Kylie Marshall

December 07, 2023 | New York Law Journal

This column reports on several significant representative decisions from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Judge Eric R. Komitee denied a preliminary injunction to a defamation plaintiff, Judge Gary R. Brown denied a prisoner's pro se petition to have his sentence vacated under 28 U.S.C. §2255 and Judge Frederic Block denied a motion by defendants to access frozen funds in an action brought by the SEC.

By Samuel Butt and Thomas Kissane

9 minute read

December 06, 2023 | New York Law Journal

Peter Galasso has previously argued to multiple jurists that AFCs should not be appointed to represent toddlers in child custody cases. Due to the absence of guidance from the Appellate Division, this argument has yet to gain traction in the minds of judges responsible for the appointment of AFCs for toddlers. To safeguard the integrity of the judiciary and to save our clients a substantial amount of money in the process, this misguided practice needs to end.

By Peter J. Galasso

11 minute read

December 06, 2023 | New York Law Journal

The Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals through the years have debated the appropriate ambit of the 'Bruton' and 'Crawford' confrontation rules of exclusion. This ongoing debate has been dramatically evidenced by three recent decisions. As these decisions greatly impact the prosecution and defense of criminal defendants in the New York state courts, this column will address them.

By Michael J. Hutter

13 minute read

December 06, 2023 | New York Law Journal

Judgment creditors frequently encounter difficulties enforcing their judgments against debtors, particularly those in distressed circumstances. A recent decision by the Court of Appeals of Ohio in 'Wulco v. The O'Gara Group & Monroe Capital Partners Fund' involved a battle between a judgment creditor and a UCC secured creditor, each seeking to obtain funds in a debtor's bank account. The court examined not only the relative rights of the creditors as to those funds, but also whether a court clerk to whom the funds were transferred (as part of garnishment proceedings) could be a "transferee" under Section 9-332 of the Uniform Commercial Code, thereby stripping away any prior security interest.

By Barbara M. Goodstein and John M. Conlon

12 minute read

December 06, 2023 | New York Law Journal

In the quiet of the Thanksgiving week, the New York Court of Appeals delivered a blockbuster batch of decisions that herald a new day for constitutional claims presented by criminal defendants in New York. The 12 decisions released on Nov. 21 are the first significant group of rulings in criminal cases from the newly constituted Court of Appeals and signal a dramatic realignment of the court's seven judges.

By Christopher Dunn

10 minute read

December 05, 2023 | Law.com

The Eighth Circuit recently held, as a matter of first impression, that private parties may not sue to enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Instead, lawsuits to enforce Section 2 can only be brought by the Attorney General of the United States.

By John M. Baker and Katherine M. Swenson

6 minute read

December 05, 2023 | New York Law Journal

In 1993, Kerson and the Vermont Law School entered into an agreement for Kerson to paint two murals on the walls of the upper level of the Chase Community Center. During the summer of 2020, the law school's president received a petition demanding the removal of the murals. Kerson sued the law school, seeking a preliminary injunction enjoining it from placing panels over the murals, invoking his rights under VARA.

By Thomas Kjellberg and Robert W. Clarida

10 minute read

December 05, 2023 | New York Law Journal

This article explains the current legal landscape employers face in evaluating requests for accommodations on the basis of religion or disability by explaining the recently announced standards for assessing requests for religious accommodations and summarizing the longstanding standards for assessing requests for disability-related accommodations.

By Nicholas J. Pappas and Jack Sullivan

9 minute read

December 04, 2023 | New York Law Journal

When notice of a medical malpractice claim is not filed timely and the statute of limitations to bring a motion for permission to serve a late notice of claim expires, a court is not required to grant relief. The only avenue for a claimant who failed to file timely may be to argue the municipal defendant should be equitably estopped from seeking dismissal. The application of this doctrine to notices of claim and municipal hospitals is the subject of this article.

By Thomas A. Moore and Matthew Gaier

16 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