Daniel R. Alonso Profile picture
Nov 8, 2018 10 tweets 4 min read Read on X
BREAKING (Thread): 1/ Nassau County District Attorney @madelinesingas, acting as a special prosecutor after @NYGovCuomo superseded @ManhattanDA, has decided not to charge former #NYS Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Image
2/ Singas personally interviewed each woman who had made an allegation against Schneiderman, and ultimately exercised her discretion to decline prosecution. Said Singas: "[L]egal impediments, including statutes of limitations, preclude criminal prosecution."
3/ Possible charges had included misdemeanors of Assault in the Third Degree and Criminal Obstruction of Breathing or Blood Circulation, as well as the violation (not a crime) of Harassment. ImageImage
4/ #NYS Legislature has imposed legal hurdles for each, including requirement of "physical injury" for assault, and "intent to impede the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of another person" for the obstruction of breathing charge (often called the "choking law").
5/ "Physical injury means "impairment of physical condition or substantial pain," and requires proof of “more than mere bruises, bumps, abrasions, or superficial cuts."
6/ Choking law also requires actual "pressure on the throat or neck" or "block[ing] the nose or mouth."
7/ The violation of Harassment may well have been violated here, but the statute of limitations for violations, which are not crimes, is one year, which may be what DA Singas was getting at when she mentioned "statutes of limitations."
8/ Bottom line is that this is precisely what a District Attorney should do: examine the facts and come to a legal conclusion whether to go forward. It is just as much her duty NOT to file charges when not appropriate as it is when charges are appropriate.
9/ The special prosecutor's actions are a textbook example of following the #RuleOfLaw. Here's my op-ed from last year about the duties of prosecutors not to follow the political winds but rather to go where the facts and the law point them. nydn.us/2zsbRxM
10/ DA @madelinesingas has also proposed new legislation called "Sexual Harassment," which would be the first crime in #NYS history bearing that name. Here is the text of her proposal, which she has sent to the NYS Legislature. Image

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More from @DanielRAlonso

Jul 4, 2021
THREAD in response to @alegalnerd: Where to begin? Since McCarthy is a smart commentator whose work I sometimes agree with, I'll start with the positive. he's right that in the old days when he was a fed, SDNY never liked letting the DA's office take "high-profile" cases.
2/ They usually won, but not always - see eg., the CBS Murders, Tyco, BCCI, & most of the bank cases that Morgenthau started and Vance increased. He's also right that fed law generally favors prosecutors more than NYS. In other words, federal prosecutions are *easier.*
3/ That's where we part ways. On some things, he's just factually wrong: (1) NY's broad double jeopardy is not "under New York’s constitution," as @AndrewCMcCarthy says, but it is a *statute*, NY CPL 40.20
Read 23 tweets
Jul 2, 2021
Excellent thread, which adds a twist to the question that was being asked before the indictments: will the indictments cause the Trump Org to go under, and specifically, will its lenders demand immediate repayment of loans?
2/ I’m skeptical this indictment alone, particularly bc it doesn’t encompass the company’s core activities, would lead to that result (& it’s notably not an argument the Org’s lawyers have made publicly). If they’re performing, banks like $ & wouldn’t have huge incentive. But...
3/ Eichenwald reminds us that a key debt covenant relates to accurate books and records & that’s likely in the Org’s loan agreements. First step is for lenders to ask questions - if they find false entries, which it seems likely they will, the Org could be in jeopardy.
Read 4 tweets
Jun 4, 2021
THREAD answering some questions about the #ManhattanDA race and recent controversy and sniping over candidate fundraising and suggestions in yesterday's @nytimes that @AlvinBraggNYC & @TaliFarhadian had created issues that Trump could exploit in any future prosecution.
2/ I've already analyzed the issue of Weinstein's interview for a judgeship with the White House counsel's office during Trump's first year in office and dismissed it as a non-issue.
3/ Worth noting that two law professors, @CBHessick and @jedshug agreed in excellent threads yesterday. Shugerman disclosed that he supports Weinstein's candidacy but Hessick (thread above) is not supporting anyone (nor am I, though I've expressed views).
Read 23 tweets
Sep 27, 2020
Thread: Those who are writing that tax *avoidance* (the term @nytimes uses) is not a crime are exactly right - tax *evasion* is a crime, not "avoidance." But there is a lot here that with a proper investigation could lead to discovery of criminality. /1
nytimes.com/interactive/20…
This article contains what federal agents and prosecutors call "predication," which is the bare amount you need to open a criminal investigation. But who would investigate? The President himself oversees @IRS_CI and @FBI and @TheJusticeDept. /2
Luckily, regulations from 20 years ago provide for what happens when such a conflict of interest exists: the Attorney General "will appoint a Special Counsel." /3
Read 9 tweets
Sep 22, 2020
This plan to combat violence from a #ManhattanDA candidate is notable for a few reasons. First, it is incredibly substantive for a political campaign - @TaliFarhadian has clearly thought about this crucial issue. /1
Second, it's a crucial issue and she is practically the *only* candidate who has a real plan - the sole exception being @LucyLangNYC, whose website reveals a five-point plan that is also quite thoughtful. /2
votelucylang.com/en/ending-gun-… Image
Not surprisingly, the candidates who haven't been prosecutors don't even mention the issue on their websites. @AlvinBraggNYC, who certainly has experience, devotes only a small section of his site to the issue, focusing (good) on trafficking and community anti-violence: /3 Image
Read 4 tweets
Aug 5, 2020
Forgive me for being a little late to the party at the end of a long day. I worked with and under @AWeissmann_ and appeared many times before Judge Gleeson, and I think your criticism is not completely correct. /1
You're right that Barr did not monkey with the sentencing rules - the guidelines calculation was correct - he just thought the sentence was too harsh. You're also spot on that if DOJ thinks 1001 GL are harsh, then examine this across the boars, and not only for DJT's buddies. /2
But I understand what Andrew was saying bc I was taught this way as well (including by him): he's talking about guidelines calculations and the obligation of AUSAs to make sure the court and probation are not misled as to the relevant facts and relevant conduct. /3
Read 9 tweets

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