Case Updates - People v. Anonymous

Attorney John Pettinella recently disposed of a criminal matter in a local Westchester Criminal Court by successfully negotiating two violation pleas for his client (violations in New York State are not crimes). The client was charged with three separate offenses:

1. Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, a misdemeanor
2. Obstruction of Governmental Administration, also a misdeameanor, and
3. Unlawful Possession of Marijuana, a violation

This case was particularly interesting in that the client is currently on parole and any misdemeanor conviction would have likely resulted in a violation of that parole and a potential remand back to prison. Mr Pettinella successfully argued that the criminal possession of a controlled substance charge should be withdrawn by prosecutors because, although not in his hands at the time of arrest, the client possessed a valid prescription for the substance he charged with possessing illegally. With respect to the Obstruction of Governmental Administration charge, Mr. Pettinella successfully had the charge reduced to a violation after presenting case law to the prosecutors and pointing out inconsistencies in the charges following pre-trial hearings. The result was a plea to disorderly conduct and the UPM charge, both violations.