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An arrest for a DUI is unfortunately an all to common occurrence and each DUI case is unique. A first time DUI offense is something you may or may not need a lawyer for. What you do need is someone honest who is willing to sit down and difference in your case. If your DUI is your second or...
Though the laws of the federal government of the United States have no direct bearing on open container laws, which are set down at the state or local level, that doesn’t mean that they have no influence over the laws enacted. By complying with the provision against open containers in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (or TEA-21), the federal government grants roadway funds to the states. As a result, 39 states have completely signed on to the Act and implemented open container laws, including the state of New York.
What Are New York’s Open Container Laws?
Under the laws of the state of New York, it is against the law to possess or consume an open bottle of alcohol in a public area. This means that you can’t just go walking around and swigging from a bottle unless you are in a private space such as your home or a business establishment with a license to serve alcohol. It’s the reason why someone carrying around a brown bag has become code for drinking, because in theory if the police can’t see the alcohol, they can’t prove it. Visual confirmation of an actual bottle, however, is obviously only one of many ways that an officer of the law can tell that you are drinking, so it’s never good to test the law in this way.
New York open container laws also prohibit both drivers and passengers from either consuming or simply possessing an open bottle of alcohol in the passenger compartment or cab of a vehicle – including an unlocked glove compartment. This is true regardless of whether anyone is actually driving the car, so it is not within your rights to park and have a drink in your vehicle. The only way that you can transport an open container of alcohol in your vehicle without getting in trouble with the law is by putting it into your trunk.
What Penalties Are Associated with New York’s Open Container Laws?
While it is true that if you are caught with alcohol in your vehicle and charged for violating New York’s open container laws it is only a traffic infraction with an attached fine, there are numerous instances of cases where the charges have been raised and penalties increased – some people have even been given jail time!
But more important than the specific penalties laid down by law for simply violating New York’s open container laws is what such a charge can lead to. If a law enforcement officer discovers an open container of alcohol in your vehicle – whether or not you were actually drinking from it – it is quite likely that they will suspect you are intoxicated and could attempt to administer a BAC test and charge you for driving while intoxicated. Arguing with them that you haven’t been drinking or becoming belligerent will only add more evidence to your “intoxication.”
A version of this is even true if you have an open container in your possession when you are not in a vehicle. If a police officer notices it, they can cite you for it and attempt to ascertain whether or not you have been drinking and they should charge you with public intoxication. In the same way that many lawmakers consider alcohol and marijuana to be a gateway drug, an open container violation is a “gateway offense.”
How Can You Avoid Violating New York’s Open Container Laws?
The simplest and easiest way: don’t transport any open alcoholic containers. If you’re heading to a friend’s house for a party, stop at the store and buy a new bottle. Or if you really feel like you need to bring an open container from home, make sure that you store it in your trunk so that there is no question about whether or not you might have been drinking from it. If you are taking public transportation or walking, keep the open container inside of a closed bag, purse, or backpack at all times.
And if an officer does stop you and cite you for an open container violation and the encounter seems like it may lead to further problems for you, don’t hesitate to ask to speak to an experienced New York open container lawyer before you do anything to incriminate yourself any more in front of the police.
When most people think of hit-and-run accidents, they imagine someone who runs over a person and just keeps going, either through negligence or callousness. But what those individuals do not realize is that in the state of New York, the term “hit-and-run” simply means that you drive away after being involved in an accident without stopping to provide your information or reporting the incident as the law requires.
Types of New York Hit-and-Run Violations
Property Damage. This can include a number of things, such as:
Injury. A hit-and-run violation where you physically harm any other human being and do not stop to provide your information or check to make sure that the other person is okay. This can include an accident between vehicles where there is an injured party, but also encompasses injuries suffered by pedestrians or those utilizing non-motor vehicles.
Death. This type of hit-and-run violation is exactly the same as the Injury violation, except that the injured person or persons die from the wounds they received in the accident.
As you may imagine, the penalties for each of these types of violations vary depending upon the severity of the crime, with property damage obviously counting as the least severe, and causing the death of another person being the most severe.
Penalties for New York Hit-and-Run Violations
While the state of New York considers all hit-and-run violations to be a serious problem, it also recognizes the vast disparity between scraping a mailbox and hitting a person, and the penalties that you will face reflect that.
If you damage property and flee the scene, you will be guilty of a traffic infraction that has attached fines of up to $250, a prison sentence that can last for up to 15 days, or both of these penalties.
If you moderately injure a person and refuse to provide your information at the scene (name, address, license, insurance), it is a Class B misdemeanor. This crime carries with it a minimum fine of $250 that can to as high as $500, along with other potential penalties. And if this isn’t the first time you have been charged with such a crime, it becomes a Class A misdemeanor with a minimum $500 fine that can go as high as $1,000, along with other potential penalties. If you actually flee the scene, it starts as a Class A misdemeanor with fines ranging from $500 to $1,000 and other attached penalties, and if you’ve been previously convicted of the same crime, the charge becomes a Class E felony, with fines ranging from $1,000-$2,500 and other attached penalties.
If you seriously injure a person and flee the scene, you will be charged with a Class E felony with fines ranging from $1,000-$5,000, along with attached penalties.
If the person you seriously injured dies and you flee the scene, you will be charged with a Class D felony with fines ranging from $1,000-$5,000, as well as any attached penalties.
Responsibilities When You Are Involved in an Accident in New York
The responsibilities given to drivers who are involved in traffic accidents by the state of New York are common courtesy and should be common sense. If this happens to you:
Stop. Do not keep driving and pretend it didn’t happen. No matter how fast you are going, it will catch up to you eventually, and you are only making matters worse.
Help. If someone was injured, get out of your car and do what you can to help them. Get them out of their car or out of the street if it seems like it will help, and if you need to, call 9-1-1 and get someone out there to make sure that they are okay. You’ll be helping them and helping yourself, because if the person you hit becomes more seriously injured or even dies, it’s going to be that much worse for you.
Exchange info. You are required by law to show your license and insurance information to the other party involved in the accident. Even if you damage someone’s property and no one is around, the law says that you have to leave them a note with your contact information. If you do not do this and it is later revealed that you caused the damage, injury, or death, you will face charges for the actual crime related to the accident as well as hit-and-run charges.
Call the police. New York law also says that you need to report any auto accidents that involve damage or injury to the police so that they can file a report and get everything on record.
And finally, there’s something that you should do to be responsible to yourself – call an experienced New York criminal attorney who knows the hit-and-run laws and has dealt with cases like this before. The best way for you to receive a positive outcome in a situation like this is to get a professional on your side as early as possible.
You’re driving along, minding your own business, when suddenly lights flash and a siren goes off behind you. It’s the cops! What do they want? What did you do? Were you speeding? Did you forget to signal or turn your lights on? Surely you weren’t swerving – you only had one drink.
Thoughts like these can come fast and furious when you suddenly find yourself the object of a police officer’s attention, and they can lead to you becoming terrified in a flash. This, in turn, might make you want to run away, especially if you’re afraid the officer in question is going to get you into serious trouble. But even if you feel like running, don’t do it.
Fight or flight is a natural instinct, but when you are dealing with a New York police officer, it’s not a time to be following your instincts. You need to calm down and really think about what you’re doing, and what the consequences will be.
Consequences for Fleeing a Police Officer in New York
Up until 2006, the State of New York had no specific statutes to address people fleeing from police officers in their motor vehicles. Before then, attempting to get away from a law enforcement officer was simply a form of “failure to obey a police officer,” which under New York law was only considered a traffic infraction. The new statutes, however, raise the status of this into a full-fledged crime.
These statutes break up the law related to fleeing from a police officer in a motor vehicle into three distinct parts, and each is charged differently.
Each of these crimes carries with it serious penalties. Besides the associated fines, and the fact that fleeing a police officer a crime means that you will now carry a criminal record with you for the rest of your life, those found guilty of even the least serious of these offenses – unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle in the third degree – can face up to 1 year of jail time. For second degree fleeing, which involves another person becoming injured due to the incident, the potential jail time jumps up to 4 years. And if you are found guilty of fleeing in the first degree, meaning that the incident caused the death of another person, you can face up to 7 years of prison time.
Ways to Fight a New York Fleeing Charge
Experienced New York criminal attorneys will look closely at your specific circumstances when trying to battle a charge of unlawful fleeing. They will look into your medical history to see if there is anything that might cast doubt on the presumption that you were aware of the officer’s attempts to pull you over. If there is an injury or death involved, they will examine the facts of the case to see if your actions actually caused it to happen. And they will explore the actions of the police officer to see if he or she followed protocol in their attempts to get you to pull over.
It is not an easy charge to beat, but that’s why you need a good New York criminal attorney who knows this law and has experience dealing with these types of cases. If you want the best possible outcome, you need someone fighting for your rights.
If you have an accident while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in New York, it can be a very scary thing. You’ll probably wonder what is going to happen to you, and as that fear builds, you might start to think that fleeing the scene is the best way out.
Don’t do it.
In most jurisdictions in New York, it is the law for a motorist to stop when they are involved in an accident where an injury or damage to property occurred and notify the police. They must then provide information to the police or the other party involved in the accident and send a report to the DMV. Not doing this makes the accident fall under New York’s hit-and-run statutes, and that is not something you want.
If you do try to flee the scene of an accident while intoxicated and get caught, you will likely be charged with a criminal DUI – not the lighter DWAI – a violation for the accident itself, which will vary depending on the nature and severity of it, and with failure to report an accident. At the minimum, this crime is a misdemeanor that carries fines and other punishments, but it can become a felony if the accident was more serious.
Charges and Penalties for Failing to Report a New York DUI Accident
The charges and penalties for fleeing the scene of an accident vary depending upon the nature of the accident in question. For a simple case of damaging property or a vehicle that was unattended, fleeing will lead to:
If you run from an accident involving another person and the accident results in that person receiving “serious” injuries or dying, you will face:
Remember, these are just the charges for failing to report the accident and running away – you’ll still have to deal with the charges and penalties associated with your DUI and with the accident itself, which may be elevated based on your decision not to report the incident.
Your Legal Obligations in a New York DUI Accident
As mentioned above, no matter how serious the accident is, most jurisdictions demand that you stop, notify police, and provide information before a report can be made to the DMV. But what information would you need to provide?
Most people are familiar with this process if they’ve ever been involved in an accident. Usually, you simply give this information to the other driver. If, however, no other driver is involved, that doesn’t mean that you can simply walk away. Instead, you have an obligation to find the owner of the property that was damaged so that you can exchange information with them. If you are unable to do this, the law requires you to leave a note for the owner with your contact information, then call the police and let them know about the accident.
Your responsibilities change if the accident results in someone being injured or killed. When this occurs, it is your legal duty to immediately stop your car at the scene of the accident and stay there until you’ve given what aid you could to the injured party, called the police, and provided the information listed above.
Once you have provided your information to any other parties involved in the accident and notified police, you are typically given 5 to 10 days to file an accident report with the DMV if the incident caused injury, death, or damage of $500 or greater. However, if you were yourself injured in the accident, you won’t be required to file a written report while you are incapacitated.
The State of New York takes even the most minor DUI and DWI violations quite seriouslyYou can face penalties including fines, alcohol education classes, suspension of your license, an ignition interlock device, and even jail time.
So if you have been charged a drunk driving incident where a pedestrian, passenger, or people in another vehicle were killed, know that this will mean incredibly serious felony charges. You need a knowledgeable New York DUI attorney on your side, preferably one with experience dealing with vehicular manslaughter cases and who knows the laws of New York in and out.
Criminal Charges You Will Face in New York for a DUI Death
Charges for deaths related to New York DUIs generally fall into one of four categories: criminally negligent homicide (a Class E Felony), vehicular manslaughter in the second degree (a Class D Felony), vehicular manslaughter in the first degree (a Class C Felony), and depraved indifference homicide (a Class A Felony).
Which of these you are charged with comes down to a number of different factors:
What the Prosecution Needs to Show to Get a DUI Death Conviction
It used to be that in order to convict you on charges of DWI vehicular homicide manslaughter, the prosecution had to prove that your conduct was reckless or criminally negligent (e.g., you didn’t account for others’ safety), that you could have reasonably foreseen the consequences of your actions, and that you had criminal intent.
However, in November 2005, the law changed so that it is now possible to convict someone for the death of another person in one of these cases on just the allegation of drug use or a high blood alcohol level. What that means is that the DA’s job is now a lot easier. He or she doesn’t even have to show that the death was caused by your conduct, just that you had drugs or alcohol in your system and a death occurred.
How to Fight Charges Related to a DUI Death
With the laws of New York making it so easy for the prosecutor to convict someone simply by showing they were intoxicated at the time they were involved in an accident where someone died, the best way to fight DUI death charges is to disprove or cast doubt on the DWI itself.
For the DUI attorney you hire, this means finding ways to show that you were not actually legally intoxicated, including:
The goal should be to poke holes in whatever evidence the prosecution has and show that there are a number of reasons why it could be misleading or altogether false. This can cause evidence the prosecution has to be made inadmissible, and hopefully will eventually cause the prosecution to reduce your charges, prevent a conviction, or even get the charges dismissed altogether.
In cases like this, however, even simply reducing the charges to a straight DWI, reckless driving, or even a lower homicide charge can greatly affect your life by helping you to avoid receiving the harshest prison sentence for criminal vehicular manslaughter.
Don’t play games with your future. If you have been charged with a DUI death, contact an experienced New York DUI attorney today to have the best chance of a positive outcome.
With all of the attention being focused on alcohol-related DUIs and DWIs, it can be easy to forget that “intoxication” also refers to using drugs and operating a motor vehicle. In the State of New York, this offense is called Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs, or DWAI Drugs, and it carries with it many of the same penalties as a DWI charge. There are a couple of big differences, though.
One of the most important differences that everyone needs to know is that the drug that allegedly impaired you doesn't have to be an illegal substance like marijuana, cocaine, or heroin. You are just as likely to be charged with DWAI-Drugs if the supposedly impairing substance was purchased over the counter or prescribed to you by your doctor. The only thing that matters to the arresting officer is whether that substance impaired your ability to operate a vehicle.
In fact, the prosecution in New York DWAI-Drugs cases only has to show that the driver was using the drugs in question while they were driving, and that the use prevented them from operating the vehicle free of impairment.
It's not all gloom and doom, however. One of the positive differences between being charged with a DUI versus a DWAI-Drugs charge is that the latter charge does not require that your license be automatically suspended while the case is pending. And unlike in cases involving alcohol, where the prosecution only has to prove that the defendant had a specific blood-alcohol level above the legal amount allowed by law, with drug DUI cases, they are saddled with the more vague and potentially more difficult task of proving that the drugs they took actually impaired the driver.
Furthermore, although the impairing drug doesn't have to be illegal to use, in order to it to count in court as a valid drug that can cause impairment, it has to be listed under the New York State Public Health Law as a “controlled substance.” Be aware, though, that if you were drinking and using drugs, your charge will be for DWAI-A/D (impairment due to using both alcohol and drugs), and the laws for this charge don't include any language about the drug in question needing to be on the Health Law list. When you hire a New York criminal DUI attorney, make sure that they are familiar with all of the little wrinkles in the law such as this one.
While a DWAI-Drugs charge is only a misdemeanor in New York, that does not mean that it is something that should be taken lightly. If you are convicted, the fines and other expenses associated with the charge will probably run you somewhere from $1,000-$2,000, and your license will be revoked – even if it is just your first offense! Worse, you could face jail time, and a drug DUI conviction will stay on your driving record for at least a decade. You can bet that that's going to affect your car insurance rates.
Getting a DWAI can also cause problems you would probably never even think of, such as the ability of other countries to refuse to let you in, and the loss of a job that requires you to drive for your work. Also, if you were to receive a second DWAI-Drugs arrest any time in the next 10 years, it could become a felony and bring with it enhanced penalties.
Last but certainly not least, just like any other criminal charge you can receive, it will mean that you have a permanent criminal record that is going to show up every time you have to go through a background check. This can make it a lot harder for you to find work, get an apartment, or successfully apply for credit cards and loans.
With such complicated statutes and laws, you want to make sure that the person fighting for your rights is up-to-date on the latest chances in the drug DUI laws and understands the science behind measuring impairment. Your best chance at receiving a positive outcome is to retain the services of an experienced New York criminal DUI attorney as soon as possible.
DISTRICT COURTS
NASSAU COUNTY DISTRICT COURT
99 Main St., Hempstead 11550
(516) 571-2355
Supervising judge: Christopher G. quinn
(516) 572-2166; Email: cgquinn@courts.state.ny.us
Law Clerk: Virginia Clavin
Email: vclavin@courts.state.ny.us
Secretary: Carmen culhane
Email: cculhane@courts.state.ny.us
Judges:
Valerie j. Alexander (516) 572-2103
Email: valexande@ courts.state.ny.us
Anna R. Anzalone (516) 572-2115
Bonnie P. Chaikin (516) 572-2117
Michael A. Delligatti (516) 572-2129
Andrew M. Engel (516) 572-2105
Scott Fairgrieve (516) 572-2141
Email: sfairgri@courts.state.ny.us
Tricia M. Ferrell (516) 572-2150
Rhonda E. Fischer (516) 572-2133
Sharon MJ. Gianelli (516) 572-2147
David Goodsell (516) 572-2125
Fred J. Hirsh (516) 572-2137
Norman janowitz (516) 572-2121
Susan T. Khrewer (President, Board of Judges)
(516) 572-2159
Gary F. Knobel (516) 572-2109
Martin J. Massell (516) 572-2161
David W. McAndrews
Terence P. Murphy (516) 572-2113
William J. O’Brien (516) 572-2101
Email: wobrien@courts.state.ny.us
Anthony W. paradise (516) 572-2135
Sondra K. Pardes (516) 572-2153
Andrea Phoenix (516) 572-2143; Fax: (516) 572-2507
Erica L. Prager (516) 572-2131
Email: cprager@courts.state.ny.us
Margaret C. Reilly (516) 572-2107
Francis D. Ricigliano (516) 572-2139
Robert H. Spergel (516) 572-2123
Assoc. Court Atty.:
Debra Leimback Keller (516) 572-2376
Melissa Sealy-Franco (516) 572-2554
Charles Givens (516) 572-2384
Maureen McConnell (516) 572-2381
Barhara Solomon (516) 572-2314
Chief Clerk: Kenneth Roll (516) 572-2157
Deputy Chief Clerks:
Michael Beganskas (516) 572-2170
Angela Diliberti (516) 572-2168
First District Civil Court
99 Main St. Hempstead 11550
(516) 572-2226
Cleark: Robert Shimonski (516) 572-2255
First District Civil Court
99 Main St. Hempstead 11550
(516) 572-2355
Clerk: James Sullivan (516) 572-2391
Second District Civil Court
99 Main St. Hempstead 11550
(516) 572-2226
Town of Hempstead
Clerk: Robert Shimonski (516) 572-2255
Third District Civil Court
99 Main St. Hempstead 11550
(516) 572-2226
Town of North Hempstead
Clerk: Robert Shimonski (516) 572-2255
SUFFOLK COUNTY DISTRICT COURT
JOHN P. Cohalan, Jr, court Complex,
400 carleton Ave, P.O. box 9075, Central Islip 11722-9075
(631) 853-7500
Supervising Judge: Madeleine A. Fitzgibbon (631) 853-4917
Judges:
Salvatore A. Alamia (631) 853-4915
*W. Gerard Asher (Acting County court Judge) (631) 852-3415
Toni A. Bean (631) 853-4916
Stephen M. Behar, Sr. (631) 853-7601
Dennis M. Cohen (1st & 5th Districts)
3105 Veterans Memorial Hwy., Ronkonkma 11779
(631) 854-9293,- Fax: (631) 954-9683
Kevin J. Crowley (Acting County Court Judge)
(631) 853-5408
Martin 1. Efman (Acting county court Judge) 852-2166
Patrieia M. Filiberto (631) 853-4916
James P. Flanagan (631) 853-4918
William G. Ford (631) 853-4920
C. Stephen Hackeling (Second District ) (631) 854-4545
Jennifer A. Henry (631) 853-4915
Paul Hensley (631) 853-5520
Richard I. Horowitz (4th District ) (631) 853-4921
John IIiou (631) 853-4921
Chris Ann Kelley (631) 853-7601
Steven A. Lotto (631) 853-4920
Gaetan Lozito (Acting County Judge) (631) 853-4919
Glenn A. Murphy (Acting County court Judge)
(631) 853-7418
Joseph A. Santorelli (631) 853-4918
G. Ann Spelman (Acting County Court Judge)
(631) 853-7418
John J. Toomey, Jr. (631) 853-4919
Stephen L. Ukeiley (631) 854-1440
Chief Clerk: Warren G. Clark (631) 853-4532
Deputy Chief Clerks:
Frank Incantalupo (631) 853-4530
Michael Paparatto (631) 853-4530
Principal Court Atty.: Steve Miller (631) 853-4545
First District Civil court
3105 Veterans Mem. Highway, Ronkonkoma 11779
(631) 854-9676
Towns of Babylon, brookhaven, Huntington, Islip
First district Criminal court
John P. cohalan, Jr. Court Complex,
400 Carleton Ave., P.O.Box 9073, Central Islip 11722
(631) 853-7500
Towns of Babylon, Brookhaven, Huntington, Islip
Second District Court
30 E. Hoffman Ave., Lindenhurst 11757
(631) 854-1121
Town of Babylon
Third District Court
1850 New York Ave., Huntington Station 11746
(631) 854-4545
Town of Huntington
Fourth District Court
Veterans’ Memorial Highway, Hauppauge 11787
(631) 853-5408
Town of Smithtown
Fifth District Court
3105 Veterans Mem. Highway, Ronkonkoma 11779
(631) 854-9673
Town of Islip
Sixth District Court
150 W. Main St., Patehogue 11772
(631) 854-1440
Town of Brookhaven
Traffic Division
John P. Cohalan, Jr. court Complex,
400 carletoon Ave,. P.O. Box 9074, central Islip 11722
(631) 853-7500
Test-cheat probe may yield more arrests
BY EMILY NGO
As many as nine students and former students and four other individuals suspected of being paid to assume students' identities - and take the SAT and ACT exams on their behalf - will surrender tomorrow, said a source close to the investigation into a cheating scandal that has enveloped Nassau County.
The expected arrests come as at least four more schools are implicated in the probe: Great Neck South High School; Roslyn High School; St. Mary's High School in Manhasset; and North Shore Hebrew Academy High School in Great Neck, according to the source.
The source would not disclose whether students from the newly implicated schools would be among those to turn themselves in tomorrow at the Nassau district attorney's office.
Roslyn's superintendent of schools yesterday sought to emphasize that the investigation targets individuals, saying in a statement that the school district has "no direct involvement with these exams" because the standardized tests used toward college admissions are "administered by private organizations."
"Any suggestion that law enforcement officials are investigating school districts is without merit," Superintendent Dan Brenner said in the statement.
Great Neck Public Schools Board of Education vice president Fran Langsner declined to answer questions, saying only: "This is an ongoing investigation. We are cooperating with the district attorney's office."
Attempts to reach St. Mary's and North Shore Hebrew Academy were unsuccessful.
Some students who prosecutors said cheated on exams cannot be charged because the tests were more than two years ago, exceeding the statute of limitations for misdemeanors.
Prosecutors in September arrested seven current and former students from Great Neck North High School, charging they are part of a cheating ring.
With Ann Givens and Will Van Sant
SAT probe may expand to Queens
BY ANN GIVENS
The Nassau district attorney's investigation into cheating on college admissions tests has led to the discovery of at least one alleged case in Queens, a lawyer for the two suspects in that case said yesterday.
Matin Emouna, the Mineola lawyer for accused SAT test- taker Sam Eshaghoff, said he now represents two people suspected of cheating in Queens, one of whom allegedly took the test for the other, he said.
Emouna said his clients, whom he would not identify, have not yet been interviewed by prosecutors but added that they "intend to cooperate fully" with the investigation.
Emouna confirmed the widening investigation on the eve of a second round of arrests in the nationally publicized cheating scandal. Sources close to the investigation have said that as many as 13 people - four people suspected of accepting money to take the tests, and nine people suspected of paying others to take the tests - have been asked to turn themselves in this morning.
Prosecutors in September arrested Eshaghoff and six other current and former students from Great Neck North High School, charging they are part of a cheating ring. Eshaghoff, 19, of Great Neck, pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree scheme to defraud, six counts of second-degree falsifying business records and six counts of second-degree criminal impersonation. If convicted, he faces up to 4 years in prison.
Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice also has convened a special grand jury to investigate cheating on the tests, sources close to the probe confirmed. That probe could result in criminal indictments, a report or recommendations on the panel's findings, sources and experts said.
Rice has scheduled a noon news conference today on the SAT and ACT investigation, her office confirmed.
Emouna said the fact that the investigation has spilled over into Queens shows how widespread cheating on the SAT and ACT is. He said his clients attend a private school in Queens and that the test in that case allegedly was taken in Queens.
Rice spokesman John Byrne said the district attorney has not referred any SAT or ACT cases to other jurisdictions. A spokeswoman for Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said that office does not confirm or deny investigations.
Thomas Ewing, a spokesman for ETS, the Princeton, N.J. based company that administers SATs for the College Board, said yesterday that ETS will upgrade security procedures if that is warranted. He said the College Board has hired a group run by former FBI director Louis Freeh to review test-security protocols.
State Sen. Kenneth LaValle (R-Port Jefferson), chairman of his chamber's Higher Education Committee, yesterday urged Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota to contact school superintendents in his county, telling them to check for SAT test fraud and to report any suspected cases.
Bob Clifford, a spokesman for Spota, said the district attorney plans to send out a letter to superintendents this week.
"Despite the extensive reporting on the problems in Nassau County regarding cheating on the SAT and ACT exams, this office has received no evidence from any source to suggest similar conduct is ongoing in Suffolk County," Spota said in a statement.
Eric Sachs, who represents Trane, said the students were not needed at the hearing. In this case, additionally, they did not appear “ for obvious reasons with the media here”.
About six reporters and photographers gathered outside court for hearing. It’s not unusual for defendants to waive their right to appear at pretrial procedural hearings.If the judge needs them,we can have them come in. Sachs said.
BY MATTHEW CHAYES AND CARL MACGOWAN
A former Great Neck high school student who faces charges in a test-cheating probe appeared in court Friday, while two others were allowed by a Nassau County judge to remain in their cars.
George Trane, 19, and Joshua Chefec, 20, were represented in court by their attorneys, who assured District Court Judge Martin J. Massell that their clients were near the Mineola courthouse, lawyers on the case said.
The third defendant, Adam Justin, 19, a graduate of North Shore Hebrew Academy High School, appeared in court for the procedural hearing.
Eric Sachs, who represents Trane, said the students were not needed at the hearing. In this case, additionally, they did not appear "for obvious reasons with the media here," Sachs said.
About six reporters and photographers gathered outside court for the hearing.
It's not unusual for defendants to waive their right to appear at pretrial procedural hearings.
"If the judge needs them, we can have them come in," Sachs said.
Justin declined to comment as he left court.
Justin, Chefec and Trane were among 11 people arrested Tuesday and charged in connection with the cheating investigation. Prosecutors said the three men, now college students, were paid from $300 to $1,000 by high school students to take SAT and ACT college-admission exams for them between 2008 and 2011.
All three have pleaded not guilty to charges of scheme to defraud, falsifying business records and criminal impersonation. They are free without bail.
Chefec, a graduate of Great Neck North High School, attends Tulane University; Trane, a graduate of Great Neck South High School, attends Stony Brook University; and Justin, Indiana University. Their cases were adjourned to Jan. 5.
Another alleged test-taker, Michael Pomerantz, 18, who attended Great Neck North, was allowed to delay his surrender until Monday because of a medical condition.
The defendants face 4 years in prison if convicted.
A student at St. Mary's High School in Manhasset who allegedly paid someone to take a test is also expected to surrender on Monday.
The cheating scandal has rocked some parts of the affluent North Shore, where students attend some of the nation's top-ranked high schools.
Sachs said the case should have been handled by the school disciplinary system.
"You have children who are so concerned with grades that they would even think about paying someone to take [the test] for them because they're not smart enough. We have girls who are skinny as can be and think they're fat. This is what we've created," he said.
Attorney Brian J. Griffin, who represents Chefec, said: "There's a reason our criminal justice system is separate and apart from our school system."
In September, six former and current Great Neck North students were arrested after prosecutors said they paid a former student, Sam Eshaghoff, 19, up to $3,600 to pose as them and take the SAT.
