New York

‘Spider-Man’ plans false-arrest suit against NYPD, seeks fair treatment of costumed superheroes

Just in time for Halloween, an individual who routinely dresses as Spider-Man is planning to file what may be the first lawsuit challenging New York City’s treatment of costumed superheroes in the Times Square area. Plaintiff Jose Escalona-Martinez, 41, says he was arrested for aggressive begging and jailed for a…

Oct 31, 2014 1:25 PM CDT

DA’s pre-arraignment script nixed Miranda warning, top NY court says, reversing 2 convictions

It is routine in New York City for prosecutors to talk with defendants before they are arraigned. But a script routinely read to suspects by prosecutors in the Queens district attorney’s office went too far, effectively negating the Miranda warning that would subsequently be provided by first urging defendants to…

Oct 29, 2014 1:05 PM CDT

Attorney charged with stealing $720K in escrow, plus $700K from secret sale of law-firm real estate

A New York attorney has been arrested on charges that he stole over $1.4 million from his law firm. Steve Weinstock, 48, is accused of taking $720,000 from an escrow account that was supposed to be used to purchase New York City real estate and obtaining another $700,000 by secretly…

Oct 29, 2014 10:55 AM CDT

Top NY court says widow’s estate must pay lawyers $44M for less than five months’ work

Rejecting an argument that lawyers for a real estate mogul’s wealthy widow had a “Svengali-like influence” on her, the top appeals court in New York has OK’d a $44 million bill for legal work that lasted less than five months. Reversing a lower court, the New York Court of Appeals…

Oct 29, 2014 6:45 AM CDT

Does lights out loom for Aereo? Federal judge nixes cable license, leaves door open on DVR service

Down but not yet out following an adverse U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this year, Aereo is still trying to find a way to provide free TV shows to viewers over the Internet without violating federal copyright law. The nation’s top court in June nixed free real-time Internet streaming of…

Oct 24, 2014 1:00 PM CDT

‘Vaudeville’ closing argument with pill-a-day song doesn’t warrant sanction, 2nd Circuit says

A $2,500 sanction was imposed on a New York plaintiffs lawyer because he “insidiously sought to inject” the issue of punitive damages into his closing argument even though they were not at issue in the case, but an appeals court has determined he will not have to pay the sanction.…

Oct 23, 2014 8:43 AM CDT

Federal judge in $1.2B Silk Road drug case is threatened online

Threats have been made against a federal judge overseeing the New York prosecution of a man accused of masterminding the underground ‘Silk Road” website on which bitcoins were used to purchase drugs. Private information including the home address of U.S. District Judge Katherine Bolan Forrest has been posted online on…

Oct 22, 2014 4:50 PM CDT

New York will beef up indigent defense in five counties in ‘groundbreaking’ lawsuit settlement

Indigent defense in five New York counties will be beefed up and handled by the state’s Office of Indigent Legal Services in a lawsuit settlement heralded as a possible blueprint for a statewide approach. The state will help pay for more defense lawyers and other support staffers in the five…

Oct 22, 2014 11:34 AM CDT

New law says individuals can’t track each other via GPS once they are warned not to

Under a new state law that took effect on Tuesday in New York, it is now a crime for individuals to stalk each other using global positioning system devices. But such conduct becomes a misdeameanor only after the target notifies the person responsible that such conduct is unwelcome, Syracuse.com reports.…

Oct 21, 2014 5:30 PM CDT

Will New York jump on the Uniform Bar Exam bandwagon? Top state court seeks comment

New York’s highest court is seeking public comment (PDF) on a proposal to begin administering the Uniform Bar Examination prepared by the National Conference of Bar Examiners. Fourteen states currently offer the standardized test, most of them west of the Mississippi, but California, Florida, Illinois and Texas are not among…

Oct 21, 2014 5:10 PM CDT

Facebook sues DLA Piper, other firms, 9 attorneys, says they conspired on fraudulent case

Sued in 2010 by Paul Ceglia, who claimed a majority ownership interest in Facebook Inc. based on documentation since determined by a federal court to have been faked, the social media goliath and its creator, Mark Zuckerberg, have now turned the tables. A new lawsuit (PDF) filed Monday by Facebook…

Oct 20, 2014 5:00 PM CDT

Settlement saves convicted attorney from making lengthy handcuffed trip to testify about law firm

A dispute between a bankruptcy administrator and a company to which $137 million was transferred before Marc Dreier’s law firm collapsed has been settled. So the former New York lawyer, who is serving a 20-year federal prison term in Minnesota for defrauding hedge fund investors of $400 million, won’t have…

Oct 17, 2014 11:25 AM CDT

New York attorney general reviews timeshare practices; Hilton, Wyndham agree to changes

Hilton Resorts Corp. has agreed to change a provision in its New York timeshare purchase contracts that disclaimed representations made by its salespeople, New York’s attorney general announced this week. Hilton was one of two companies that reached an agreement regarding time-share practices with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman,…

Oct 17, 2014 8:07 AM CDT

Man imprisoned 29 years is exonerated; DA cites fake murder confession by teen ‘fed false facts’

Updated: After news Tuesday that Brooklyn’s new district attorney is seeking to exonerate two men convicted of a 1985 murder, the criminal justice system moved with lightning speed. On Wednesday, when an assistant to DA Kenneth Thompson asked a Brooklyn judge to vadate the convictions, he did, reports the New…

Oct 15, 2014 11:35 AM CDT

Lawyers fight for defendant’s right to use accessible courthouse restroom

A defendant who uses a wheelchair began wearing diapers to the Manhattan criminal courthouse after she wasn’t allowed to use an accessible restroom last year. Accused credit-card scammer Banetta Grant was in the holding pen so many hours without a restroom that she urinated on herself before appearing in court,…

Oct 8, 2014 8:33 AM CDT