Legal links of interest for the week ending November 8

Steven Getman, attorney, reports on some news stories about lawyers and the law in the past week:

Bill to ban job bias against gays clears Senate hurdle: A measure that would outlaw workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity overcame a significant obstacle as seven Republicans voted to begin debate on the bill.

In Bond v. U.S., the Supreme Court will decide if a treaty trumps state police powers: Carol Bond concedes that she spread a toxic chemical on the car and mailbox of a friend who had an affair with her husband. Federal prosecutors intervened in what would normally be a state criminal case to charge Bond with violating the chemical-weapons convention that the Senate ratified in 1997.

Domestic violence alerts available in New York: Victims of domestic violence can now sign-up for SAVIN-NY alerts at www.nyalert.gov by clicking on “Orders of Protection.”

D.C. Circuit rules against Obamacare contraceptive mandate: the D.C. Circuit ruled November 1 that two brothers who own and operate a food-supply company are entitled under the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act to a preliminary injunction against imposition of the HHS mandate on contraception and abortifacients.

Judge upholds Rochester's red light camera program: A state court justice found the red light camera laws do not infringe upon a fundamental right

Legislative prayer gets Supreme Court review: The case argued at the court Wednesday involves prayers said at the start of town council meetings in Greece, N.Y., a Rochester suburb.

New York State warns residents of STAR application scam: New homeowners have received letters offering to enroll them in the STAR Program for a substantial fee; however enrollment in the the program is actually free.

For more on each of these stories, click on the links above.

Amendments to New York’s DWI Ignition Interlock Law take effect November 1

Ovid, NY--Attorney Steven Getman is reminding New York motorists that the ignition interlock provisions enacted as part of Leandra's Law have been amended and will apply to offenses committed on or after Nov. 1, 2013. Changes include:

• Vehicle and Traffic Law (“VTL”) 511(3)(a)(iv) was amended to create a new category of first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle where a person operates a motor vehicle while holding a conditional license issued pursuant to VTL 1196(7)(a) while under the influence of alcohol or a drug.

• VTL 1193(1)(b), (c)

◦ was amended to apply the ignition interlock requirement to youthful offenders; ◦ extended the minimum ignition interlock period to one year, but allows the court to terminate the period earlier if the person submits proof that an ignition interlock was installed and maintained for at least six months;
◦ now provides that the interlock period starts from the earlier of the date of sentencing or the date a device was installed in advance of sentencing.

• VTL 1198(4)(a)

◦ now provides that good cause for failure to install an ignition interlock device may include a finding that the defendant does not own a motor vehicle if the defendant states under oath that he/she does not own a motor vehicle and that he/she will not operate a motor vehicle during the ignition interlock period;
◦ was amended to state that the term "owner" has the same meaning as in VTL 128 (title holder).

Leandra's Law, enacted in 2009, established a new Class E felony related to driving while intoxicated with a child as a passenger; and, for the first time, required that all individuals convicted of misdemeanor and felony DWI offenses install and maintain ignition interlock devices.

Driving while intoxicated in New York carries serious penalties, both civil and criminal. Not only can a defendant lose his or her license to drive, once they can drive again, the interlock law may apply. In addition, anyone convicted of DWI will be subject to New York State fines, surcharges, insurance penalties and, in some cases, imprisonment in a New York State correctional facility.

For more information, click here.

Alleged vehicle vandals reject plea deal

Finger Lakes Times:

WATERLOO — Two of the four Seneca Falls men accused of vandalizing dozens of vehicles at Bill Cram Chevrolet have rejected plea deals that would have included prison time.

The attorneys for Charles Covert and Adam Graves turned down the deals Monday in Seneca County Court. The district attorney’s office asked them to plead guilty to second-degree criminal mischief, a class D felony punishable by up to seven years in prison.

If they would taken the plea, Judge Dennis Bender would have committed to a maximum sentence of 1 1⁄3 to 4 in prison for each. They would also be required to pay $90,000 in restitution along with the other co-defendants, Jonathan Klingensmith and Jonathan Taylor.

Covert, Graves, Klingensmith and Taylor are accused of damaging more than 50 vehicles during the overnight hours of March 23 and 24 at the Routes 5&20 dealership. They were arrested in May by Seneca Falls police after an investigation of nearly two months....

Covert’s Auburn-area attorney, Rome Canzano, indicated his client would testify before the grand jury. Graves’ Syracuse-area attorney, Robert Baska, didn’t say if his client would testify...

Klingensmith is being represented by Waterloo-area attorney Michael Conroy, while Taylor is being represented by Ovid-area attorney Steven Getman.

All four men are free on the county’s pretrial release program.

The charges are accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

Man sentenced for failure to pay child support

Gannett News:

A Cattaraugus County man was sentenced to one year of probation by the Schuyler County Family Court on Tuesday (October 1) for willfully failing to pay child support…

Assistant County Attorney Steven Getman prosecuted the case for the petitioners. Evidence before the court demonstrated that the man owed over $11,000.00 in back payments on both cases.

Notice of Public Hearing: Proposed Local Law C of the Town of Ovid, 2013

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON Proposed Local Law No. C of the Year 2013 Town of Ovid, County of Seneca, State of New York A local law to override the tax levy limit established in General Municipal Law §3-c NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Town Board will hold a public hearing on the following proposed Local Law at the Ovid Firehouse, 2136 Brown St Ovid, NY 14521, at 7:00 p.m. on the 9 day of October, 2013: Proposed Local Law No. C of the Year 2013, Town of Ovid, County of Seneca, State of New York, “A local law to override the tax levy limit established in General Municipal Law §3-c.” The text of the proposed local as introduced is as follows: Section 1. Legislative Intent It is the intent of this local law to allow the Town of Ovid to adopt a budget for the fiscal year commencing January 1, 2014, that requires a real property tax levy in excess of the “tax levy limit” as defined by General Municipal Law § 3-c. The Town of Ovid is concerned about uncertainties in the existing tax cap law, including how expenditures mandated by law and expenditures and revenues controlled by the county and state interact with the tax cap, as well as increasing insurance costs over which the town’s control is limited. The town board is accountable to prepare a responsible budget, which meets the Towns obligations and provides beneficial services, while minimizing the tax burden. Section 2. Authority This local law is adopted pursuant to subdivision 5 of General Municipal Law §3-c, which expressly authorizes the Town Board to override the property tax cap for the coming fiscal year by the adoption of a local law approved by a vote of sixty percent (60%) of the Town Board. Section 3. Tax Levy Limit Override The Town Board of the Town of Ovid, County of Seneca, State of New York, is hereby authorized to adopt a budget for the fiscal year commencing January 1, 2014, that requires a real property tax levy in excess of the amount otherwise prescribed in General Municipal Law §3-c. Section 4. Severability If a court determines that any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, or part of this local law or the application thereof to any person, firm or corporation, or circumstance is invalid or unconstitutional, the court’s order or judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder of this local law, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, or part of this local law or in its application to the person, individual, firm or corporation or circumstance, directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment or order shall be rendered. Section 5. Effective date This local law shall take effect immediately upon filing with the Secretary of State. At such time and place all persons interested in the subject matter thereof will be heard concerning the same. The complete text of the proposed local law is available during normal business hours at the Office of the Town Clerk/ Ovid Firehouse, 2136 Brown St Ovid, NY 14521. Dated: Ovid, N.Y., September 12, 2013 By Order of the Town Board of the Town of Ovid James Vangalio, Town Clerk Steven Getman, Attorney for the Town of Ovid

Schuyler teens ordered to detention after drinking party allegations

From FingerLakes1.com:

A pair of Schuyler County teenagers were detained by the Family Court on Thursday, following allegations of an underage drinking party and other misbehaviors earlier this year…

Both were ordered to juvenile detention ...following applications from the county attorney’s office. Trials will be scheduled for each juvenile later in the year.

The county is being represented in the two cases by assistant county attorneys Steven Getman and Kristin Hazlitt…

The charges against the respondents are accusations and a respondent is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Legal Links of interest for the week ending July 27

Some news stories about lawyers and the law in the past week:

Cuomo signs bill to bolster Leandra's Law: Also on Friday, penalties for distracted driving — including driving while texting — officially increased.

Knockout' homicide trial begins in family court which operates by a different set of rules: The proceedings move at a quicker pace than adult matters in criminal court. The courtroom is also cozier, and only one case is called at a time, creating a sense of privacy not felt in adult criminal court.

Judge Invokes Obama in Blocking Detroit Bankruptcy Filing: Ingham County (Michigan) Circuit Judge Rosemary Aquilina has ruled that Detroit’s bankruptcy filing violates the state constitution’s prohibition on actions which would “diminish” pension benefits.

Jesse Ventura lawsuit vs. murdered Navy SEAL can move forward, judge says: The defense attorney had argued Ventura would be better off dropping the case, saying that going forward would give the perception that Ventura had little regard for loved ones of deceased war heroes.

Bipolar fake lawyer gets up to 3 years for impersonating attorney: The heroin-addict son of a prominent Albany lawyer had walked into a Manhattan courtroom three times at the end of last year impersonating attorney David O’Brien.

DA plans to appeal overturned hate crime homicide conviction: The Onondaga County District Attorney's office plans to ask the state's highest court to reverse an appeals court's decision to throw out the county's first hate crime homicide conviction.

Unchecked alerts from ankle bracelets on offenders have deadly results: Some agencies don't have clear protocols on how to handle the multitude of alerts, or don't always follow them. At times, officials took days to act, if they noticed at all, when criminals tampered with their bracelets or broke a curfew.

For more on each of these stories, click the links above.

Legal links of interest for the week ending June 7, 2013

Some of the stories about courts, the law and lawyers in the news this past week:

City's red light camera program may be challenged in court: lawsuit claims program denies constitutional right to due process.

When court takes up privacy, Scalia finds himself with unlikely teammates: Scalia, with those three liberal justices joining him, said that DNA sampling constitutes an impermissible search under the Fourth Amendment.

New York's Court of Appeals asked to hear fracking home rule cases: Attorneys for Norse Energy and an Otsego County farmer made the filing, asking the state’s highest court to take on the cases of upstate towns that changed their zoning laws in 2011 to ban hydrofracking and gas drilling

Ohio prosecutor fired after posing as an accused killer's girlfriend on Facebook: A prosecutor in Ohio has reportedly been fired after admitting to a chat with an accused killer’s alibi witnesses in an attempt to persuade them to change their testimony.

Judge's ruling challenges US transplant system: a federal judge has allowed one dying child - and a day later another - to essentially jump the line in rulings that could have ramifications for thousands of people awaiting new organs.

How the IRS scandal may damage anti-terror data mining: A Cornell law professor argues that explanations and justifications which might have worked in the past no longer are enough, thanks to the IRS.

Sale of Seneca Falls building may be decided

Finger Lakes Times:

SENECA FALLS — The battle over the Arcade Building may be over. Supervisor Don Earle said terms of a settlement are nearing completion and should be ready by Tuesday night’s Town Board meeting.

Earle said attorney Steven Getman of Ovid, who was hired to represent the board in litigation against [the] Zoning Board of Appeals, will attend.

“I believe the settlement will involve the developer giving up the use variance he obtained from the ZBA and accepting a new variance that limits the number of units in the building,” Earle explained.

The dispute began last year when Ithaca developer Basil Vlahos put in a purchase offer for the Arcade Building at 81-83 Fall St., then owned by Jack Pross. Vlahos submitted plans to convert the three-floor building into housing units, along with two retail spaces at street level.

The town Zoning Board of Appeals approved his plans, but the Town Board objected to the number of apartments proposed

Suppression hearing held in assault weapon case

Finger Lakes Times:

A seat belt violation and a broken taillight led to the traffic stop that uncovered two rifles, including an assault weapon, stolen from a Seneca Falls apartment complex last fall.

That was the testimony of several Seneca Falls police officers during a suppression hearing Friday for Gary Goodman in Seneca County Court. The Waterloo man, formerly of Geneva, faces charges of criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of stolen property….

Local attorney Steven Getman is representing Goodman. Getman is contesting the legality of the search....

Judge Dennis Bender gave [District Attorney Barry] Porsch and Getman 20 days to submit written briefs on the hearing, after which he will issue a decision.

Goodman remains in the county jail in lieu of $10,000 bail or $20,000 bond.