New York Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

Lawrence Taylor, the 51 year old Hall of Fame linebacker for the New York Giants was charged with third degree rape in Ramapo, New York on May 7, 2010. Taylor allegedly had sexual relations with a 16 year old girl at the Montebello, New York Holiday Inn on May 6, 2010. Taylor has alleged through his attorney that he did not have consensual or any sexual relations with the girl.

Taylor is charged with third degree rape under section 130.25 of the New York State Penal Law, which states that a person is guilty of rape in the third degree if he engages in sexual intercourse with another person who is incapable of consent in that they are less than 17 years old. This charge is a Class E felony, which is punishable by a jail term of not more than 4 years. He is also charged with patronizing a prostitute, but under the section which makes it a misdemeanor, rather than a felony, since a felony charge would only result if the girl was under 14 years of age.

Since the news of Mr. Taylor's arrest, a federal criminal complaint has been filed against Rasheed Davis, the alleged pimp who procured the 16 year old girl, on a sex trafficking charge due to the alleged transport of a minor across state lines for sexual purposes. There have also been claims made by Taylor's wife that he did not have sexual relations with the girl, and that he was "set up."

We will monitor developments in this case.

Continue reading " Ex New York Giant Star Charged With Rape " »

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is co-sponsoring a bill to require that teenagers be 18 years of age before they obtain full driving privileges. At present, when a teen turns 17 in New York and completes a driver's ed class, he or she can obtain a senior license. According to Gillibrand, she is seeking to reduce teenage driver deaths and serious injuries. New York has approximately 230,000 drivers aged 16 or 17, and statistically, these drivers are most likely to die in a fatal motor vehicle crash. The National Center for Health Statistics reported that for 15-20 year olds, there were 3,467 deaths and 281,000 injuries in 2005, and that car crashes were the number one cause of death.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has reported that increasing the teen driver's age by one year reduces deaths by 13% per 100,000 teenagers. If the bill were to pass, it would have the most dramatic impact in western states such as South Dakota, which permits teens to drive without supervision at 14 1/2, and Idaho and Montana, who allow unsupervised drivers at age 15.

The legislation will be voted on early next year as part of the highway reauthorization bill.

Continue reading " Gillibrand Wants Legislative Restrictions on Teen Drivers " »