Syracuse Criminal Law Blog

The rate of violent crime is dropping. New York City offers great insight into this reality. In 2014, 328 homicides were reported compared to a staggering 2,245 in 1990. According to the FBI, in 2010, the U.S. had experienced a 40-year low in violent crime. Experts offer numerous reasons for why crime is on the decline, including: more people are in prison than in the past, potential victims are protecting

On January 22, New York Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver was arrested for federal corruption charges. After years of rumors regarding injustices committed by Mr. Silver, the U.S. District Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, filed a thirty-five page criminal complaint against Mr. Silver alleging five counts including honest services mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud, extortion “under the color of law”,

Asset forfeiture is the government seizure of property connected to unlawful activity — a practice that plays a central role in the federal government’s “War on Drugs.” Recently, this practice has been under scrutiny from the U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and civil liberty groups. The criticisms focus on the fact that law enforcement can seize possessions of people – such as cars and money – without an indictment or