The district attorney is searching for witnesses and plans to ask the Supreme Court to consider the Etan Patz case. A defense lawyer for the man accused in the killing says they’re dawdling. Source: New York Times
Posts published in “Decisions and Verdicts”
Retrial in 1993 Buffalo Murder Case Ends With a Deadlocked Jury
By Gotham Rex on October 6, 2025
Brian Scott Lorenz’s conviction in the strangling of Deborah Meindl in a Buffalo suburb was set aside in 2023. A jury failed to reach a verdict in his retrial. Source: New York Times
Judge Rejects Trump’s Argument and Throws Out Suit Against U.N. Agency
By Gotham Rex on October 2, 2025
Survivors of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel accused the United Nations Relief and Works Agency of helping fund Hamas. The federal judge in Manhattan found that the agency has immunity. Source: New York Times
32 Years After a Brutal Murder, a Man Is on Trial. Again.
By Gotham Rex on September 19, 2025
A judge vacated the convictions of two men accused of killing Deborah Meindl in her Tonawanda, N.Y., home. On Friday, the district attorney began trying to convict them once more. Source: New York Times
Mahmoud Khalil Asks Federal Judge to Intercede After Deportation Order
By Gotham Rex on September 18, 2025
Mr. Khalil is not in imminent danger of deportation, but his situation has grown more dire as the Trump administration continues its efforts to remove him from the country. Source: New York Times
Giuliani Must Pay $1.3 Million to Former Lawyers, Judge Rules
By Gotham Rex on September 17, 2025
The ruling was just the latest misfortune to befall the former New York City mayor. He has been indicted and disbarred, filed for bankruptcy and suffered a fractured vertebra in a car crash. Source: New York Times
Judge Steps Up Pressure on ICE to Fix Conditions in N.Y.C. Holding Cells
By Gotham Rex on September 17, 2025
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said he was intervening to protect migrants from being detained in potentially “unconstitutional and inhumane” circumstances at 26 Federal Plaza. Source: New York Times
Najibullah Zazi Is Imprisoned Again After Donating to Co-Conspirators
By Gotham Rex on September 14, 2025
Najibullah Zazi admitted plotting an attack on the New York City subway with two friends, and then testified against them. Now he is behind bars after putting money in their prison accounts. Source: New York Times
Disciplinary Charges Dismissed Against Top New York Police Official Jeffrey Maddrey
By Gotham Rex on August 20, 2024
An oversight board had recommended that Jeffrey Maddrey, the chief of department, be punished for interfering with an arrest. Commissioner Edward Caban dismissed the case. Source: New York Times
New Jersey Ballot Design for Senate Primary Challenged by Federal Judge
By Gotham Rex on March 29, 2024
The ruling is expected to abolish a practice that has allowed the state’s Democratic and Republican political machines to flourish. Source: New York Times
Ex-State Dept. Official Ordered to Bias Training After Anti-Muslim Rant
By Gotham Rex on January 18, 2024
If Stuart Seldowitz completes the program, the charges he faces for berating a food truck vendor would be dropped, prosecutors said. A Muslim group called it a “sweetheart deal.” Source: New York Times
Why Is Trump Facing E. Jean Carroll in a Second Defamation Trial?
By Gotham Rex on January 18, 2024
A jury already found that the former president sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll, a former magazine writer, and defamed her. Why is he in court again? Source: New York Times
Conviction Won’t Be a Financial Death Sentence for Trump Organization
By Gotham Rex on December 7, 2022
The former president’s family business will be forever tarred, but the maximum penalty it faces is relatively mild. Source: New York Times
Trump Organization Trial Considering Momentous Verdict
By Gotham Rex on December 6, 2022
Its verdict could have a sweeping impact on the former president’s company and affect the standing of Manhattan’s district attorney. Source: New York Times
Corruption Charges Dismissed Against Ex-Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin
By Gotham Rex on December 5, 2022
A federal judge in Manhattan ruled that prosecutors failed to demonstrate an “explicit quid pro quo” that must underpin the bribery charges against Mr. Benjamin. Source: New York Times