When a defendant is arrested, he sees a judge for an arraignment on the charges. At an arraignment, the presiding judge must determine the defendant’s custody status on the instant charges. Criminal Procedure Law Section 510.10 governs and enumerates the “bail qualifying offenses” to determine if a given crime the defendant is accused of is bail eligible. The presiding judge at arraignment “shall make an individualized determination as to whether the principal poses a risk of flight to avoid...

When co-owners of a real estate premises cannot agree on how to use or sell the shared property, one owner can file a partition action. The most common type of partition is a partition by sale. A partition by sale occurs when a court orders the sale of a subject property and divides the money among the co-owners based on their shares and interest in the property. This generally occurs when unmarried couples who jointly own a piece of property separate as a couple and no longer live in the...

The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) updated point system for driving offense convictions goes into effect Monday, February 16, 2026.   Some of the most serious traffic offense convictions will carry increased point values compared to the point system prior to February 16, 2026. The most significant increase in point values will be for any alcohol or drug related conviction or incident. Prior to February 16, 2026, if a motorist was convicted for any V.T.L. § 1192 offense, 0...