Author Archives: Jay Butchko
NYC To Limit Marijuana Prosecutions
Mayor Bill De Blasio said he wanted the police department to “end unnecessary arrests” related to marijuana possession, and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said his agency would stop prosecuting low-level possession and smoking offenses. What do these changes mean for you? Mr. Vance cited a report which concluded that marijuana possession arrests… Read More »
Harvey Weinstein Faces Jail Time In New York For Sexual Assault
The former Hollywood producer declined to testify in front of a Manhattan grand jury. As expected, he was indicted for sex crimes offenses. Initially, it appeared that Mr. Weinstein would talk to the body that is investigating both two sexual assault charges and allegations that Mr. Weinstein gave hush money to other alleged victims…. Read More »
Former MLB Player Kelly Gruber Faces DUI Charges
The ex-Toronto Blue Jays All-Star was arrested for Driving Under the Influence in Texas. He made the controversial choice to refuse both the breath test and the field tests. Will that move help him or hurt him? In the early morning hours of April 22, 2018, Mr. Gruber was driving erratically, according to police…. Read More »
Four Common Search Warrant Exceptions In New York
Almost all criminal cases which rely on physical evidence, such as drug cases, involve search warrant exceptions. If the arrest was the culmination of a months-long investigation, there may be a search warrant involved. But generally, New York police officers are not going to wait for warrants if they think that people may have… Read More »
Conor McGregor Lawyers Up Following Imbroglio
When the UFC fighter appears in a New York court this June to face three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief, his Dublin attorney will be representing him. Graham Kenny, who trains at the same gym as Mr. McGregor, passed the New York State bar exam a number of years ago…. Read More »
‘NCIS’ May Be More Science Fiction Than Science Fact
For the most part, the forensic evidence that many criminal prosecutions rely on is nothing but razzle dazzle, according to scientists from the now-disbanded National Commission for Forensic Science. Dr. Arturo Casadevall, the lead study author, flatly stated that “many of the forensic techniques used today to put people in jail have no scientific… Read More »
Jets’ Wide Receiver Dodges One Bullet, Delays Another One
The troubled wide receiver’s legal problems became a little less pressing after Florida prosecutors dropped most of the new charges against him and agreed to a six-month continuance in another case. In January 2018, officers pulled over a wide receiver for the Jets for travelling 105mph in a 45mph zone. He was very combative… Read More »
Several New Yorkers Caught In Multistate Dragnet
After a two-year investigation, Drug Enforcement Agency officers in Maryland arrested nineteen people who were allegedly part of a drug pipeline running from the Bronx to Baltimore. According to prosecutors, one 42-year-old man sold large quantities of fentanyl and heroin in the Cherry Hill and Brooklyn sections of NYC, south Baltimore, and areas of… Read More »
Opposition Grows To NYC Regional Jails
People convicted of crimes in New York City may not be going to Rikers Island much longer, and no one is exactly sure where they will be going. But the post-conviction criminal procedure should remain the same. In 2017, a commission recommended closing Rikers Island, which is almost universally seen as a sprawling, isolated,… Read More »
Linda Kenney Baden Presenting at the AAFS Workshop
On February 20, 21 and 22, 2018, I presented in front of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences annual meeting in Seattle, Washington. The Academy is composed of over 6,000 members that actively practice forensic science. I first spoke at the Tuesday workshop with the presentation entitled “Tapestry of Trials — the Aaron Hernandez Case.” The following day, I… Read More »
