Thought Leadership
Hit Send, Meet the Feds: What Counts as a “Wire” Under Federal Wire Fraud Law, From Emails to Zoom Calls
When most people hear the word “wire,” they picture copper cables or a bank transfer. Federal prosecutors picture something much broader. Under federal wire fraud law, a “wire” can include an email, a text message, a phone call, and even a video meeting. So what exactly turns an ordinary communication into the basis for… Read More »
Planning Is Not Nothing: Why You Can Be Charged With Conspiracy Even If the Underlying Crime Never Happened
Here is a question that surprises many people: how can someone be charged with a crime that never took place? Nothing was stolen, no drugs changed hands, nobody was hurt, and yet prosecutors announce a conspiracy indictment. The reason is simple, and a little unsettling. In criminal law, the agreement itself can be the… Read More »
The Closing Table’s Dark Twin: Real Estate and Mortgage Wire Fraud in Federal Court
A house closing already moves a staggering amount of money through a handful of emails and a single wire transfer, which is exactly why federal prosecutors in New York keep circling back to real estate and mortgage transactions when building wire fraud cases. If you’re wondering why this particular corner of white collar crime… Read More »
A Deadlier Kind of Agreement: Why Fentanyl Conspiracies Top Federal Priorities in 2026
Federal prosecutors in New York have made fentanyl trafficking conspiracies a defining priority in 2026, and the reason comes down to a single grim fact. Fentanyl has become so potent, and so often mixed unknowingly into other drugs, that a single transaction can end in a fatal overdose, and federal law treats that outcome… Read More »
The Clock Reset, Mostly: What Has and Hasn’t Changed About New York’s Statute of Limitations for Sex Crimes
If you think every sex crime in New York now carries an unlimited deadline for prosecution, you are only partly right, and the parts left out matter quite a bit. New York overhauled its criminal statute of limitations for certain sex offenses back in 2019, and the changes were significant. But significant is not… Read More »
The Window Closed, But the Docket Didn’t: The Adult Survivors Act’s Lingering Legacy in New York Courts
A law can expire and still keep courthouses busy for years afterward. That is exactly what happened with New York’s Adult Survivors Act. The filing window shut in late 2023, yet in 2026 judges are still ruling on motions, appellate courts are still issuing decisions, and the law’s fingerprints remain all over active litigation… Read More »
Ears Everywhere: How Wiretaps and Confidential Informants Build a Federal Drug Conspiracy Case
By the time federal agents knock on your door, they have often been listening for months. A federal drug conspiracy indictment rarely starts with a single arrest. It usually ends one, built slowly through wiretapped phone calls, informants working both sides of a conversation, and a mountain of recorded evidence the defense will not… Read More »
When the Accusation Isn’t the Truth: Defending Against False Allegations in New York Sex Crime Cases
An accusation of a sex crime can end a career, a marriage, and a reputation before a single piece of evidence has been tested in court. So what happens when that accusation simply is not true? Defending against a false allegation requires a different kind of strategy than defending against strong evidence, since the… Read More »
The Lindsay Clancy Case: Postpartum Psychosis, the Insanity Defense, Media Attention, and What a Hung Jury Really Means
The Lindsay Clancy case ended not in a verdict but in a deadlock. After roughly five weeks of testimony in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, and several days of deliberation, the judge had no choice but to declare a mistrial. The case is a window into three of the hardest subjects in criminal defense: the insanity… Read More »
The Four Words That Decide Everything: Why Intent Is the Battleground in Most New York Homicide Trials
What separates murder from manslaughter when the outcome, a person’s death, is identical either way? The answer almost always comes down to intent. New York homicide trials rarely turn on whether someone caused another person’s death. They turn on what that person was thinking, or failing to think about, in the moments leading up… Read More »