Hearing ordered in murder case after defendant forced to wear stun belt
The New York State Court of Appeals has sent a case back to the lower court for a hearing after a defendant was required to wear a stun belt during his murder trial.
Court of Appeals reinstates murder conviction
The state’s highest court has overturned a lower court ruling and reinstated a murder conviction.
New York State Court of Appeals: Public allowed to see police body camera footage
NEW YORK (AP) — Police body camera footage is subject to public disclosure under New York law, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday. The Appellate Division panel rejected a police union’s argument that body camera footage constitutes a personnel record and is therefore covered by a state law keeping police personnel records secret. Body camera […]
Court of Appeals rejects assisted suicide
The New York State Court of Appeals has ruled unanimously that citizens have no right to assisted suicide. The plaintiffs sought a declaration confirming the constitutional right of a mentally competent, terminally ill person to get a prescription for a lethal dose of drugs from a physician without legal consequences for the doctor. In February […]
Tri-County Bar Association committee rates nominees for the Court of Appeals
The Tri-County Bar Association Judicial Screening Committee, which is composed of selected members from the Bar Association of Erie County, Monroe County Bar Association and the Onondaga County Bar Association, has sent a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo with the Committee’s ratings for seven nominees under consideration for associate judge of the New York State […]
New York Court of Appeals upholds drunk driving protections
New York’s Court of Appeals has upheld a state law that allows for permanent suspension of drivers licenses for repeat drunk drivers. A unanimous opinion from five of the state’s highest court judges Tuesday affirmed that the Department of Motor Vehicles commissioner has the authority to refuse to relicense drivers who have had their licenses […]
Court of Appeals OKs ban on ‘double dipping’
The New York State Court of Appeals has decided that a policy that prohibits double dipping by state Supreme Court justices is legal and constitutional. Three state Supreme Court justices challenged the policy that wouldn’t let them stay on the bench after they turn 70 if they collected their salary without postponing their state pension. […]
Trailblazing Judge Abdus-Salaam mourned by NY legal community
Sheila Abdus-Salaam, the first African-American woman to serve on New York’s top court, was found dead in the Hudson River Wednesday, police said. She was 65. The body of Abdus-Salaam, a native of Washington, D.C., was found fully clothed in the river in Upper Manhattan at 1:45 p.m., a day after her husband had reported […]
Facebook takes search warrant challenge to top court
Facebook and Manhattan prosecutors went to New York state’s highest court Tuesday to settle a legal dispute over search warrants for users’ accounts, a closely watched case with big implications for online privacy. An attorney for Facebook told the judges that it must be allowed to object when law enforcement seeks search warrants for its […]
Social Media Law: NY high court to rule on Facebook and warrants
Can Facebook and similar entities protect user data from sweeping government searches? On Tuesday, the New York Court of Appeals hears oral argument on this issue in the case of In re 381 Search Warrants Directed to Facebook, Inc. I detail the major issues below. You can watch the arguments live on the Court of […]
Trials & Tribulations: Court of Appeals upholds decision denying NYC qualified immunity
On Dec. 22, the Court of Appeals upheld the trial court and Second Department, Appellate Division’s decisions, finding New York City liable in negligence for failing to adequately study and correct a documented speeding problem on a city street, which led to a car accident seriously injuring a 12-year-old boy. Turturro v. City of New […]
Owners of ‘Happy Together’ lose copyright case
Radio stations don’t have to get permission — or pay compensation — to the owners of old music recordings in order to play the recordings, the state’s highest court ruled Tuesday in an ongoing legal dispute between Sirius XM Radio and the owners of The Turtle’s 1967 hit “Happy Together.” The Court of Appeals determined […]
Case Digests
- NYS Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics – Attorney misconduct: Opinion 22-164
- NYS Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics – Independently written bench book: Opinion 22-163
- Fourth Department – Suppression: People v. Saeli
- Second Circuit – RICO: Horn v. Medical Marijuana Inc.
- NYS Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics – Uncompensated interview: Opinion 22-159
- NYS Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics – Uncompensated guest speaker: Opinion 22-158
- Fourth Department – Negligent performance: Rosenthal v. Syracuse University, et al.
- Second Circuit – Visual Artists Rights Act: Kerson v. Vermont Law School Inc.
- NYS Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics – Former foreclosure referee: Opinion 22-157
- NYS Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics – College honorarium: Opinion 22-156
- Second Circuit – Reasonable accommodation: Tafolla v. Heilig
- Fourth Department – Labor Law: Primisch v. Peroxychem LLC
Law News
- Appeals court upholds Supreme Court ruling
- Assistant district attorney appointed City Court judge by Rochester mayor
- Murder conviction affirmed despite trial judge error
- NY appeals court upholds conviction in burglary case
- Federal lawsuit reinstated against jail officer over strip search, delayed release
- Hyzon to pay $25M penalty to settle alleged fraud charges by SEC
- NY appeals court reinstates lawsuit over contract to remove snow
- Fourth Department affirms $400K judgment in contract dispute