ZMO Law PLLC is delighted to announce our resilient, brilliant client Katerina Pusepa has settled her lawsuit against top officials of the New York prison system for $425,000. While money can never compensate Kat for what the state did to her, the amount is a clear acknowledgement that allowing a guard to sexually assault an …
News
The new crime of sextortion
The Rockland County “sextortion” investigation reported last week in The New York Times is a stark reminder that online interactions can spiral into serious criminal allegations. Other local reporting indicates police believe a boy at Fieldstone Middle School coerced classmates to send explicit images, threatened to share those images if the victims didn’t comply, and …
What the Sentencing Commission Has to Say About Federal Crime Victims
By Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma The U.S. Sentencing Commission has published a new fact sheet on federal offenses involving force or threats against a person. The numbers cover fiscal year 2023 and highlight how often federal courts see cases involving homicide, assault, kidnapping, robbery, extortion, child pornography and other crimes with identifiable victims. It’s an informative compendium …
Can officials search my cell phone at the border?
By Julia LaicoZMO Law PLLC Law Clerk Travelers expect to have their luggage screened at the airport—but few anticipate that officers can comb through their phones, laptops, or digital devices, let alone that they can face criminal charges for something found on their electronics. But that’s what happened to Kurbonali Sultanov, whose case raises critical …
The police were right to free Daniel Penny. They were wrong to arrest Tracy McCarter.
By Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma Police encounter someone trying to subdue a violent attacker. Within moments, they realize the attacker is dead. They are not sure what happened. The subduer is completely cooperative and forthcoming. No one wanted the attacker to die, but force was needed to stop the violence. Should the police investigate or make an …
Tracy McCarter: Free at Last
By Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma After subjecting her to thirty-three months of living hell, the Supreme Court of the State of New York has finally, finally, finally dismissed the charges against Tracy McCarter, a battered woman whose husband died while he was attacking her. Acting Justice Diane Kiesel’s opinion dismissing the case can only be described as …
When is a Doctor Actually a Drug Dealer?
By Tess Cohen The Supreme Court is hearing several cases that seek to help answer the question: when is a doctor who writes prescriptions for controlled substances selling a prescription, and therefore not practicing medicine but committing a crime. This is one of the more difficult questions the criminal law asks its jurors to answer, …
Principal Attorney Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma to Present on “Sex Offense Laws 101”
By Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma Tune in to a webinar on December 3 for an overview of New York’s sex offense laws and the harsh consequences of a sex offense conviction. The program, organized by the New York City Bar Association SORA Working Group and Committee on Criminal Justice Operations, will provide a broad overview of the …
Feds & Dutch Authorities Shut Dark Web Drug Markets
By Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma Two huge illicit markets operating on the Dark Web, AlphaBay and Hansa, were shut down today after being infiltrated by the government for the past several weeks. The sites had claimed up to 200,000 users, 40,000 vendors and 350,000 listings for illegal drugs, stolen credit card information, hacked computer code, counterfeit goods and …