Barry Kamins

December 02, 2024 | New York Law Journal

The author writes "New York trial courts are sharply divided over whether a recent United States Supreme Court decision has had an impact on the manner in which predicate felony sentences may be imposed. In Erlinger v. United States, 144 S. Ct 1840 (2024), the Court determined whether certain facts, that are necessary for sentence enhancement, must be submitted to a jury and proved beyond a reasonable doubt."

By Barry Kamins

11 minute read

October 01, 2024 | New York Law Journal

This column reviews new legislation amending the Penal Law, Criminal Procedure Law and related statues.

By Barry Kamins

12 minute read

July 30, 2024 | New York Law Journal

"The Court of Appeals envisioned that it will be a 'rare' case in which the police stop a vehicle in their community caretaking capacity," writes former New York Supreme Court Judge Barry Kamins.

By Barry Kamins

10 minute read

June 03, 2024 | New York Law Journal

Surveillance technology has become a staple in criminal trials; with increasing frequency, prosecutors are offering surveillance video recordings as part of their evidence-in-chief. The New York Court of Appeals has now held that, under certain circumstances, a person who is not an eyewitness to the crime can testify at trial that the defendant is the person depicted in the video.

By Barry Kamins

9 minute read

April 01, 2024 | New York Law Journal

Recently, a judge in the Eastern District of New York announced a new legal standard for probable cause in gun cases in New York. Essentially, the court concluded that a significant increase in lawfully possessed guns in New York City has altered the probable cause equation in these cases. The government is seeking reconsideration of that ruling.

By Barry Kamins

12 minute read

February 05, 2024 | New York Law Journal

In 'People v. Bay', the court acknowledged the raison d'etre of the new law: that the People cannot be ready for trial without having fully complied with their discovery obligations.

By Barry Kamins

10 minute read

December 04, 2023 | New York Law Journal

The New York Police Department has conducted thousands of automobile inventory searches. For the first time, however, the New York Court of Appeals has held that the police department's protocol authorizing these searches meets constitutional standards.

By Barry Kamins

7 minute read

October 25, 2023 | New York Law Journal

This insider's view of the political storm that led to Cuomo's forced resignation raises serious questions about the roles played by power politics, a compliant media, and an attorney general who wished to be governor, in orchestrating the forced resignation of a duly elected governor.

By Barry Kamins and Diana Fabi Samson

12 minute read

October 02, 2023 | New York Law Journal

In his Criminal Law and Procedure column, Barry Kamins reviews new legislation amending the Penal Law, the Criminal Procedure Law and related statutes. The discussion that follows will highlight key provisions of the new laws and, as such, the reader should review the legislation for specific details.

By Barry Kamins

13 minute read

July 31, 2023 | New York Law Journal

In Samia v. United States, ___ U.S. ___, 2023 U.S. Lexis 2637 (June 23, 2023), the U.S. Supreme Court declined to expand the rule in Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123 (1968) and, in fact, may have sounded the death knell for Bruton itself.

By Barry Kamins

7 minute read