trial judge acted correctly by insisting that Lawrence Watson have new counsel. Noting that conflicts can be difficult to…

Feb 12, 2016 1:40 PM CST