Posted on June 26, 2017 in Parental Liability

Raising our children correctly is difficult, to say the least. There is no universal blueprint dictating all the right choices and decisions parents should make while raising their children. The reality is that being a parent is fraught with many tough decisions. For example, when our kids grow into their teenage years and start experimenting with alcohol. Most parents understand the danger of alcohol especially when it comes to a minor. But a tough decision must be made, it is nearly impossible to control every decision your teenage child will make, but what can you do to reduce the potential for them to get themselves into trouble?

Supervised Underage Drinking

Many parents when faced with the choice of not knowing what their teens are doing, if they are safe, or even worse, getting behind the wheel after drinking or with someone who has, will consider allowing their teens to drink at home. Parent's believe that at least the teens are supervised, a parent can ensure that no one gets behind the wheel of a car and the peace of mind that comes with knowing where their teenage children are on a weekend night.

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 Posted on June 19, 2017 in Driving Under the Influence

Driving a vehicle while under the influence of either drugs or alcohol is a serious offense that can lead to various criminal charges under Connecticut law. In addition, if a driver causes an accident, and another person dies as a result of the accident, the driver could face even more serious charges. A DUI that ends with the death of another can lead to the driver being charged with vehicular manslaughter or lesser charges such as misconduct with a motor vehicle, negligent homicide with a motor vehicle, and reckless driving. Generally, when someone dies in a DUI accident, the driver will face prison time.

Vehicular Manslaughter in Connecticut

In Connecticut, a driver is guilty of vehicular manslaughter, which is considered second degree manslaughter, if while driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs or both, the driver causes the death of another person due to the effect of the alcohol or drugs. Most cases of vehicular manslaughter are considered involuntary. This means that the manslaughter was unintentional. This may seem counter-intuitive because the driver’s drinking may have been intentional, but unintentional in this context is a legal term. It basically means that the driver was driving in a reckless or unintentional manner, for example by speeding or running a red light, leading to the accident.

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 Posted on June 12, 2017 in Violent Crimes

Gun ownership and the laws surrounding it create an ideologically-charged legal landscape that gun owners need to be aware of. This is especially important for people who have been convicted of a felony, which automatically renders them incapable of legally owning a firearm. The law in question is the Connecticut General Statute § 53a-217 , which is titled Criminal Possession of a Firearm, Ammunition, or Electronic Defense Weapon. The statute makes a felon's possession of a firearm a class C felony, which comes with serious consequences like fines and jail time.

Owning a Firearm with a Felony Record

The Connecticut statute makes it a class C felony for a person who was convicted of a felony to own a gun, ammunition, or and “electronic defense weapon.” While the first two items are fairly self-explanatory, an electronic defense weapon has a special definition under the law. They are weapons that send out an electric pulse that immobilizes someone, but cannot kill or seriously injure them. Examples of such weapons include Tasers and stun guns.

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 Posted on June 05, 2017 in Driving Under the Influence

Driving under the influence of any intoxicating substance is against the law in Connecticut. A drugged driving charge will likely include any punishment applicable in the case of a normal DUI penalties — drivers will be charged with driving under the influence. Any prior conviction of DUI, whether the prior charge was for drugs or alcohol, will be considered as a previous offense of DUI and the driver will likely face more severe punishments as such.

While DUI laws pertaining to alcohol prohibit any person from driving if he or she has a blood-alcohol content of .08 or more, there is no threshold standard for the amount of drugs that a person must have in his or her body to be charged with drugged driving. Any amount of drugs in the person’s system means that he or she is eligible to be charged with DUI. Prosecutors need only prove that the driver’s physical or mental processes were at the time affected by the substance and affecting his or her ability to control and operate a vehicle.

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 Posted on May 22, 2017 in Criminal Defense

Facing a criminal allegation can be a terrifying ordeal. There are many moving parts to a criminal case, and it can be daunting for a person who is being charged with a crime to understand everything that is happening. Depending on the circumstances of your case it may be in your best interest to enter into a plea deal. The kind of plea deal and the terms of your plea deal with be ferreted out by a skilled and experienced Stamford, Connecticut, criminal defense attorney.

Types of Plea Deals

Most people consider a plea deal to be a one size fits all type of agreement. However, in Connecticut, more than one kind of plea deal exists. Each type of plea deal has unique characteristics. The types of plea deals available include:

• Guilty - a plea where a defendant admits his or her guilt in the crime alleged.
• Nolo Contendere - a plea that translates to “no contest.” With this kind of plea, the court enters a finding of guilt, but the plea may not be used as an admission in another criminal or civil trial.

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 Posted on May 15, 2017 in Criminal Defense

There have been bullies as long as there have been schools. Many states across the nation are passing zero-tolerance policies to try and address the problem of bullying at school. With the dawn of the technological age and explosion of social media, a new style of bullying is emerging with the legal community struggling to keep up.

What Is Cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying, is when an individual uses a computer network to harass another person. Under Connecticut law, it is classified as a Class C misdemeanor if you use an electronic communication to:

• Cause someone or engage in conduct that causes someone to fear for his or her safety or the safety of a third person;
• Engage in an activity or conduct that causes the victim to suffer emotional distress;
• Threaten a victim or their family in a way that causes a reasonable apprehension of immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault, or illegal confinement; and

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 Posted on May 08, 2017 in Juvenile Crimes

There has been a sweeping legislative wave of criminal law reform taking place all over the nation. Prison populations across the country have exploded to untenable levels, absolutely eviscerating various state budgets and causing entire generations of otherwise productive individuals to become lifelong offenders. This problem is magnified in juvenile criminal law. In 2016, there were 496 juveniles sentenced to an order of detention. Many of those sentenced were sentenced for nonviolent offenses that would be charged with a misdemeanor if they were prosecuted in adult court.

Ending the School to Prison Pipeline

The school to prison pipeline is a phrase used to describe an increasing trend of students being subjected to criminalized discipline and winding up in the criminal justice system before they are even able to finish high school. Advocates of juvenile criminal justice reform have long argued that criminalized discipline is counterproductive to the best interest of our youth. Take for example the Deputy Director of the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance, Lara Herscovitch, who argued, “We feel strongly that far too often arrests are used in place of regular student discipline.”

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 Posted on May 01, 2017 in White Collar Crimes

White collar crime is a broad legal term that encompasses many different areas of criminal law. Generally, there are two major ways of defining what a white-collar crime is:

• Crimes committed by individuals who come from affluent socioeconomic environments, or crimes committed by people who through the nature of their job have been put in positions of financial trust.
• Crimes committed involving an economic offense, often nonviolent, and usually incorporate a theft or fraud.

Are the Penalties for White Collar Crime More Severe?

That is a question for your Norwalk Connecticut white collar defense attorney. The penalty Is nearly entirely dependent on the crime in question. Most penalties carry a large monetary fine because of the nature of a white-collar offense. Types of white collar crimes include but are not limited to:

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 Posted on April 24, 2017 in Drug Charges

The debate over the legalization of marijuana is heating up in Connecticut. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle argued at a legislative hearing that the legalization of recreational marijuana would effectively dismantle the illegal market for cannabis. Among other things argued, advocates of legalization laid out several benefits including:

• Ending unnecessary arrests of people for possession of marijuana;
• Bring in millions of dollars in tax revenue to the state;
• Creation of a new job market; and
• Bolstering of tourism market.

Possession of small amounts of marijuana has already been decriminalized in Connecticut. Advocates of legalization say that not regulating marijuana is tantamount to subsidizing the illegal market that fosters violence and additional criminal behavior. David L. Nathan, a psychiatrist and faculty member at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, said, “I’ve seen too many cases of lives ruined by marijuana not by the drug itself, but by a justice system that chooses a sledgehammer to kill a weed.”

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 Posted on April 17, 2017 in Drug Charges

News stories are limitless around the country about law enforcement cracking down on drug crimes. This crackdown goes all the way to the top with President Trump announcing his intentions to be “ruthless” in his determination to put an end to drug trafficking. The issue with so-called ruthless behavior is it results in hoards of innocent individuals facing false accusations of breaking the law. Federal, state, and local law enforcement utilize all of their resources building cases. Anyone accused should remember that charges do not mean a conviction and the government has the burden of proving guilt. When the circumstances were right, the following defenses have worked for defendants. Remember, these defenses are not for all circumstances and consulting an attorney is advisable to create a strategy for your unique situation.

A Case of Being at the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time.

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