CASES & COURTS
On NYLJ.com
- Practice Areas
- This Week's News
- Outside Counsel
- Technology Today
- Corporate Update
- Real Estate
- NYLJ Columnists
- Essays
- Letters to the Editor
- Calendar of Events
- Book Reviews
- Solos & Small Firms
- Young Lawyers
- Law Students
- Pro Bono
- GC New York
- Election 2009
- Judicial Pay Impasse
- At the Capital
- NYLJ 100
NYLJ SERVICES
Featured Sponsors
At The Capital
Free: Judges Reject Residency Rule In Determining SEQRA Standing
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
A person who uses and enjoys a natural resource more than members of the public in general has standing to challenge the environmental impacts of nearby development projects, the state Court of Appeals ruled yesterday. But the judges cautioned in their ruling that standing in environmental cases for interested parties is not automatic and that more than "perfunctory allegations of harm" are required. "Striking the right balance in these cases will often be difficult, but we believe that our rule - requiring a demonstration that a plaintiff's use of a resource is more than that of the general public - will accomplish that task better than the alternatives," Judge Robert S. Smith wrote for the Court.
Charge Is Dismissed Against Lead Figure in Defender Lawsuit
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
A Third Department panel has dismissed a case against a woman whose claims of shoddy representation from a public defender are at the center of a challenge to New York state's system of providing criminal legal services to indigent defendants. The felony charge against Kimberly Hurrell-Harring for bringing marijuana into a state prison cannot legally stand in light of a state Court of Appeals' determination that less than 25 grams of marijuana in prison is not dangerous contraband and that possession of smaller amounts of pot is a violation, the court held.
Free: Tax Breaks Held to Preclude Rent Decontrol
Friday, October 23, 2009
Rents on thousands of units in one of New York City's largest apartment complexes were illegally decontrolled, the Court of Appeals ruled today. With Judge Susan Phillips Read warning - in a dissent joined by Judge Victoria A. Graffeo - of dire legal and financial fallout from today's ruling, a four-judge majority decided that the owners of the massive Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town complexes in Manhattan were precluded from taking advantage of luxury decontrol provisions of the Rent Stabilization Law on units where owners had accepted tax incentive benefits.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT
Free: Joseph Alessandro Removed, Brother Admonished Over Loan
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Supreme Court Justice Joseph S. Alessandro was removed from the bench yesterday by the Court of Appeals, which determined that the same punishment was too harsh for his brother, Bronx Civil Court Judge Francis M. Alessandro. The Court instead reduced the removal recommendation made against Francis by the Commission on Judicial Conduct to an admonition. That will allow Francis, 70, to serve out the final weeks of his judicial career from the bench before he faces mandatory retirement at the end of this year. The judges had harsh words for Joseph, 64, and his handling of a $250,000 loan he took out during his 2003 race for Westchester County Court judge from Barbara Battista, the manager of his campaign.
Free With Registration: Judges Troubled by the Impact of Recognizing Same-Sex Unions
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
As about 75 minutes of oral arguments played out yesterday, the Court of Appeals increasingly focused on what a broad application of the state's marriage recognition rule to out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples would mean for such couples in New York. Various judges, led by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman and Judges Robert S. Smith and Eugene F. Pigott Jr., wondered about application of custody, divorce, tax and equitable distribution laws in New York if the Court were to uphold the recognition by Westchester County and the state Department of Civil Service of benefits to the spouses of same-sex couples who are married in jurisdictions where such marriages are legal. "We're talking about the scope that we have to decide these cases and it seems to have gone from two particular governmental edicts to affecting a much broader range of public policy considerations," Judge Victoria A. Graffeo said.
Former Liberal Party Chairman Pleads Guilty in Pension Scandal
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Raymond Harding, the one-time leader of New York's Liberal Party, pleaded guilty yesterday to a felony for accepting $800,000 in state pension-fund investment fees in return for his political support of former state Comptroller Alan Hevesi and Mr. Hevesi's son during an election for Assembly. Mr. Harding faces up to four years in prison for the state securities law violation. In addition, he has lost his license to practice law, although Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo has said that if Mr. Harding cooperates fully in the pay-to-play investigation of the state pension fund, Mr. Cuomo's office would recommend that the felony charge against Mr. Harding be withdrawn and a misdemeanor be substituted, which would not carry an automatic disbarment.
Training Will Focus on Impact of Domestic Violence on Children
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Under a bill that has been signed into law by Governor David A. Paterson, court-appointed attorneys for the child will receive standardized training to increase their sensitivity to domestic violence, and judges will be required to write explicitly about the implications of a family's history of violence when explaining custody and visitation decisions. Sponsors said the measure will help the courts better reflect the often central role domestic violence plays in situations where marriages are dissolving or where a parent is facing the loss or limitation of custody or visitation rights with their biological children.
Free: State Effort Recruits Volunteer Law Clerks
Thursday, September 24, 2009
A program offering new or out-of-work attorneys the chance to volunteer as law clerks for state judges is attracting interest, sponsors of the new initiative say. The Unified Court System has received 75 applications from attorneys since the clerkship program was announced two weeks ago, a court official said yesterday. Attorney Lauren J. Wachtler, who is helping organize the program through the New York State Bar Association's Committee on Lawyers in Transition, said 35 lawyers attended a meeting she held last week on the initiative while another 150 watched over the Internet.
Free: Ravitch Regains Lieutenant Governor Job
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Governor David A. Paterson has the constitutional power to fill a vacancy in the office of lieutenant governor, the state Court of Appeals ruled 4-3 yesterday, marking a stunning turnaround from the rulings of two lower courts. "While there can be no quarrel with the proposition that, generally, election must be the preferred means of filling vacancies in the elective office, it does not follow that the elective principle is preeminent when it comes to filling a vacancy in the office of Lieutenant-Governor," Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman wrote for the majority in Skelos v. Paterson.
Tax Benefits Did Not Preclude Rent Decontrol, Landlord Argues
Friday, September 11, 2009
Lawyers for one of New York's biggest landlords argued yesterday before the Court of Appeals that its interpretation of rent deregulation statutes and its practice of decontrolling rents on some apartments while accepting tax breaks to make building improvements is entirely proper. Units significantly improved through tens of thousands of dollars' worth of investments by landlords should be subject to luxury decontrol as established by the Legislature and not rent at "well, well, well below market" rates in a regulated marketplace, Jay B. Kasner argued on behalf of PCV ST Owner L.P., the general partner of Tishman Speyer Properties.
Spargo Convicted of Attempted Extortion and Soliciting Bribes
Friday, August 28, 2009
After a three-day trial and seven hours of deliberations, a Northern District jury yesterday convicted former Supreme Court Justice Thomas J. Spargo of attempting to shake down lawyers appearing before him to help pay the substantial legal bills he had incurred in fighting an ongoing investigation into his conduct by the Commission on Judicial Conduct. E. Stewart Jones, Mr. Spargo's attorney, said Mr. Spargo was "disappointed and saddened" by the jury verdict, but observed that winning an acquittal, never easy in federal court, had been made even more of an "uphill struggle" by facts and circumstances of the case that were difficult to explain.
Free With Registration: Judges Grill Paterson's Lawyer on His Appointment of Ravitch
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
An openly skeptical Second Department panel yesterday questioned Kathleen Sullivan, a partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, about the constitutionality of Governor Paterson's appointment of Richard Ravitch as lieutenant governor. "There is simply no authority for your position - none," Justice Thomas A. Dickerson told Ms. Sullivan. "What the people want is elected officials. That's how we define democracy in the state of New York." Ms. Sullivan responded that "the people have voted" for a system that allows the governor to do what he did.
Divided Panel Rebuffs NYCLU Bid for Overhaul of Indigent Defense
Friday, July 17, 2009
Deferring to state policy makers, a deeply divided Third Department panel yesterday dismissed a suit contending that New York had abdicated its constitutional duty to provide legal representation to indigent criminal defendants. "There can be little doubt that what plaintiffs seek in this action - a massive overhaul of this state's public defense system - has obvious and ominous implications for the constitutional principle of separation of powers," Justice E. Michael Kavanagh wrote for the majority.
'Serious' Effort Vowed On False Convictions
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
As a lawyer representing criminal defendants, Theodore T. Jones Jr. said he was sure that people "occasionally" got convicted of crimes they did not commit. Now, the Court of Appeals judge is co-chairing a new state task force on wrongful convictions. He is convinced all participants in the criminal justice system recognize the high price the system pays for mistakenly convicting and imprisoning defendants. "There is absolutely no disagreement on the fact that one of the most horrendous results we can conjure up is to wrongfully convict a defendant," Judge Jones said in an interview yesterday. "Equally troubling is the fact that when that happens, the true perpetrator is still out there. If the public loses faith in the integrity of criminal convictions, then we have lost control of our entire system."
Free: Democrats Retake Senate Posts; GOP Fights Ravitch Appointment
Friday, July 10, 2009
Dissident Senator Pedro Espada Jr., D-Bronx, rejoined his fellow Democrats yesterday, apparently ending a leadership dispute that had stalled Senate legislative business for more than a month. However, as Democrats celebrated in Albany, the settlement left a major item of unfinished legal business: the validity of Richard Ravitch's appointment as New York's lieutenant governor, which will be the subject of a court hearing in Mineola this morning.
Ravitch Appointment Expected to Trigger Legal Challenges
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Governor David A. Paterson said yesterday he would appoint Richard Ravitch, a former chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, as lieutenant governor as a way to break a 31-31 stalemate that has paralyzed the state Senate for a month. Mr. Paterson said his office's consultations with lawyers and legal scholars indicates "there is nothing in the Constitution nor the law that says that I cannot fill the vacant post of lieutenant governor." But he acknowledged that the courts are likely to get involved.
Free With Registration: Month-long Senate Stalemate Increasingly Spawns Lawsuits
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Virtually all of New York's state senators insist the struggle for control of their chamber is a problem for them alone to resolve. Yet as the paralyzing dispute entered its fifth week, frustrated parties both in the Senate and outside state government are increasingly turning to the courts to break the stalemate. No fewer than six suits have been filed, the latest of which was filed yesterday by Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy seeking declaratory judgment on whether the June 8 "coup" was valid.
Ruling Strikes Down Comptroller's Authority to Audit Charter Schools
Friday, June 26, 2009
The state Court of Appeals yesterday struck down as unconstitutional a 2005 state law that directed the state comptroller to audit the books of charter schools. The judges also declined to quash a subpoena issued by the New York City Department of Investigation against a woman who misstated comments by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer at a public hearing, and it ruled that injured motorists can be made to forfeit supplementary insurance coverage if they settle with more than one tortfeaser without their insurer's permission.
Free With Registration: Injury During Exam Ruled Malpractice, Not Simple Negligence
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Doctors who injure patients during the independent medical examinations required for plaintiffs in personal injury cases are subject to medical malpractice claims, not actions for ordinary negligence, a widely divided state Court of Appeals ruled yesterday. The majority of the 4-3 Court held that a "limited physician-patient relationship" exists during such examinations, typically performed at the behest of insurers to determine the extent of injuries plaintiffs suffered in prior accidents. The the 2 1/2-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice should apply to any claims brought against doctors for harm done during the exams, the majority said.
State Panel Approves Reporting of Partial Matches Between Crime Scene DNA and Databank Samples
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
A state commission has approved an expansion of the use of DNA evidence by allowing forensic laboratories to report to law enforcement agencies instances where partial matches have been found between crime scene DNA and samples on file in the New York's DNA Databank. Near matches may indicate that a close relative of the individual whose sample already is in the 341,000-offender database is likely the perpetrator, forensic scientists say.
Police Gun Buyers' Names Not Public, Divided Panel Rules
Monday, June 15, 2009
The names of current and former Albany police officers who used official channels to purchase military-style assault weapons for personal use do not have to be disclosed, a divided Third Department panel ruled last week. Justice Anthony T. Kane, writing for a three-judge majority, said the officers' names were exempt from disclosure under the state's Freedom of Information Law because the information could be used to evaluate or discipline them.
Free: Court Finds Attorney's Unsolicited Faxes Did Not Violate Communications Act
Friday, June 12, 2009
The Court of Appeals yesterday unanimously ruled that the 14 faxes attorney Andrew Lavoott Bluestone sent to another solo practitioner, Peter Marc Stern, were basically informational, not promotional, in nature, and therefore did not violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 or the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005. "To the extent that Bluestone may have devised the reports as a way to impress other attorneys with his legal expertise and gain referrals, the faxes may be said to contain, at most, '[a]n incidental advertisement' of his services, which 'does not convert the entire communication into an advertisement,'" the court held.
Split Panel Rejects Curfew Imposed on Rochester Youths
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The city of Rochester's curfew on teens, enacted in 2006 following a rash of murders and assaults of young people, many of them at night, was thrown out yesterday by a divided Court of Appeals, with the majority faulting the evidence on which the city relied to justify the measure and finding that the ordinance violated the constitutional rights of parents.
Free With Registration: Legal Aid Wins Bid to Be Notified of City Plans to Evict Homeless
Friday, June 5, 2009
The "broadly worded" terms of a 1981 consent decree provide that the Legal Aid Society, the designated representatives of the homeless, should have "access to any records relevant to enforcement and monitoring" of the decree, which includes notification whenever the city has told shelter residents they are to be evicted for misbehavior or for other conduct that makes them ineligible to receive housing and welfare assistance, the Court of Appeals held yesterday.
Driver Was Negligent, But County Held Liable
Thursday, May 28, 2009
A jury's finding that a driver had operated his car negligently does not preclude Schenectady County from being found 100 percent liable for the severe brain injuries the driver suffered when his vehicle plunged into a drainage ditch alongside a county roadway, a Third Department panel has concluded. To hold Vincenzo Popolizio at least partly liable, the county would have had to show that his negligence was so "inextricably interwoven" with his injuries as to support a finding that his fault was a proximate cause of those injuries, the court held.
Free With Registration: Integrity Panel Director Quits; Paterson Seeks New Ethics Body
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Herbert Teitelbaum resigned as executive director of the Commission on Public Integrity yesterday, five days after Governor David A. Paterson and the state's inspector general called on him to step aside for allegedly leaking information about a commission investigation of top Spitzer administration officials to the Spitzer camp. Mr. Teitelbaum insisted in a resignation letter to Michael G. Cherkasky, the commission's new chairman, that he had acted honorably throughout the Spitzer probe and that the near-constant controversy swirling around the commission since July 2007 was due to "unfounded attacks on the Commission and me from different quarters pursuing their political self-interests."
Free With Registration: Inspector General, Governor Call for Integrity Head to Resign
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Governor David A. Paterson yesterday called for the resignation of Herbert Teitelbaum, the director of the Commission on Public Integrity, following the release of a report by the state's Inspector General that found Mr. Teitelbaum had improperly disclosed confidential information to a top aide of then-Governor Eliot Spitzer about a commission investigation of the Spitzer administration. Mr. Paterson said Mr. Teitelbaum had compromised the independence of an agency formed to police the conduct of government employees. Mr. Teitelbaum denied any wrongdoing.
Divided Panel Requires Warrant for Use of GPS to Track Suspects
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
A divided Court of Appeals yesterday ordered a new trial for Scott C. Weaver, convicted of burglary in part with evidence from a GPS device State Police attached to his vehicle. Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman wrote for the majority that "this dragnet use of the technology at the sole discretion of law enforcement authorities to pry into the details of people's daily lives is not consistent with the values at the core of our state Constitution's prohibition against unreasonable searches."
