The medication has been known to cause blackouts for some users, resulting in them engaging in behaviors that they did not remember the next day. According to the Huffington Post, this has resulted in a number of high profile legal cases where defendants have argued that Ambien led to them to engage in illegal behaviors without their knowledge.

One of the more dangerous side effects of this popular hypnotic drug is a phenomenon known as sleep-driving.

As a result of those cases, changes have been made to the warning labels on the drug to better alert consumers of the potentially dangerous side effects of taking the drug. However, by explicitly putting such a warning on the medication, it only bolstered the argument for using it as a legitimate defense in court. Because of the way it affects the body and mind, it can be difficult for prosecutors to categorize what type of intoxication it actually causes. Therefore, while some people have had success in court using the Ambien defense, others have not been to lucky.

Most recently, the Ambien defense was used by a 41-year old nun from Philadelphia who was arrested for driving under the influence, as reported by 6abc. She claimed that it was the Ambien that caused her be in an accident across the river in New Jersey and not the wine she had consumed earlier in the day. However, the judge did not buy it. Many DUI statutes do not taken into consideration whether or not a person had the intent to drive while intoxicated, only that they actually did so. Ultimately, she was convicted and received a license suspension and several hundred dollars in fines.

The post A look at how Ambien is being used as a legal defense appeared first on The Law Offices of Zev Goldstein, PLLC.

Say for example, you are pulled over for a traffic violation and the police search your car illegally. During the search, they find drugs and drug paraphernalia. Under the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine, since the search was done illegally (the tree), the drugs and drug paraphernalia may not be admissible in court (the fruit that grew from the tree).

This doctrine is closely related to the exclusionary rule, which states that evidence obtained in violation of your Fourth Amendment rights may not be used in a criminal trial. The purpose of both the exclusionary rule and the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine is to deter police from utilizing illegal methods to obtain evidence.

“Fruit of the poisonous tree” is a legal doctrine concerning evidence against you that is obtained by the police illegally.

There are, however, three important exceptions to this doctrine. The evidence may still be used against you if:

• It was discovered independently from the illegal activity.
• The chain between the illegal activity and the discovery of the evidence is too weak.
• It was inevitable that it would have been discovered eventually.

This doctrine applies not only to physical evidence, but to testimony as well.  So if you are interrogated by police illegally, anything you subsequently say or confess to may also not be admissible.

The post What does fruit of the poisonous tree mean? appeared first on The Law Offices of Zev Goldstein, PLLC.

This could have a huge impact on the 45,000 defendants held on bail each year in all five New York City boroughs. A pilot program that began in Queens in 2009 saw 87 percent of defendants show up for their court date. In lieu of monetary bail, defendants are released under court supervision with varying forms of oversight. Such oversight an include texts or phone calls reminding people of their scheduled court appearances, as well as in-person meetings for some defendants.

Despite recent efforts in the last year to change how bail is doled out in New York City, some feel those efforts are not enough. 

The post Some feel further bail reform is necessary in New York City appeared first on The Law Offices of Zev Goldstein, PLLC.

Officer.com reports that, when used correctly, license plate readers are a boon to police officers investing burglaries, bank robberies and other types of pattern crimes. Departments can analyze recent crime trends and then position cameras in high crime areas to try and find clues and identify potential suspects. As technology has improved, the pictures from these readers have gone from grainy and blurry to clear digital images. Since the readers capture images that are taken in public, there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, proponents argue.

Officer.com reports that, when used correctly, license plate readers are a boon to police officers investing burglaries, bank robberies and other types of pattern crimes. 

Others however, including the American Civil Liberties Union, disagree. In 2013, the ACLU issued a report expressing concerns about their use, which cites an example of the NYPD using plate readers to record attendees at a New York mosque. According to the Huffington Post, license plate readers have already been misused by law enforcement in other areas of the country as well. For example an officer in Washington D.C. looked up plates of cars parked near a gay bar and then blackmailed the vehicles’ owners.

So a tool that was conceived with the intent of catching traffic violators in the act has now become a means of conducting mass digital surveillance. Use of license plate readers could potentially create a permanent database of any vehicle’s location at any given time and this raises serious questions about whether their use constitutes an invasion of privacy. It remains to be seen whether state and federal legislators will take any action to limit their use or regulate how the data they collect is stored.

The post Police use of license plate readers leads to privacy concerns appeared first on The Law Offices of Zev Goldstein, PLLC.

If a police officer suspects that a vehicle’s windows are tinted beyond the legal specifications, he or she may pull the driver over and use a tint meter to determine if the windows are in compliance. Being caught with tinted windows that exceed the legal limit is a minor violation. If the driver is in violation of additional laws, however, they may come to light during the traffic stop for tinted windows.

If a police officer suspects that a vehicle’s windows are tinted beyond the legal specifications, he or she may pull the driver over and use a tint meter to determine if the windows are in compliance

The post Tinted windows can lead to more serious charges appeared first on The Law Offices of Zev Goldstein, PLLC.

Police Chief Magazine reports that in February of 2013, a driver in Florida was pulled over for having an expired registration. A drug dog alerted the officer to the presence of pseudoephedrine, an ingredient used to manufacture methamphetamine. Police searched the car and found supplies used for making methamphetamine. The driver argued that the dog did not have a stellar performance record and that the dog was not trained to detect that type of drug. Therefore, the search was done without probable cause. While the Florida Supreme Court found that the dog’s reliability in detecting drugs could not be proved, the U.S. Supreme Court disagreed. Probable cause, they stated, is based on the totality of circumstances and not strictly on one specific factor relating to the dog’s drug sniffing abilities.

One of the primary questions being asked is whether the search of a vehicle by a drug dog is legal.

On the other hand, earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the use of a K-9 after the conclusion of a traffic stop is, in fact, a violation of a person’s Fourth Amendment protection against unlawful search and seizure. In that case, the driver was pulled over for committing a minor traffic infraction. The driver’s vehicle was then searched by the officer’s dog after the officer had returned the driver’s paperwork to him. At this point, the high court stated, the traffic stop was officially over and there was no legal reason to detain the man further.

Police officers are authorized to walk drug dogs around a vehicle during a traffic stop. These cases demonstrate, however, that multiple factors may be used to determine probable cause and people have the right to question the search if they believe their rights were violated.

The post A look at the use of drug dogs during traffic stops appeared first on The Law Offices of Zev Goldstein, PLLC.

Although police were quick to say they did not perceive the man to be a danger to the public, at least one law enforcement official noted that the man’s use of a fake badge and identification along with a vehicle equipped to resemble an unmarked police vehicle were among the things police would be focusing on in their investigation. According to police, the suspect had numerous firearms, a massive amount of ammunition and body armor in his possession or at his home that police seized following his arrest.

The typical defense strategy focuses on forcing the prosecution to prove every element of each criminal charge by challenging the evidence and the manner in which it was obtained.

Criminal defense attorneys know that even cases, such as this one, where a massive amount of evidence would appear to weigh heavily in favor of the prosecution and against the accused are mere allegations until guilt is proven after a criminal trial. The typical defense strategy focuses on forcing the prosecution to prove every element of each criminal charge by challenging the evidence and the manner in which it was obtained.

Sometimes, a defense strategy that focuses attention on weaknesses in the prosecution case against the accused might not avoid a criminal conviction. Creating reasonable doubt may cause a prosecutor to agree to a plea negotiation in which a charge is reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor, or it might cause prosecutors to offer penalties at sentencing that are less severe than those the accused had been facing.

Avoiding the long-term consequences of a criminal conviction might be accomplished without going to trial. A consultation with a criminal defense attorney might provide a person accused of a criminal charge with defense alternatives including a plea negotiation and reduced charges or penalties.

The post Traffic violation leads to felony arrest and criminal defense appeared first on The Law Offices of Zev Goldstein, PLLC.

The person accused of committing the crime has the certainty of knowing what he or she is facing at sentencing, and the prosecution has one less case that it has to prepare for trial. The court benefits when a pea negotiation is reached because a trial would tie up a judge, courtroom and courtroom personnel.

A plea negotiation is not limited to reducing the penalties or the severity of the criminal charge faced by the accused. 

A plea negotiation is not limited to reducing the penalties or the severity of the criminal charge faced by the accused. Individuals charged with a sex offense may face long-term consequences including registration as a sex offender. If a plea negotiation can lead to a plea to an assault charge, the accused might be better off than risking a criminal trial on the original charges.

Criticism of plea bargaining usually focuses on the risk that a person might agree to plead guilty just to end a case and without giving consideration to how he or she might do at a criminal trial. This is why it is important for a person to have a full understanding of the criminal charge and the strength of the evidence prosecutors have to support it. If the evidence is not strong enough to support a criminal conviction, then a plea negotiation might not be in the best interest of the accused.

A consultation with Rockland County, New York, criminal defense attorney can help you to understand the criminal charges that have been filed against you. It might also give you an insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the case the state have against you.

The post Avoiding harsh penalties through plea negotiation appeared first on The Law Offices of Zev Goldstein, PLLC.

The decedents – a 65-year-old man and his 10-year-old granddaughter, as well as another 24-year-old man – were on a sidewalk when the driver of a car lost control of his vehicle, rear-ended the car in front of him and then swerved into oncoming traffic before his car ran onto the sidewalk and struck a group of trick-or-treaters. According to police, the driver of the car apparently had a seizure, which led to his loss of vehicular control.

The cab driver knew that he had epilepsy and yet failed to take his prescription anti-seizure medication before the fatal accident.

Although police have indicated initially that they have not brought charges against the car driver, they have not ruled out that possibility, either. The reason for this may be the length of time it takes to undertake a thorough investigation of the circumstances underlying his seizure. Earlier this year, after a five-month investigation New York City law enforcement charged a taxi driver with criminally negligent homicide for hitting and killing two pedestrians with his car after he suffered an epileptic seizure. The reason for the criminal charge was that the cab driver knew that he had epilepsy and yet failed to take his prescription anti-seizure medication before the fatal accident.

Anyone who suffers from a physical, mental or emotional condition which may impair his or her ability to drive a car, and for which he or she is taking prescription medications, can be subject to both criminal and civil legal liability if an investigation of any seizure-related accident reveals that he or she knowingly failed to take those medications as directed. In such cases it is imperative for the driver to secure the best possible legal counsel experienced with New York City traffic laws to maximize the chances of preserving his or her personal liberty.

Source: New York Times, “Mourners Gather to Remember to Victims of Halloween Crash in the Bronx,” Michael Schwirtz, Kate Pastor, Nov. 7, 2015

The post Sometimes taking drugs before driving is a good thing appeared first on The Law Offices of Zev Goldstein, PLLC.