Syracuse Criminal Law Blog

Court Issues Limited Decision on the Legality of NSA’s PRISM Program

July 14, 2015

Several years ago, Edward Snowden made national news when he declared that the United States population was under surveillance by the NSA. While the legality of that revelation has generated no small amount of controversy itself, the programs he brought to light also have important implications for the field of criminal law and the Fourth Amendment rights of accused citizens. An appeals court in New York handed down a decision

Time for Change in Bail Calculations?

July 7, 2015

The Honorable Jonathan Lippman, the chief judge of New York State, focused a portion of his annual State of the Judiciary Address to the practice of holding people facing, but not yet convicted of charges in jail for long periods of time, a practice he asserted “strips our justice system of its credibility and distorts its operation.” Judge Lippman’s comments urged legislative reform in pretrial detention practices to increase fairness

“Vague” Portion of Armed Career Criminal Act Struck Down

July 1, 2015

On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court held that the “residual phrase” of the Armed Career Criminal Act, which provides a five-year increase in imprisonment for crimes involving conduct that presents a serious risk of physical injury, is unconstitutional. This decision was announced in the case of Johnson v. United States. What is the Armed Career Criminal Act? The Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. § 924, is a federal

Illegal Re-Entry: Am I Automatically Deported?

June 24, 2015

New York shares a border with Canada over four hundred miles long. Syracuse is conveniently located a little more than an hour’s drive on Interstate 81 from the US-Canada border, which makes it a prime target for both legal and illegal immigration. The United States Sentencing Commission recently evaluated the crime of illegal re-entry and found that in 2013, most offenders convicted of this crime were apprehended by immigration officials

Federal Sentencing Guidelines: A Primer

June 17, 2015

All crimes charged in federal court are governed by the United States Sentencing Guidelines (“guidelines”). These guidelines are created by the United States Sentencing Commission, which was created by Congress in the 1980’s. The Guidelines were created in an attempt to equalize the wide disparity of sentences of similarly situated offenders. How Do the Guidelines Work? The guidelines are, essentially, a mathematical equation that takes into account several factors: The

Implied Consent Law: Can I Refuse to Submit to a Breathalyzer?

June 15, 2015

As much as we take driving car for granted, driving in the State of New York is considered a privilege,not a right. The state can thus choose to place certain conditions on your privileges. For example, the Implied Consent Law states that any person who operates a motor vehicle in the state shall be deemed to have given consent to chemical tests that determine that individual’s blood alcohol content (BAC)

Bitcoin: Online Currency and the Black Market

June 15, 2015

In May of 2015, Dylan Soeffing, a senior in college, was arrested at his apartment with over eight-hundred Xanax pills, a small amount of marijuana, and more than $170,000 in cash. Mr. Soeffing allegedly told police that he had coordinated his year and a half old drug business almost entirely through the Darknet – part of the Internet not accessible through ordinary search engines – utilizing Bitcoins. Mr. Soeffing was

Convicted Felons Can Transfer Guns to Approved Third Parties: Henderson v. United States

May 27, 2015

When an individual is convicted of a felony, he or she loses his right to lawfully possess firearms. If an individual is convicted of a felony drug offense or other felony, he is barred by federal law from possessing guns. The recent Supreme Court case Henderson v. United States involved the question of whether or not convicted felons are allowed to dictate where their firearms go after their conviction. Can a felon sell his

How New York’s New White Collar Criminal Task Force May Affect You

May 26, 2015

In October 2012, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance along with Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen M. Rice created a White Collar Crime Task Force looking to revise New York’s current criminal scheme. The experts involved in the task force recommended procedural changes and amendments to the current fraud, cyber-crime, ID-theft, and money-laundering statutes. The results of the report were announced in September of 2013. Those changes were recently codified intoproposed

Two Types of Traffic Concerns on Interstate 81

May 13, 2015

Earlier this year, federal agents were alerted to the transport of a large quantity of ecstasy, otherwise known as MDMA, on the New York side of the Canadian border. Based on information provided by a confidential informant, the transfer of over 400 grams of MDMA was to happen at the well-known junction of Interstate 81 and state Route 104. After failing to stop at a red light, officers pulled the