New York Federal Suspension Privilege Double Jeopardy Lawyers Attorneys

by

Atchuthan Sriskandarajah

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ANTHONY M. VOLPE

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

November 25, 1997, Decided

December 1, 1997, Filed

Facts:

On April 20, 1997, defendant, a soldier in the United States Army (“Army”), was driving on North Memorial Avenue in Fort Drum, a federal military installation that is located in Jefferson County, New York, and within the special territorial jurisdiction of the United States. Defendant, the prosecution asserts, was stopped after the vehicle he was driving crossed over the median. The officer who stopped defendant allegedly detected the odor of alcohol on his breath. Having failed a field sobriety test, according to the prosecution, defendant was transported to the facility’s Provost Marshall’s Office, where he registered a .12% BAC after having taken a breathalyser test. He was charged with driving while intoxicated under 18 U.S.C. 13 and New York Vehicle and Traffic Law 1192(2), (3), as well as failure to maintain a single lane of travel and aggravated unlicensed operation. Defendant sought to dismiss the charges against him in the court, arguing that the suspension of his privileges was a punishment for the act and any further punishment given by the court would violate the Double Jeopardy Clause of U.S. Const. amend. V.

Issue:

Whether the suspension of defendant s privileges was a punishment for the act and any further punishment given by the court would violate the

Double Jeopardy

Clause of U.S. Const. amend. V.?

Discussion:

The court held that the Army’s disciplinary actions were punishment because they were not within the ambit of those that a similarly situated private employer might enjoy. The court found that a private employer could not limit the travel of an employee to the employer’s premises, or restrict his off-duty activities, as a means of sanctioning that employee. Accordingly, the court concluded that further prosecution would violate the Double Jeopardy Clause of U.S. Const. amend. V. The court granted defendant’s motion to dismiss the charges against him for driving while intoxicated.

Disclaimer:These summaries are provided by the SRIS Law Group. They represent the firm s unofficial views of the Justices opinions. The original opinions should be consulted for their authoritative content

Atchuthan Sriskandarajah is a Virginia lawyer and owner of the SRIS Law Group. The SRIS Law Group has offices in Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts,

New York

, North Carolina & California. The firm handles criminal/traffic defense, family law, immigration & bankruptcy cases.

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com

I am not an attorney, I am a judgment and debt referral specialist (Collection Broker). This article is my opinion, based on my experience in California, and laws vary in each state. If you ever want a strategy to use or legal advice, please contact a lawyer.

While there is a wide variation on how collection agencies work to collect money from debtors, now almost none now engage in the stereotypes of abuse that were more common a long time ago. Although there are bad apples in every profession, most debt collectors remain reasonable and polite, usually much more than the debtors.

Every collection agency starts with a letter and/or a phone call, because:

1) A small percentage of debtors pay after they get first notice of the debt, as a few realize this has become serious.

2) It provides the debtor a chance to explain their side of the story and contest the debt, because once in a while, the debt is not valid. A few examples of this are when the debtor filed for bankruptcy protection, or a judgment against them was vacated or has become expired.

3) Laws require that debtors get mailed full or mini “Miranda” wordings, telling them of their rights, how to dispute the debt, how to contact a government agency, etc.

The mini Miranda, has words similar to “I am NAME, of this BUSINESS-NAME, a debt collector representing CREDITOR-NAME. Information obtained during the course of this call will be used for the purpose of collecting the debt.” Similar words must be included in all phone conversations, and on all letters.

After some time has passed, usually 30 days, most collection agencies write or call again, until one of two things happen:

1) They succeed in making friends with the debtor, and figure a current or future payment plan. Once in a while, they may visit the debtor’s residence for friendly face-to-face discussions.

2) The debtor tells them in writing to stop all communications. This is somewhat like asking a painful tooth to stop hurting, because it doesn’t cease collection actions, and debtors will still receive all legal notices. Sometimes the next step is putting the debt on the debtor’s credit report. Then more waiting, and if there is not a judgment yet, sometimes they sue the debtor to get a judgment. Getting a judgment is the key to being able to request that a sheriff seize the debtor’s assets.

If there is a judgment, many collection agencies hire private investigators to find the debtor’s assets, and their lawyers to recover the judgment. Most collection agencies do not need to own your debt or judgment, because they work on their client’s behalf.

Most collection agencies charge between 25% to 50% of what is collected, depending on how new the debts are, how much is owed, and what fees they charge. At 50% there should be no upfront or any other costs, at 25% you should expect to pay some fees. On unlawful detainer judgments, most collections agencies charge an upfront fee.

A debt or judgment broker knows the best collection agencies, and brokers are easy to find with a web search.

Article Source: sooperarticles.com/business-articles/small-business-articles/way-collection-agencies-collect-judgments-664500.html

About Author:

JudgmentBuy.com – is the best and fastest judgment and debt solution, where Judgments and debts quickly get recovered by the very best – matched to your debtor. Mark Shapiro – Judgment and debt Broker – best quality free leads for collection agencies and contingency collection attorneys.Author: Mark Shapiro