New Decisions from the N.Y. Court of Appeals

New York State’s highest court has issued a number of decisions this week on civil and criminal law.

The cases cover a number of issues, including the privacy of medical records, a criminal defendant's right to a public trial and whether the police are required to interview witnesses after overhearing potentially exculpatory statements.

Decisions of the New York State Court of Appeals are binding on all lower courts within the state. The decisions are available to the public and can be found at the court’s website.

Federal Law May Force Obama to Make Bin Laden Pics Public

A number of news organizations, including AP, Fox and NPR, are claiming a federal open government law requires the White House to make public the photographs of a deceased Osama Bin Laden.

According to the Atlantic Monthly:

"Pictures of Osama bin Laden and other images from that mission would have compelling news value and public interest," said Dick Meyer, executive editor for news at NPR. "I can foresee circumstances or arguments that would lead us to refrain from publishing the images if we were to get them, but NPR should be in a position to make that decision and not simply accept the government's action."

The National Law Journal notes that national security claims might make the news groups’ difficult, but cites experts who say that the government may, ultimately, have to release the pictures, under the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA):

"Theoretically, they could win," said Scott Hodes, who from 1998 to 2002 was the acting unit chief of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Freedom of Information/Privacy Act Section's litigation unit and is now a solo practitioner in Washington. "It will not be an easy decision. There are reasons on both sides."

The FOIA requires that all federal agency records be accessible to the public unless there exists a specific exemption....

In addition to news organizations, a number of groups have announces plans to file suit to obtain the materials, including the open government group Judicial Watch.

"President Obama's decision not to release the bin Laden photos is at odds with his promises to make his administration the most transparent in history," wrote the group. "Judicial Watch hopes its FOIA requests will provide a mechanism to release these records in an orderly fashion in compliance with the FOIA law. President Obama's reluctance to spike the football is not a lawful reason for withholding these historic public documents from the American people."

In recent history, from the Pentagon Papers to Wikileaks, the need to balance national security against the right of the citizens to open government is an ongoing, and important, public policy issue. Ultimately, as is so often the case, the issue will likely be decided in the courts.

Can a Facebook 'poke' be a threat?

A federal court is grabbling with the question whether a Facebook "poke" can constitute a threat. According to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle:

Today, a federal prosecutor asked that bail be revoked for Richard "Eric" Riedman, who authorities allege is a member of the Hell's Angels. Riedman is awaiting trial on allegations that he and others stole scrap metal from a CSX railroad yard. An earlier trial on the charges ended up with a hung jury....

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Harvey contended that Riedman's bail should be revoked ...because he allegedly "poked" a cooperating witness -- Christopher Monfort -- through Facebook....

Authorities allege that Riedman was ordered not to have contact with Monfort, who testified for almost nine days in the earlier scrap metal trial. They also allege that the Facebook "poke" could be the basis of a criminal charge of tampering with a witness.

U.S. District Judge Charles Siragusa questioned today why prosecutors didn't criminally charge Riedman if they believed they had sufficient proof he had tried to intimidate a witness. Harvey said prosecutors might not have enough evidence to prove guilt because Riedman's computer is now being monitored after being seized.

Harvey acknowledged, "This isn't a straightforward ... threat."

Court of Appeals Issues New Decisions.

New York State’s highest court has issued a number of decisions this week on civil and criminal law.

The cases cover a number of issues, including what constitutes effective assistance of counsel, possible child neglect, the proper disposition of a juvenile delinquency case and time limits for lawsuits involving alleged negligence by a school board member.

The decisions are available to the public and can be found at the court’s website.

Are iPads Violating Federal Record Keeping Laws?

“Apple’s iPad tablet computer could allow White House staffers to circumvent a law aimed at preserving all official communications,” according to a report at the Hill website:

It is unclear how many White House staffers have iPads and to what extent they are used for official business, but the issue highlights the difficulties of the Presidential Records Act, which has failed to keep up with changes in the way people communicate digitally.

The law mandates that all communications related to official business must be archived, and the administration’s policy is that White House staffers who use personal email or social-networking accounts to conduct official business must forward the messages for archiving to official accounts.

But there are few safeguards to ensure they do so....David Ferriero, the archivist of the U.S., said he isn’t comfortable with White House staffers determining for themselves what is and isn’t relevant for presidential records.

The issue facing the White House in this case is not unique. Many other government entities grapple with how to allow staff to use personal technology while staying compliant with “freedom of information” and government record-keeping laws.

In addition, while no one is accusing the White House of breaking the law, there have been attempts by government employees to use personal email accounts in ways that might circumvent open government laws.

In New York State, an opinion has been issued advising that that records of official business emailed to a private or home address are subject to the Freedom of Information Law. It would seem that the federal government, if it has not already, should follow suit.

Call in New York for Police to Videotape Interrogations

The New York District Attorneys' Association and other law enforcement agencies "have announced their support for video recording of interrogations and the adoption of statewide protocols to ensure the integrity of the practice."

Many defense attorneys have called for videotaped interviews for years now.

It may be time for New York to join several other states and mandate the practice, to insure that confessions are obtained legally. Doing so would both protect innocent suspects and avoid false claims of coercion by the police.

Social Networks Ban Sex Offenders

New York Daily Record:

The e-STOP law has resulted in the removal of more than 24,000 accounts and online profiles linked to registered sex offenders.

It requires sex offenders to register and keep up to date all current email accounts, screen names and any other Internet identifiers with the state Division of Criminal Justice Services. The list is then given to more than two dozen social networking companies on a weekly basis and those sites use it to purge offenders.

Public Forum: Juvenile Justice in New York State

The Fund for Modern Courts, together with the New York State Bar Association, will be holding a public forum on the topic "Juvenile Justice in New York State: The Criminal Age of Responsibility (Practice, Law and Reform)."

The forum will be held Thursday April 28, 2011 at the State Bar Center, in Albany, New York.

The panelists will discuss the present practice, relevant law and legislative reforms surrounding the issue of the age of criminal responsibility in New York. New York is one of only two states that sets the age of criminal responsibility as low as sixteen years old. What the present state of the law is, how it affects the defense and prosecution of children, what it requires of the court system and its impact on the criminal justice system will be presented by the panelists. Recently proposed legislation seeking to alter New York’s juvenile justice system treatment of juvenile and youth offenders, and the practical ways lawyers and the courts can address the laws and policy governing the juvenile justice system will also be discussed. The panelists will present the issues from the perspective of the judiciary, attorneys, policy makers, educators, and advocates.

The forum is free and open to the public.

For more information, or to register for the event, click here.

Protecting Safe Deposit Boxes from Seizure

ABC News reports that some states, including California, are seizing the contents of safe deposit boxes without giving the owners proper notice. Some of these states are also seizing "unclaimed" property. This is being done by these states in a effort to balance their budgets.

Here are some tips to protect your property from improper seizure:

• Make contact with your bank, your brokerage firm, etc. at least once a year, in a way that creates a paper trail. Make sure they have your current address.

• If you own stock, occasionally vote your proxies or take other steps to keep your stock ownership active. Stay in touch with your broker.

• Write a list of all your accounts and keep it with your will, so your heirs will know where to look.

• Consider insuring valuables even if you keep them in your safe-deposit box. That way, you're covered financially if the bank or state makes a mistake and empties your box. Plus, safe-deposit contents have been known to be destroyed by fire or flooding.

You can also search for unclaimed property in your name for free, using the website given here.

The 2011 "Dirty Dozen" Tax Scams

The Internal Revenue Service has released its annual report of swindles to dodge and scams to avoid when preparing your taxes:

“The Dirty Dozen represents the worst of the worst tax scams,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said. “Don’t fall prey to these tax scams. They may look tempting, but these fraudulent deals end up hurting people who participate in them.”

The IRS works with the Justice Department to pursue and shut down perpetrators of these and other illegal scams. Promoters frequently end up facing heavy fines and imprisonment. Meanwhile, taxpayers who wittingly or unwittingly get involved with these schemes must repay all taxes due plus interest and penalties.

Here are the scams and frauds to look out for this year:

• Hiding Income Offshore
• Identity Theft and Phishing
• Return Preparer Fraud
• Filing False or Misleading Forms
• Frivolous Arguments
• Nontaxable Social Security Benefits with Exaggerated Withholding Credit
• Abuse of Charitable Organizations and Deductions
• Abusive Retirement Plans
• Disguised Corporate Ownership
• Phony Zero Wages informational returns
• Misuse of Trusts
• Fuel Tax Credit Scams

For more information on how to avoid these scams, see the link above.