The NY State Court of Appeals has decided on the years-lond dispute between landlords and their rent-stabilized tenants—the ones who pay less than $1,000/month for their apartments—over how much rents can be increased. And the court found in favor for the landlords, which means that 300,000 tenants may need to pay a lot in retroactive rent increases. more ›

On a day when President Obama signed the Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal into law, and a deal was finally forged to pass the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, there was perhaps an even more important legal precedence set by the Court of Appeals: you can't sue someone for not yelling "fore" during a game of golf. Long Island neuroradiologist Dr. Azad Anand had sued his former friend, endocrinologist Dr. Anoop Kapoor, for inadvertently blinding him in one eye from a line-drive shot, but the judges ruled that golf is just a dangerous game. The court also recommended getting rid of that varmint poontang smell. more ›

It's a New Year's miracle! After being unable to rent vacant apartments, Tishman Speyer will be making 100 apartments available on January 4th, at rent-stabilized prices. Apartments will be made available to "current rent stabilized residents of the community, with the remaining apartments being offered to all others on the waiting list," according to Curbed. This comes with Tishman's agreement to roll back rents for six months starting in the new year. The Court of Appeals ruled in October that Tishman Speyer, the development in charge of the Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village complexes, illegally raised rents of former rent-stabilized apartments while still receiving tax breaks from the city. more ›

In a 4-3 decision, New York State's highest court rejected a Christian legal group's argument that same-sex marriage was akin to incest and polygamy, and should therefore be denied government benefits for spouses. But the court's narrow ruling did not address the broader question of whether same-sex marriages performed in other states should be recognized in New York. The minority vote came from judges who argued that the case should have been tossed altogether, "on the ground that same-sex marriages, valid where performed, are entitled to full legal recognition in New York." more ›

Governor David Paterson appointed Jonathan Lippman to become the chief justice of the NY Court of Appeals, the state's highest court. Paterson said praised Lippman, the presiding justice of the First Judicial Department of the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court, for "the implementation of nationally significant reforms, including jury reform, contributed to the creation of problem-solving courts, such as special drug courts and domestic violence courts" and his "role in keeping the courts open after the attacks on Sept. 11." Outgoing chief justice Judith Kaye stepped down due to the mandatory retirement age and Paterson still isn't happy that the nominees were all men, "Though I am thrilled to choose Judge Lippman to serve as our next chief judge, I firmly believe that we must revise the process for future judicial nominations to ensure that those under consideration represent all New Yorkers." Fun fact: Lippman is a childhood friend of Sheldon Silver. more ›

Bianca Jagger's attempt to get her $4,600/month rent-stabilized Upper East Side apartment back failed at the Court of Appeals today. The court upheld her eviction from 530 Park Avenue, citing her status as a tourist with a B-2 visa and the fact that residents of rent-stabilized apartments must use them as their primary residences. more ›

The legal fortunes of Darryl Barnes have waxed and waned over the many years since he was shot by a police officer on a Bronx street--a wound that left him paralyzed--but finally ended for good this week. more ›

Though a long-time custom in West African countries, a federal appeals court in NYC will rule whether genital mutilation is grounds for granting women asylum in the United States. According to the NY Sun, three women will be serving as a test case regarding whether the cultural custom--and their opposition to such a practice--is sufficient grounds for asylum in front of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan. more ›

In a decision that sets a new standard for what constitutes a legal search by police, as well as serving to remind why doing crack is a terrible idea, The New York Court of Appeals ruled that "reasonableness" should remain the touchstone for searches in order to not violate the 4th Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure. Defining reasonableness was the basis of the case in question, which involved the searches of body cavities. The NY Times summarizes:

The case before the court involved Azim Hall of New York, who was arrested on Feb. 8, 2005, on charges that he sold two pieces of crack cocaine outside a grocery store. After his conviction, Mr. Hall filed an appeal, arguing that the police had conducted an illegal search by pulling a string, attached to a plastic bag containing crack cocaine, that was dangling from his rectum. A State Supreme Court judge dismissed the indictment, but the Appellate Division reversed that.