Buffalo teen Jean Sanchez, who pleaded guilty in October to second degree murder in the May 2014 killing of another teen, was sentenced to nine years to life in prison on Thursday afternoon. Although Sanchez pleaded guilty as an adult, his initial sentence is less severe than it might otherwise have been because of his age. NBC news affiliate WGRZ aired a report going through the details of the case, including my legal analysis of Sanchez's sentencing. Click on the image above for the full interview.
New York State's civil confinement program allows for some sex offenders to be involuntarily placed in a psychiatric facility, even after they've served their full sentences. Recently, 5 patients have filed a class action, asking a federal judge to rule the program unconstitutional. NBC news affiliate WGRZ recently aired a report on the civil confinement program, including my legal analysis on the constitutionality of the program. Click on the image above to watch the full report, which includes my analysis.
A collection of gun rights groups, pro-fracking advocates and other activists will rally Sunday in a small town near Binghamton. They are gathering to unveil two proposals, both of which call for the separation of upstate New York from downstate New York. NBC news affiliate WGRZ recently explored the details of these proposals, including the economic and legal implications. WGRZ's report include an interview with me, where I provided legal analysis on the feasibility of the proposals. You can watch the full report, including my legal analysis, by clicking on the image above.
I was recently selected to be the focus of Super Lawyers Q&A feature for their 2015 Upstate New York issue. Super Lawyers' feature focuses on my Scientific Misconduct practice. You can read the entire article by clicking here.
Rapper DMX is back in jail in Western New York. This time, he’s been sentenced to spend six months in the Erie County Holding Center for failing to comply with a court order to pay child support for a daughter born to a Buffalo resident. In 2001, he was jailed at the Erie County Correctional Facility after being convicted of speeding on the Kensington Expressway, driving without a license, and marijuana possession. WGRZ asked me to comment on DMX’s recent sentencing and other aspects of the current case. Click on the image above for the full interview.
A fatal motorcycle crash that took two lives in the Town of Amherst in 2012 may lead to safety changes for the area—and a settlement offer for the family of one of the victims. The women who died in the crash were walking along a town bike path with their families when a drunk motorcyclist veered off Tonawanda Creek Road and struck several people, including the two who were killed. The family of one of the victims sued the town, claiming it failed to properly design the section of the bike path where the accident took place. WGRZ asked me to comment on the crash and lawsuit. Click on the image above for the full interview.
Richard Matt, the City of Tonawanda native who broke out of the Clinton Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison in Dannemora, NY, has a history of breaking out of jail. In this most recent escape, Matt and another inmate, David Sweat, used power tools to break out of their cells, wound their way through the guts of the massive prison, and came out a manhole. WGRZ asked me what Matt is likely to do now that he’s out. Click on the image above for the interview.
WGRZ’s 2 on Your Side news team reports on the ongoing investigation into the accident the caused the death of three-year-old Maksym Sugorovskiy in Delaware Park on May 30. The driver, who caused the accident when his car veered off the Scajaquada Expressway and onto the park’s Ring Road, where Maksym and his mother and sister were walking, has not been charged. WGRZ asked for my comments on this aspect of the case and on the Amherst Police Department joining the investigation. Click on the video above.
WGRZ reports that an arrest warrant was issued for Carlos Fuqua, who left his two young children padlocked in a room while he and the children’s mother left the house, leaving the kids alone and unsupervised. The warrant was issued after the father failed to show up in city court for a hearing on charges of endangering the welfare of the children. WGRZ asked for my comments on the missed court date and how the father might be found. Click on the video above.