Last year, Dominic Carter was sentenced to 30 days in jail for "punching, choking and kicking" his wife at their Rockland County home. While he was released early, now, an appellate court has overturned the conviction finding, the NY Law Journal reports, "a town justice improperly permitted the prosecution to revoke a deal that would have allowed Mr. Carter to avoid jail time." more ›

While NY's highest court upheld Columbia University's Manhattanville expansion, two property holdouts and State Senator Bill Perkins are hoping that the Supreme Court will hear the case. The Columbia Spectator reports that the holdouts' attorneys "are appealing the decision to the Supreme Court of the United States, arguing that the decision promotes an abuse of eminent domain law and violates fundamental constitutional rights." Perkins' brief also "[asserts] that the Court of Appeals ignored legal safeguards articulated in the landmark 2005 Supreme Court ruling in Kelo v. City of New London." more ›

The Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from the families of victims from the September 11, 2001 attacks. According to the AP, the families claim that NYC "must provide a proper burial for material taken from the World Trade Center site because it could contain the ashes of victims," but "Lower federal courts had dismissed the families' lawsuit against the city, saying it acted responsibly in moving 1.6 million tons of materials from the site in Lower Manhattan to a landfill on Staten Island and then sifting through the material for human remains." more ›

Natavia Lowery may be behind bars for 32 years for bludgeoning Linda Stein to death in 2007, but the victim's family is still living in fear. According to the Daily News, they believe Lowery may make good on her threat to appeal the verdict. Though her conviction has a slim-to-none chance of getting overturned, Samantha Stein says, "I want this to be over, and move on. There is a fear of having to go through this again. I'd like to know she's going to be tucked away, never heard or seen from again." more ›

Joseph Kinneary, the “shy peerer” fired by the city for failing to whiz in a cup, won’t get his $225,000 wrongful termination damages after all. In 2004 when the former Department of Environmental Protection employee claimed his paruresis (aka shy bladder) kept him from completing a mandatory drug test and led to his firing, a judge ruled in his favor, citing the Americans with Disabilities Act. But the Post reports that, in an affront to shy bladder sufferers everywhere, the decision has been reversed, based on pure technicalities. more ›

A federal judge rejected former state Sen. Hiram Monserrate's attempt to block his expulsion, clearing the way for a March 16 special election to decide who will hold his now-vacant seat. In a 24-page ruling, Judge William Pauley III wrote: "The question of who should represent the 13th Senatorial District is one for the voters, not this court." more ›

The Senate might have overstepped its bounds and broken the law when it voted to expel embattled state Sen. Hiram Monserrate, according to insiders and the disgraced Queens Democrat. After being acquitted on felony charges but convicted of misdemeanor assault charges for slashing his girlfriend in the face, the former cop has vowed to fight the ruling—and he might turn out winning. more ›

A court has ruled against a police officer who claims he was wrongfully fired from the NYPD after he unknowingly ate marijuana-laced meatballs. A state appeals court upheld the dismissal of Anthony Chiofalo, a 22-year veteran of the NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force, who says he only failed a random drug test because his wife had laced his meatballs with weed in an attempt to get him fired so he wouldn't be killed at work. more ›

Former newsman Dominic Carter will serve his full 30-day jail sentence for abusing his wife, but his lawyers will continue to fight to clear his name. His attorney told the Post that "Dominic is confident that at the end of the entire legal process he will be exonerated" and that he decided against seeking bail as he awaits his appeal "in order to put this chapter behind him and immediately move forward with his life and career." The 45-year-old was locked up on Thursday for "punching, choking, and kicking" his wife during a 2008 dispute. On top of the jail sentence, Carter was ordered to stay away from his wife for two years "unless a psychiatrist assures the trial judge that the journalist is not a threat to her." His lawyer said the unemployed anchor plans to bring the case to a higher court "to raise multiple errors made by the [trial] judge that deprived Dominic Carter of a fair trial." more ›

Despite already being sentenced to one-to-three years in prison in December, Brooke Astor's son, Anthony Marshall, won't have to hit the clink just yet. A Manhattan Appellate Division judge ruled yesterday that Marshall and his co-defendant estates lawyer may stay out of prison during their appeals—which could take years. Marshall was due to start jail time starting next Tuesday. more ›

When courting a young maiden, it is acceptable to formally introduce oneself through a mutual acquaintance in society, or by sending a virtual "wink" through the social networking website of your choice. Other methods, such as honking one's horn or pretending to be a Rockefeller, are generally considered unacceptable. But what about breaking into a woman's apartment, stripping naked, getting into bed with her and licking her neck? more ›

During the past week or so, developer Bruce Ratner had finally seemed to have a little wind in his sails as he pushed forward with his $4.2 billion odyssey to build a Nets basketball arena, office towers and thousands of apartments in Brooklyn. The MTA agreed to a sweetheart deal to sell him the Vanderbilt Railyards, and the Empire State Development Corporation [ESDC] brushed off demands that Ratner resubmit his heavily revised plans for another full public review. But now the whole project is back to being embattled, as the state's highest court has agreed to hear the eminent domain lawsuit brought by opponents who say the ESDC is trying to seize private property to benefit Forest City Ratner, not the public. In May, a state appellate court unanimously rejected the lawsuit, and Ratner's attorneys expressed great confidence that the Court of Appeals wouldn't hear the case. At the time, Ratner said, "I’m honestly overjoyed. This is a weight off my back." Now the weight's back on, and, since the court operates on its own timeline, some wonder whether a ruling will be issued within enough time for developer to meet a year-end deadline to secure tax-free arena financing. more ›

Yesterday New York's highest court upheld the felony forgery conviction of a man who was arrested in 2005 for "selling swipes" to subway riders using MetroCards altered with a simple bending technique. How simple? Well, Judge Victoria A. Graffeo tells you pretty much exactly how to do it in the 12-page decision [pdf], which explains how defendant Jonathan Mattocks would bend discarded MetroCards in such a way that the turnstile computers were unable to read one of two magnetic fields on the cards, resulting in a "free" ride. more ›

Yesterday, it was revealed that inmate No. 61727-054 Metropolitan Correctional Center—a.k.a. Bernard Madoff—was worth around $823-826 million. His lawyers filed an appeal to get Madoff out of jail and listed his assets. more ›

That $6,000 shower curtain lover, Dennis Kozlowski, is staying in prison since an appeal courtsupheld his fraud conviction. Kozlowski headed Tyco, until it was discovered he and former CFO Mark Swartz stole $150 million from the company. Kozlowski's excess was epitomized by decadent parties and overpriced home accessories like the shower curtain and a $15,000 umbrella stand. Wall Street Journal's Law Blog has more details on their failed appeal, which only brings us memories of the first trial that ended in mistrial and that juror! more ›

Today the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by 11 Brooklyn property owners and tenants whose homes and businesses would be razed to make way for the $4 billion Atlantic Yards project. Coincidentally, today marks the third anniversary of the Supreme Court’s narrow 5-4 ruling in the case of Kelo v. City of New London, which affirmed the government’s power to use eminent domain to accommodate private development. more ›

Would-be Empire State Building jumper, Jeb Corliss (pictured), isn't in the clear yet. Last year's decision from Supreme Court Justice Michael Ambrecht to dismiss the charges against him was overturned yesterday when The Supreme Court Appellate Division decided to bring the case back to life. more ›