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Published on: August 1, 2012

Court Discusses Mothers Who are Subject to Domestic Violence Arent Considered Neglectful to Children

by Stephen Bilkis

Domestic violence has an expansive effect. It does not just affect the victim but also their children. Abuse of a parent is detrimental to children whether or not they are physically abused themselves. Children who witness acts of violence are more likely to experience delayed development, feelings of fear, depression, and helplessness and are more likely to become batterers themselves.

Three mothers, on behalf of themselves and their children, filed an action against the New York City Administration for Children’s Services because the agency removed their children from them. The mothers were victims of domestic violence and these children, according to the ACS, were removed because the mothers neglected them by exposing them to the abuse.

Published on: July 31, 2012

New York Department of Corrections Questions Woman’s Whereabouts in Light of Abuse Allegations

by Stephen Bilkis

The effect and result of domestic violence extends to so many aspects in a victim’s life. There are even some aspects that you didn’t think will be affected by they are. The pain, trauma and extreme inconvenience of what domestic violence can do to a victim is very alarming. Take this case for example. The victim’s primary source of income, her job in a government agency was compromised that she had to file a court case just to get it back and prove her point. Her residence, which is one of the basic human rights was also affected and deprived from her for quite some time. And probably the most painful of all was that her children were also products of abuse by their father, the victim’s husband.

Published on: July 30, 2012

New York Appellate Court Rules that Child is Permanently Neglected, Parental Rights Terminated

by Stephen Bilkis

On July 1, 2010, a petition was made to the Court of Appeals to review the decision of the Family Court in Otsego, regarding a child, in a case involving domestic violence. The Family Court had ordered that the boy be treated as a permanently neglected child. Also, the rights that a mother has toward her child were taken away from the mother. On May 5, 2011, the Court of Appeals affirmed the Family Court’s decision. Let us examine why.

According to reports, Tyler was taken away from his mother in 2007. He was only a year old then. During the hearing, it was determined that the child had been neglected at home because of the many alcohol-related domestic violence incidents that had happened between his mother and father. The petitioner wanted it established that the child was a permanently neglected child and that he be removed from the care of his mother.

Published on: July 29, 2012

NY Court Hears Case Where Domestic Violence Ends in Death of Victim

by Stephen Bilkis

Couple, in wedding ceremonies, usually vow to love and protect each other till death do they part. The classic wedding vow brings into mind a happy and everlasting love of the couple. The wedding vow does not bring into mind a situation where the marriage would end at the death of the wife, caused by her own husband.

In a classic case of domestic violence that led to the death of the victim, an Ecuadorian woman was found strangled to death, wrapped in a blanket and placed inside a futon in her apartment. Her husband reported the death to the authorities.

Published on: July 28, 2012

A Department of Human and Health Services in a New York county filed a petition

by Stephen Bilkis

A Department of Human and Health Services in a New York county filed a petition to terminate the parental rights of a mother whom the Department accused of having permanently neglected her minor children. According to sources, at the time of the filing of the Department’s petition, the father was deceased. The mother, the sources said, had found being a single mother extremely difficult and the children had come into the care and custody of the Department after she attempted suicide and was hospitalized.

The court granted the petition. The law defines a “permanently neglected child” as a child who is in the care of an authorized agency and whose parent or custodian has failed for a period of more than one year following the date such child came into the care of an authorized agency substantially and continuously or repeatedly to maintain contact with or plan for the future of the child, although physically and financially able to do so, notwithstanding the agency’s diligent efforts to encourage and strengthen the parental relationship when such efforts will not be detrimental to the best interests of the child.

Published on: July 26, 2012

A family court terminated the parental rights of a mother because she permanently neglected her four children.

by Stephen Bilkis

A family court terminated the parental rights of a mother because she permanently neglected her four children. The children, the youngest of which are twins, have been in foster care since 1997 after they were neglected based on the court’s findings of domestic violence by both the mother and the twins’ father. Sources said that the mother also sexually abused one of her children.

To strengthen the parental relationship while the children remained in foster care, the mother was required to attend a domestic violence support group, parenting classes, facilitated visitation with the children, counseling and sex offender treatment. Sources said that although the mother participated in all of the programs and services required, she failed to successfully complete the sex offender program because she refused to admit the abuse. The court also found that the mother had failed to adequately plan for her children’s future due to her sporadic continuing relationship with the twins’ father. The mother also failed to demonstrate progress in her parenting skills.

Published on: July 24, 2012

New York Appellate Court Downgrades Defendant’s Sex Offender Risk Assessment Level

by Stephen Bilkis

In 1985, a man was convicted of one count of first degree rape, one count of second degree rape, four counts of first degree sodomy and four counts of second degree sodomy. The charges stemmed from claims brought by his two stepdaughters, who claimed that he forcibly raped and sodomized them on multiple occasions. Following his conviction, he was sentenced to a combined term of 25 to 50 years.

His criminal defense attorney filed a motion to set aside the verdict and this request was granted in 1991. The New York County Supreme Court was unable to determine why the conviction was overturned but the prosecutor in the case claimed they had arranged a plea agreement in which he would plead guilty to one count of first degree rape. In exchange, he received a sentence of 5 to 15 years.

Published on: July 22, 2012

New York Supreme Court Hears Defendant’s Argument that Due Process Rights Have Been Violated

by Stephen Bilkis

A man was charged with robbery in the second degree as an armed and violent Class C felony. He pled guilty to a Class D violent felony offense in exchange for a prison sentence of one to three years. At that time, the court agreed to consider an application for a less sentence based on mitigating circumstances. The court later found that there was insufficient mitigating evidence to support a shorter term than he had already received. He then challenged the court’s decision, alleging a violation of his due process rights. The court rejected his claim. At the sentencing hearing, his criminal defense attorney filed another application for a shorter sentence, which was also denied.

The case was then referred to the Supreme Court Appellate Division to address defendant’s constitutional claim. After reviewing New York Penal Law, the court determined that the prison term he received was appropriate and that the lower acted within the boundaries of its discretion in handing down the sentence. Accordingly, his plea arrangement and sentence were affirmed.

Published on: July 20, 2012

Counsel Withdraws From Appellate Case, Arguing No New Issues To Raise on Appeal

by Stephen Bilkis

A man plead guilty to numerous counts involving possession of child pornography. Specifically, his plea agreement included five counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child and four counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child. The Broome County Court sentenced him to six months in jail and a probationary term of ten years. He was also required to register as a sex offender upon his release.

After leaving jail, the felon failed to register as required by the Sex Offender Registration Act. He was then charged probation violation for failing to comply with this requirement. He plead guilty to the charge and as such his probation was revoked. He was then sentenced to a prison term of 1 1/3 to 4 years for each count of the original indictment, with the sentences ordered to run concurrently.

Published on: July 18, 2012

New York Supreme Court Decides Sex Offender Risk Assessment Level Under SORA

by Stephen Bilkis

He was 21 when he broke into a New Rochelle home on May 2, 1975. Assisted by three other men, Taylor entered the home of a suspected drug dealer with the intention of stealing money from the residents. Asleep in the home were the alleged drug dealer’s wife and three daughters, who were aged two, five and seven. The four men, who were armed and wearing masks, demanded money from the wife and threatened to kill the children when she stated she had none. After she repeated her claim that there was no money to steal, the men threatened to kidnap the youngest daughter and hold her for ransom.

One of the men took the girls’ mother into a bathroom just off the master bedroom and closed the door. While holding a gun to her head he told her he would kill her if she didn’t reveal where they hid their money. She was then tied, bound and locked in a closet. When she escaped, the men were gone, along with her two-year-old daughter. She called police, who arrived on the scene. An officer noticed a blue Datsun in the area, which was occupied by Taylor, another man and a little girl. Police attempted to stop the vehicle, which lead to a high-speed chase. Finally, the car collided with a light pole, allowing police to rescue the child and apprehend Mr. X and the other man.