Belletier Law

It is time to reconsider the so-called War on Drugs. It has become apparent that the millions of dollars spent on enforcement and incarceration under draconian narcotics laws have not made an appreciable dent in the death and destruction caused by substance abuse and addiction. In fact, it is, arguably, counterproductive. This problem would be be better addressed as a public health issue not a criminal justice issue.

I watched with interest Chief Buckner's presentation on the Syracuse Police Department inquiry in the Shaolin Moore case. It was encouraging that the Chief tried to address community concerns in a transparent and timely way. However, he did not deal with some important issues raised by the case. The Chief correctly stated that the officer was legally authorized to arrest Mr. Moore for a noise violation. Section 140.10 of the Criminal Procedure Law states that a police officer... may arrest a person for any offense when he has reasonable cause to believe that such person committed the offense in his presence. Therefore, assuming the officer heard the loud music emanating from the vehicle, he was authorized to arrest Mr. Moore.However, he also had the discretion to simply issue an appearance ticket, which is what he should have done. Police officers possess considerable discretion in the manner in which they perform their duties. However, without proper leadership, supervision and training this discretion may be abused in ways that are unwise, counterproductive, or frankly racist. For example, absent probable cause to arrest on other charges, a suspect who has proper identification, and is not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, should never be subjected to a custodial arrest for a noise violation. Never. The expense of booking and lodging a suspect at the jail for this type of offense is obviously a stupid waste of taxpayer resources but the cost is far greater. An arrest under these circumstances arouses public outrage which, given the history of this city, is entirely understandable and appropriate. While contributing nothing to public safety, this arrest has damaged community/police relations in ways that will make it much more difficult to investigate serious crimes in our city. Unfortunately, the Chief expressed no understanding of the need to establish commonsense guideline regarding the exercise of discretion by the officers under his command. See more

Recent legislation has addressed, at least in part, one of the glaring injustices in New York's criminal law. For many years there has been no way for those with a criminal record to clear their name even after many years as law-abiding, productive members of the community. A new law, CPL Sec. 160.59, effective Oct. 7, 2017, will allow some individuals to apply for a court order sealing their records. The relief offered is limited. Individuals with more than one felony convi...ction are ineligible. Violent felonies and sex offenses are excluded. Sealing is discretionary. A sworn affidavit and notice to the prosecution is required. While this law is not perfect, it may help many New Yorkers to improve their educational and employment opportunities. Those with convictions for drug offenses should also be aware of the possibility of a conditional sealing order under CPL Sec. 160.58 ( part of the 2009 Drug Law Reform Act) which allows conditional sealing of certain convictions for those who have completed "judicially sanctioned" drug treatment programs and have served the underlying sentence.

The so-called "War on Drugs" has has tremendous repercussions on our scoiety, our civil liberties, our incarceration rate, our police-community relations, our economy, the very fabric of our nation. There is a growing awareness that addiction is a brain disease that should be treated more as a publc health issue and less like a criminal justice issue. In the meantime, non-violent drug offenders are being arrested, prosecuted, and incarcerated every day.... Defense of drug cases is a substantial and important part of my practice and will probably remain so for some time.

Syracuse.com recently reported on my argument in County Court concerning ordering an indigent defendant to make restitution payments as a condition of probation without a finding of ability to pay. In this regard, please note that the U.S. Dept of Justice has recently issued a guidance letter to state court administrators emphasizing that incarceration for failure to pay fines and fees absent a finding of ability to pay runs afoul of the U.S. Constitution. For further details please see the DOJ website.

Belletier Law supports Marley Aberdeen in the Butterfly Run Fundraiser to fight pediatric cancer.

Anthony P Belletier, Esq.

Belletier Law supports "Hope for the South Side" campaign.

My jury trial last week ended in a mistrial because the police officer- witness made an improper and prejudicial comment about the defendant which was not in response to the question he was asked during cross-examination. Now we will do it all over again with a new jury at substantial expense to the State of New York.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all our Irish Friends, colleagues, and clients. Please celebrate responsibly.

Viewers of TV crime dramas may have a distorted view of crime scene investigation and forensic evidence analysis. In fact, many forensic disciplines such as analysis of fingerprints, fibers, bite marks, toolmarks ( firearm identification), handwriting, etc. are little more than junk science. A landmark study by the National Academy of Sciences summarized the situation: "No forensic method other than nuclear DNA analysis has been rigorously shown to have the capacity to consi...stently and with a high degree of certainty support conclusions of... "matching" an unknown item of evidence to a specific, known source. p.87, "Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States-A Path Forward". National Academy of Science, (2009). A healthy skepticism and solid knowledge of the subject matter are the building blocks of effective cross-examination of expert witnesses.

There is a common misconception that individuals with a felony conviction lose their right to vote. This is not true, at least in New York State in which voting rights are restored upon the completion of the sentence. See New York State Election Sec. 5-106. It is important that all eligible voters participate, especially judicial elections if we are to improve the quality, fairness and accountability of our justice system.

"If you want peace, work for justice." Pope Paul VI

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