What's New

November 15, 2011. Margulis-Ohnuma Comments on Jerry Sandusky Scandal at Penn State.

May 31, 2011. Tony Yarbough's Accuser Reiterates His Recantation Under Oath Before the Parole Board. According to a transcript released last week by the New York State Division of Parole, Sharrif Wilson in 2009 once again swore under oath that Tony Yarbough was innocent, meaning that he lied at Tony's trial. Sharrif was facing the parole board, seeking to cut short his sentence of nine-years-to-life. He had every reason to continue his lie: the board almost never grants parole where an offender "fails to take responsibility" by owning up to his crime. That dynamic led Sharrif to lie in previous parole appearances. This time though, after recanting in writing to Tony's family, Sharrif did the right thing and maintained that both he and Tony were innocent. The transcript was released pursuant to a Freedom of Information Law Request from this office.

March 11, 2011. Fundraising for Tony Yarbough proceeds apace. Warmest thanks go out to everyone who has contributed to the effort to raise money for experts to help free Tony Yarbough, a Brooklyn man wrongly convicted of the brutal 1992 murders of his mother, his 12-year-old sister and another 12-year-old girl. Thanks especially to Prof. Allen Downey of Olin College (a brilliant computer scientist who has lent his expertise to statistical analyses in the service of exposing injustice in past cases with this office) and Justia.com (the leading search-engine optimization company for law firm websites), both of whom gave remarkably generous gifts. We are about half way to our goal of raising $6,000 to hire Jay Salpeter as private investigator, and will need more to hire a forensic pathologist when the time comes. I spoke to Tony from Attica today and he was moved and grateful for the support: he told me he had thought nobody cared and I assured him that that just is not so. Please give if you can by clicking the Donate link on this page or call our office at (212) 685-0999 for more information.

February 28, 2011. The Law Office of Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma initiates fundraising drive to free Tony Yarbough. Two years ago, we were persuaded to take on the case of Antonio Yarbough, a man who, at the age of 18, was charged and then convicted with the brutal murders of his mother, his 12-year-old sister and another 12-year-old girl. Simply reading the trial transcript persuaded us he was wrongly convicted: no physical evidence linked him to the crime, which occurred at a time when he had an iron-clad alibi. The only evidence against him was the word of his 15-year-old co-defendant, who has since recanted (and maintained his innocence before the trial). Last summer, we filed papers in the case in Brooklyn Supreme Court, seeking to have Tony's conviction overturned. The district attorney opposed the motion and Tony is now desperate for funds to pay for a private investigator, a forensic pathologist and a crime scene expert to help him prove his innocence. Please click this page for more information and to give whatever you can toward this important cause.

November 2, 2010. New associate joins the Law Office of Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma. The Law Office of Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma is pleased to announce that Clelia Castro-Malaspina Esq. has joined the firm as an associate attorney. Ms. Castro-Malaspina brings a wealth of experience and ability to the firm and will handle all phases of criminal and civil litigation. Her presence will magnify the firm's capacity to take on increasingly complex cases, including civil rights lawsuits and white-collar criminal matters. A graduate of American University Washington College of Law, Ms. Castro-Malaspina formerly worked for Blank Rome, LLP, a leading international law firm. For more information about her background, click the attorney profiles page or call our office at (212) 685-0999.

July 22, 2010. Attorney Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma seeks to reverse conviction of Brooklyn man after more than 18 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. This week, Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma filed a 57-page brief attacking the conviction of Antonio Yarbough for allegedly murdering his family when he was 17-years-old. Margulis-Ohnuma, who was assisted by a team of volunteer law students, alleged that the initial trial was unfair and that Tony is factually innocent. As described in detail in the motion papers, the prosecution held back key evidence showing that the time of death of the three victims -- Tony's mom, his little sister and a 12-year-old friend -- was four or five hours earlier than what the medical examiner said at trial. That would make it impossible for Tony to have committed the murders because the People presented uncontested evidence that at that time he was in Manhattan, not Coney Island where the murders took place. In addition, Margulis-Ohnuma argued that, among other failings, the defense lawyer should have investigated the time of death issue anyway: it was clear that if she had, Tony would not have been convicted. Since the trial, the only witness against Tony has recanted. No physical evidence linked Tony in any way to the crime scene. Witnesses saw two heroin addicts in the apartment near the actual time of the murders -- one of them pulled a knife and threatened to kill Tony's mother. "It is a testament to the human spirit," Margulis-Ohnuma said, "that Tony has not given up hope after all these years. He suffered the loss of his family at the hands of one or more heartless murderers who are probably now at large. He suffered the loss of his own freedom at the hands of a broken, unfair system for trying homicides in Brooklyn in the 1990s. I only hope that my own faith in our courts to correct their mistakes is not misguided. And I am grateful to Tony for giving me the opportunity to prove that it's not."

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