Criminal Defense Legal Blog

Regarding direct consequences, theft crime charges often don’t seem serious. Prosecutors, who often see retail theft as a civil matter, rarely aggressively pursue these matters. However, indirect consequences are different. Theft is a crime involving moral...

A generation ago, to most prosecutors, embezzlement, bribery, and other white-collar crimes were enhanced theft crimes and crimes of opportunity. Most nonlawyers shared that viewpoint. Large financial crimes, like Enron and Bernie Madoff, changed the environment. Now,...

Many of us are familiar with the adage, “you get what you pay for.”[1] This axiom basically means that cheap things are, well, cheap things. A licensed contractor charges more than an unlicensed handyman, but a licensed contractor usually does a better job. This...

The simple answer is yes, you can go to jail for smashing a car window. Criminal mischief is a misdemeanor in New York. But as always, the issue is complicated. For example, assume Max sees a dog in a hot car. Many states have Good Samaritan laws that protect Max if...

Like the other offenses listed below, embezzlement is basically a combination of theft and betrayal. As a result, even though embezzlement charges are nonviolent crimes, these offenses are quite serious. Usually, an embezzlement lawyer near you resolves these charges...

Most people who ask us this question were arrested for drug possession. Simple possession accounts for about 80 percent of the drug crime arrests in Monroe County.[1] Specifically, this question usually involves collective possession cases. If officers find drugs in a...