Chad Kelly, the nephew of Buffalo Bill’s Hall-of-Famer Jim Kelly, was arrested outside a Buffalo bar last weekend after a fight with bouncers. Kelly, who just signed on with the University of Mississippi as quarterback, is charged with assault, criminal mischief, harassment, and other charges. WGRZ asked me for legal analysis of a 30-second video of the altercation. Click on the video above for my evaluation.
The recent failure of grand juries in St. Louis County, Missouri, and Staten Island, New York, to indict police officers accused of killing suspects has people across the country questioning whether the grand jury system needs to be changed. In both of these cases, race was an issue, as the officers were white, and the men who died were black. Do police receive special treatment from prosecutors, and what role does race play? I address these issues with WGRZ’s Claudia Ewing; click on the video above.
Iver Phallen, a retired Lewiston businessman, recently pleaded guilty to a 122-count indictment in Niagara County Court. He is accused of terrorizing young women in his home using a torture chamber he devised. The indictment covers only two alleged victims, but NBC news affiliate WGRZ reports that more victims may come forward. I spoke with WGRZ’s Mary Alice Demler about the charges against Phallen.
Jeffrey Basil, the former manager of Molly’s Pub in Buffalo, NY, stands accused of murdering Bill Sager, a local air national guardsman, after allegedly pushing Sager down the bar’s stairs in May. Sager suffered a severe head injury and died weeks later. With his attorney, Joel Daniels, Basil is trying to have the highest charged against him, intentional murder in the second degree, dropped. WGRZ’s Scott Levin asked me for an analysis of their strategy. Click the video above for the full report.
Two nurse assistants at Erie County Medical Center were recently charged with neglect of an elderly patient who suffered from Alzheimer's and dementia. There are reports of video evidence that support the charge of neglect by the two nurse assistants. WGRZ interviewed me for perspective on nurse neglect and abuse. Click on the video above for the full report, including my analysis.
The recent news of child abuse allegations against NFL running back Adrian Peterson has raised several moral and legal questions. Is it legal to spank a child? Can a parent discipline a child by hitting them? What does the law consider to be child abuse? Does New York State's laws on child abuse differ from other states? I address this questions in an interview with WGRZ's Claudine Ewing in her report on how the Adrian Peterson case stirs the conversation on child discipline. Click the video above to watch my legal analysis on child abuse laws.
A Yemen-born man who was resided in Rochester was indited on Tuesday. He is accused of recruiting for the terrorist organization, the Islamic State, also known as ISIS. While the terror charges the suspect faces are serious, he is also charged with additional substantive crimes. NBC News affiliate WGRZ aired a detailed report on the suspect, including an interview with me for some legal analysis on the case. Click on the video above to hear my commentary on the statute being used in this case as well as the potential jail time the suspect faces just for gun charges and other crimes.