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You don’t have to be convicted of a crime to have a criminal record. At least for a while, arrests without charges and charges without convictions also appear; so do acquittals. Criminal records are public records.

If you’re facing a charge of custodial interference—or parental kidnapping—you might be feeling overwhelmed. Parental kidnapping in New York refers to one person’s interfering with the custodial rights of another person, generally a noncustodial spouse taking a child from the custodial parent without the right to do so.

If you’re facing criminal charges, you need to be aware of all the possible penalties. For most charges, judges are given sentencing options that can include alternatives to jail. However, it can require a skilled criminal defense attorney to argue on your behalf for reduced or alternative sentencing.

In 2020, New York State Police arrested 676 people for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) during active anti-DWI sobriety checks, according to the New York State Highway Safety Annual Report. If you or a loved one has recently been charged with your first DWI, you probably have many questions about what happens next while navigating the stressful legal situation.

In 2018, drug overdose deaths from synthetic opioids — namely fentanyl and fentanyl analogs — totaled 2,195 in the state of New York. Another 998 individuals died of prescription opioid overdoses, and an additional 1,243 more from heroin overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In New York, prison sentences and other penalties depend on a number of factors, such as the defendant's criminal history, the nature of the crime, and other surrounding circumstances. Felonies in the state of New York carry multiple years of incarceration in state prison. In the event that the person has two or more previous felony convictions, they may be ...

New York is the country’s fourth most populous state, but it ranked second in cybercrime losses for 2020. Financial losses from cybercrime reached nearly $416 million in 2020. The state’s response to increasing rates of computer and cybercrime is tougher laws with steeper penalties for convictions.

Data from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program indicates that 1,462 persons were arrested for federal offenses by FBI field officers in New York in 2019. A federal conspiracy occurs when two or more people agree to commit a federal crime or defraud the United States.

In New York State, the appellate division is composed of four different departments that review issues and resolve appeals in both civil and criminal cases that come up from the lower courts.

Following the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School and other nationwide incidents, the State of New York in 2013 tightened firearm possession and registration laws and elevated criminal possession violations from misdemeanors to the felony level.