By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. The situation can happen all too easily. You live upstate in Ulster County, and your father lives in Nassau County. When your dad passes away, you take care of listing his house for sale. But the house doesn’t sell quickly, and it sits on the market for a few months. You try to make it to the house every few weeks to check on things, but the traffic getting to Nassau is terrible. When you finally get to the house, you find a squatter has entered your dad’s home and is living there. The squatter has been there for more than 30 days. He’s been bringing in the newspaper ..read more

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. When it comes to enacting laws, legislators put new regulations into place ostensibly for the good of the community. Yet over time, some of these laws lose their meaning. As communities and cultures change, these rules may become unnecessary or outdated. Sometimes, they can even seem downright silly years after they are enacted. In New York, there are several strange laws that are still on the books.   New York City’s Strange Laws In New York City, you cannot have three or more unrelated people living together. Under Housing Maintenance Code § 27-2004, a household ..read more

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. According to the AAA Foundation, between 2015 and 2021 there were 123 roadside assistance providers killed by passing vehicles. In New York, there were 37 people killed outside disabled vehicles between 2016 and 2020. For this reason, every state in the country has a move over law to protect law enforcement officers and other first responders stopped on roadways. As such, New York has expanded its law to protect everyone stopped on the side of the road.   What is New York’s Move Over Law? In 2010, New York’s first move over law went into effect. Pursuant to that e ..read more

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. In 1981, doctors first observed Human Immunodeficiency Viruses (HIV), the virus which causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Over the next two decades, HIV- and AIDS-related policies were developed to combat the virus, with some states passing laws HIV criminalization laws. But now more than 40 years later, HIV is much more treatable and its transmission can be prevented. However, many of the laws criminalizing HIV remain. Are these laws outdated and discriminatory?   Background on HIV Criminalization In 1990, federal legislators passed the Ryan White C ..read more

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. Tianeptine was discovered in the 1960s, and since then it has been used in Europe to treat depression. However, in the US it is not approved to treat any condition. Yet it is available for purchase in the US at smoke shops, gas stations, and online. Recently, the Food & Drug Administration (“FDA”) warned against purchasing any product or “dietary supplement” containing the drug.   What is Tianeptine? Tianeptine is in a class of drugs called atypical tricyclic antidepressants. In other countries, this type of drug is used for treating major depressive disorder ..read more

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. When you’re awaiting a package, you may sign up for delivery updates. With some couriers, these updates can come via text message, also known as short message service (SMS). But have you ever received a text message asking you to confirm your delivery address, but you weren’t expecting a package? This may an instance of smishing, one of the latest scams used to steal your personal information.   What is Smishing? With the rise of email over the last several decades, scammers would send email messages as a way to steal personal information. Now, those messages are ..read more

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. When it comes to illegal drugs, there’s always something new on the market. Whether its tranq or kratom, people looking to use drugs will find they have many choices. But now, there’s a new class of synthetic opioids that is more dangerous than fentanyl – nitazenes, also known as “Iso” or “Frankenstein.”   What Are Nitazenes? Also known as the benzimidazole opioids, nitazenes are a class of synthetic opioids. In the 1950s, pharmaceutical research laboratories developed the drugs. However, they were mostly forgotten about until 2019 when they emerged as street drug ..read more

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. From 2012 to 2022, the number of reports concerning child sexual exploitation to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s (“NCMEC”) CyberTipline increased by a factor of 77, with more than 32 million reports in the most recent year. Unfortunately, child sexual abuse material (“CSAM”) is rampant on the internet. As such, federal legislators have proposed the Strengthening Transparency and Obligation to Protect Children Suffering from Abuse and Mistreatment Act of 2023 (“STOP CSAM Act”) to stop the spread of CSAM online.   Current Federal Law on On ..read more

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. In January, the Governor signed new legislation, which updates the definition of rape under New York State law. Pursuant to the new rape laws, penetration will no longer be a required element of the crime of rape. Moreover, additional forms of non-consensual, forced sexual conduct can be prosecuted as rape.   What Are the New Rape Laws? Also known as the “Rape is Rape” bill, the legislation (S.3161/A.3340) removes the penetration requirement from the rape statutes. Previously, the law required sexual intercourse or oral or anal sexual conduct. Now, the Penal Law w ..read more

By Jill K. Sanders, Esq. Follow the money. In today’s world, one way to uncover criminal activity is to trace financial transactions. Under the federal Bank Secrecy Act, financial institutions are required to assist government agencies in detecting and preventing money laundering. When a bank suspects a financial transaction involves some form of criminal activity, that information gets turned over to law enforcement in the form of a suspicious activity report.   What Activities Necessitate a Suspicious Activity Report? Financial institutions must report suspicious activity if it involves ..read more