OPIATE DRUG USE NOT JUST A TEENAGE PROBLEM
Posted on February 16, 2010
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Nassau and Suffolk County have undertaken a new initiative to fight teenage heroin use by targeting enforcement on the Queens and Brooklyn borders in an effort to keep heroin out of Long Island. The drug problem is bigger than that, however, as a recent arrest in Nassau County highlights. Pharmacist Robert Ciskanik was arrested for sale of a controlled substance in a Plainview parking lot when police stumbled upon the transaction. Click here to see the full text of the Newsday article “Cops: Pharmacist, 2 others, arrested in drug deal“. He was selling Oxycontin, an opiate, in a street level transaction. These, and other opiates, are every bit as addicting as heroin and can result in the same or similar penalties as heroin sales.
Sometimes We Forget the Presumption of Innocence
Posted on September 18, 2009
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The recent case of “rape” at Hofstra University highlights the foundational principle of our criminal justice system – the presumption of innocence. The police, press and public were quick to vilify a number of individuals who were accused of a brutal and premeditated gang rape of a Hofstra coed. There were arrested, arraigned and held on high bail. Now news that the coed made the story up and had consensual sex with the individuals accused has surfaced. The original story was so outlandish that the facts as reported should have been investigated fully and completely before an arrest was made or at least before the circumstances were so publicly discussed. Reputations were at the very least damaged if not, in fact, ruined in these days of the internet. Let’s not forget the Presumption of Innocence.
Unexpected Consequences of a DWI
Posted on August 7, 2009
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The horrific accident on the Taconic Parkway involving the Schuler family and the Bastardi family that took the lives of the 8 people should be a lesson to all of us. Ignoring the warning signs of the trouble will lead to tragic consequences and potential criminal culpability. If it can be shown that someone provided Diane Schuler with alcohol and/or drugs with the knowledge of her apparent alcohol and marijuana issues, they could conceivably be prosecuted for reckless endangerment or endangering the welfare of a child. While this type of prosecution might be difficult and tenuous, the publicity surrounding this case and the visceral feelings of public rage may result in an unusual prosecution.
Further, this is the kind of case that can create new laws and not necessarily ones that are ultimately beneficial. There’s an old saying “bad facts make bad law”. There could be no more “bad facts” than there are in the Taconic tragedy and, therefore, the real possibility of making “bad law”.
Welcome to Collins, McDonald & Gann P.C. Blog
Posted on May 19, 2009
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About
Since 1990, Collins, McDonald & Gann, P.C., has been committed to providing exceptional legal counsel and to aggressively defending the rights of its individual and corporate clients.
The renowned metropolitan New York law firm and its distinguished partners have been awarded the highest accolades for legal abilities and ethical standards (AV-rating) from the prestigious Martindale-Hubbell directory of lawyers, and are listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers.