In the News
The Appellate Division, Fourth Department, last month affirmed State Supreme Court Justice Paul Wojtaszek's August 2023 decision to vacate the convictions of Brian Scott Lorenz and James Pugh. A jury convicted Lorenz and Pugh in 1994 of murdering Deborah Meindl, 33, in her home on Franklin Street in the City of Tonawanda in February 1993. The District Attorney's Office plans to submit an application for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeals. In court, prosecutors said they are "definitely retrying" the case. Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma responded that they are either “bluffing or seriously misguided.” Read more here.
James Pugh, Mr. Lorenz’s co-defendant, was released on parole in 2019. But the trial judge and an appellate judge in Rochester refused to intervene to release Mr. Lorenz pending another possible trial. In late June, his lawyers asked the chief judge of the Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court, to intervene. A spokesman said the court would “decide the motion at a future session.”
Ilann Maazel, one of Mr. Lorenz’s lawyers, called his client’s continued imprisonment a “Kafkaesque nightmare” that is “intolerable, unconstitutional and wrong.” Read more here.
During trial, Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma portrayed Mr. Wang as a gregarious academic with nothing to hide.
“In general, fair to say he was very open and talkative with you, right?” the defense attorney Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma asked an undercover agent who approached Wang in 2021 under the guise of being affiliated with the Chinese security ministry. “He was,” said the agent, who testified under a pseudonym.
Read more here.
Wang and his defense did not deny that he communicated with the Chinese agents, but said his communication was largely benign, and did not contain sensitive information. “I think we showed pretty effectively at the trial that what he was doing … did no harm to the United States or to anyone here, said Wang’s attorney Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma. “I stand by what he said, that he’s pro-democracy and against the Chinese government,” he said. Read more here.
Outside the courthouse, principal attorney Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma said that he respected the verdict but did not believe Mr. Wang acted will ill intent. “He certainly didn’t mean to hurt anyone. He spent his life fighting the communist regime and, you know, life is complicated.” Read more here.
"He's devoted his life to promoting a free democratic china through peaceful means," he said in his opening statement to the jury, "It was for democracy - it was not as an agent of the Chinese government." Read more here.
Attorney Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma explains that the government continues to stall on discovery disclosure. Read more here.
Attorney Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma was asked to comment on sex offender registry levels and how they relate to the arrest of a Rochester man. Read more here.
“A program that institutionalizes lawbreaking by authorizing DEA agents and informants to violate foreign laws,” he said, “does little to stop drugs from coming into the U.S. while undermining the integrity of the DEA and the reputation of America abroad.” Read more here.
“During the lineup, I heard Det. Biesel tell the witness he was going to ask her three questions. As he spoke, he emphasized the number three as though to signal that she should pick number three, which was the placard I was holding,” Alston said. Read more here.
Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma, Carvajal’s lawyer, denied the allegation against Carvajal. “The government is wrong: General Carvahal had nothing to do with corporate decisions at Citgo and never met Luis Marin until years later.” Read more here.
“The prosecutors seem to allege in their motion papers that General Carvajal and an unnamed drug trafficker ‘arranged the rise’ of Luis Marin to CEO of Citgo in 2004, but one page later they refer to the same person becoming CEO after a meeting with drug traffickers in 2005. Either way, the government is wrong. General Carvajal had nothing to do with corporate decisions at Citgo and never met Luis Marin until years later.” Read more here.
“The rise in violence is completely separate from bail reform and blaming bail for the safety problems we have makes us less safe, because it makes us less likely to confront the actual causes of this increase in violence,” Tess Cohen. Read the full article here
Nearly 30 years after a jury found him guilty of the vicious murder of a young mother in the upstate New York town of Tonawanda, James Pugh’s murder conviction has been reversed. His attorney Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma told the Associated Press that Mr. Pugh, is “no longer a convicted murderer and he can get on with his life.” The case involved allegations that the real killer was notorious Dannemora escapee Richard Matt — along with the detective whose ”investigation” led to Mr. Pugh’s false conviction. Read the full article here.
Erie County Supreme Court Justice Paul Wojtaszek has set aside the murder convictions of Brian Scott Lorenzo and James Pugh in the grisly 1993 slaying of Deborah Meindl, a 31-year-old mother of two in Tonawanda, New York. Mr. Pugh’s attorney, Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma, told the New York Times that Wednesday was a wonderful day for his client: “Jimmy can finally get on with his life without the weight of a false conviction hanging over his head. His story should inspire others to keep fighting for justice and strike fear in the hearts of corrupt police and prosecutors who think they can get away with framing innocent people.” Read the full article here.
Speaking outside court, ZMO Law principal attorney Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma portrayed the U.S. prosecution of Gen. Hugo Carvajal as unlike any other, saying he had not been informed of any evidence such as text messages, emails, wiretapped conversations, prison-call recordings, surveillance video or physical evidence linked to his client. “General Carvajal looks forward to fighting these outrageous charges in court before an unbiased American jury,” he said. Read the full article here.
A day after his extradition from Spain, former Venezuelan spy leader and longtime adviser to the country’s late president Hugo Chávez pleaded not guilty in a New York courtroom to decade-old drug trafficking charges. Hugo Carvajal agreed during an initial appearance in Manhattan federal court to remain behind bars while his lawyers prepare a bail proposal to present to the judge. Outside court, his attorney Zachary Margulis, had plenty to say about his client: watch the video here.
A prominent Venezuelan leader close to the country’s late president Hugo Chávez was extradited to New York from Spain to face decade-old drug trafficking charges. Retired Maj. Gen. Hugo Carvajal will enter a not guilty plea at his initial appearance Thursday in Manhattan federal court, his lawyer, Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma, told The Associated Press. Read the full article here.
Speaking outside the Southern District of New York courthouse, Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma, the attorney for retired General Hugo Carvajal, told reporters that his client is "categorically innocent" of narco-terrorism charges. Carvajal, 63, was extradited from Spain on Wednesday after more than ten years’ effort by U.S. prosecutors to bring him to New York to face charges. Read the full article here.
ZMO Law client Felipe Rodriguez, who recently won a $10 million dollar settlement from the City of New York, is continuing his fight for justice after wrongfully serving 27 years in prison. ABC Channel 7 recently highlighted Rodriguez's lawsuit against two former Long Island Railroad detectives and interviewed Zachary Marguils-Ohnuma about the case. Watch the video here.
Principal attorney Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma spoke with New York Law Journal about the defamation lawsuit against Fox News. "The factual finding of the summary judgment could have a preclusive effect," he explained. "I would think you could march into a Manhattan court and say a Delaware court found this is nonsense, and a judge would find that persuasive if not collateral-estoppel preclusive." Read the full article here.
In an op-ed piece for the NY Daily News, ZMO Law attorney Tess Cohen discussed the newly proposed Treatment Not Jail Act. With experience as both an assistant district attorney and defense attorney, Cohen offers unique insight into the failings of our current systems, and how providing avenues for treatment and support are critical to reducing crime and improving lives. Read the full article here.
In an exclusive Reuters article about Sam Bankman-Fried's extradition, attorney Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma provided his insight into the case's possible future. Read the full article here.
State Supreme Court judge Diane J. Kiesel reluctantly dismissed murder charges against domestic abuse survivor Tracy McCarter, while criticizing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, suggesting he gave in to political pressure. ZMO Law attorney, Tess Cohen, who worked on McCarter's pro bono legal team, told the NY Times, "While I disagree with some of the reasoning in the decision, we are of course relieved that the case has been dismissed and that Ms. McCarter can begin to go on with her life." Read the full article here.
How did Tracy McCarter get her murder charges dismissed after fighting for nearly three years? Reuters takes you inside how the all-star pro bono legal team came together. ZMO Law attorney Tess Cohen, a former state prosecutor and trial lawyer, played a crucial role. Read the full article here.
The New York Times recently interviewed ZMO Law PLLC principal attorney Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma and our client, Felipe Rodriguez, for their recent report on companies that offer cash advances to newly released people hoping for settlements after being wrongly incarcerated. These advances often exceed the normal interest cap of 25%, with most averaging 33% per year. Mr. Rodriguez shared that, upon release, a fellow exoneree gave him a phone number and a recommendation. “He said, ‘You’re exonerated now and you’re waiting on your lawsuit and you’re going to need a loan because you have nothing,’” Mr. Rodriguez, now 57, recalled. “I took it. I had no choice.” Read the full article here.
The former chief of military intelligence for Venezuela, Hugo “El Pollo” Carvajal, hires an American lawyer: “His name is Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma and he has led famous trials involving clients accused of gun possession, drug trafficking, fraud, child pornography, theft, terrorism, civil rights violations and other crimes.” Read the full article here.
Activists rallied to demand the Manhattan District Attorney's office drop the murder case against ZMO Law client Tracy McCarter. Frustrated supporters pointed to DA Alvin Bragg's campaign promise to help domestic violence victims. “The lie being floated by the Manhattan DA office is that ‘they’ve done all they can do, they’ve offered a plea, they tried to drop the murder charge and it’s the judge that is making the situation difficult, not their office’ and we know that’s a lie,” said Samah Sisay, a member of Survived and Punished NY. Comedienne Amy Schumer also tweeted her support of Tracy. Read the full article here.
Principal attorney Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma argued in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals that our client was unfairly convicted of a 2009 homicide in federal court because his trial lawyer failed him "at every turn." Listen to the complete audio recording here.
Principal attorney Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma has made the New York Metro Super Lawyers list every year since 2013. This year, the magazine explored how he went from investigative reporter to criminal and civil rights attorney. Read the article here.
Principal attorney Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma reviews his decades-long career as a reporter and a lawyer with WBAI's Tom Robbins, a veteran of the Daily News and the Village Voice. Listen to the interview here.
The Manhattan District Attorney's office has recently agreed to erase the criminal records of eight sex trafficking victims, with another four cases pending. The office claims to be shifting their prosecutorial powers away from "criminalized victim crime." However ZMO Law client Tracy McCarter, a documented victim of domestic abuse, has yet to have her charges dropped. Read the full article here.
"I want to keep my humility," ZMO Law client Felipe Rodriguez told NY Daily News, in response to his continued employment after the State of New York settled with Rodriguez for $5 million. "The money is not going to make me. I'm already made." Read the full article here.
Telemundo reports on ZMO Law client Felipe Rodriguez's $5 million settlement with the State of New York with an inspiring and detailed look at how he and his family overcame the injustice that led to his wrongful conviction 32 years ago. Watch the report here.
ZMO Law client Tracy McCarter, a survivor of domestic abuse, is awaiting trial for murder despite overwhelming evidence that she acted in self defense. Her case highlights the inequities that remain in the American justice system, a system that skews in favor of white men and repeatedly fails women of color. Read the full article here.
In New York, two-thirds of women incarcerated for killing someone close to them had been abused by that person, according to a 2005 study. ZMO Law PLLC attorney Tess Cohen is currently working to prevent Tracy McCarter from becoming another statistic. Read the full article here.
While on the campaign trail, Alvin Bragg tweeted support for Tracy McCarter and claimed that "prosecuting a domestic violence survivor who acted in self-defense is unjust." However, Bragg's office has yet to drop the charges against McCarter. Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma and Tess Cohen are working to support McCarter's defense team as they prepare for trial. Read the full article here.
ZMO Law PLLC attorneys Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma and Tess Cohen have been working to support the impressive defense team behind Tracy McCarter for the past year. As described in Dr. Uche Blackstock's opinion piece in today's Daily News, Tracy is a victim of domestic violence, wrongfully accused of murder. Read the full opinion piece here.
"I did 26 and a half years for a crime I did not commit," client James Pugh, said on the stand while being questioned by Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma. ZMO Law PLLC is currently working to exonerate Pugh after he was wrongfully convicted for murder in 1994. Read the full article here.
Twenty eight years after he was wrongfully convicted, ZMO Law client James Pugh took the stand for the first time to explain what happened: "In some ways this is the most important day of Jimmy Pugh's life," Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma shared with News Channel 4 in Buffalo. Read the full article here.
ZMO Law PLLC attorney Tess Cohen moderated the New York City Bar Association's panel about ways to end mass incarceration in New York, which featured Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York State Senator Zellnor Y. Myrie. View a recording of the panel's discussion here.
Three bills aiming to reduce mass incarceration in New York were introduced in the state Senate in January. Tess Cohen, a ZMO Law PLLC attorney, spoke with Law360 about the bills explaining: "These reforms are really about restoring discretion back to judges, and restoring discretion in a way that reflects what we've come to learn about when people commit crimes, why they commit crimes and how we can prevent them from committing crimes in the future." Read the full article here.
Amid backlash against policies outlined in his "First Day Memo," Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg sent around an update that appears to reverse some of his previous stances. ZMO Law attorney Tess Cohen told the New York Times the changes are "more symbolic than substantive." Read the full article here.
ZMO Law client Michael Avenatti, who represented porn star Stormy Daniels in her claims against the defeated former president, seeks $94 million in compensation for harsh conditions at the now-closed Metropolitan Correctional Center. "They treated him very differently than anyone else in prison," explained Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma. "Once they had him in custody, they held him in a unit for violent criminals and terrorists." Read the full article here.
Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma spoke with Reuters about the potential for a new trial for Ghislaine Maxwell in the wake of the potential juror misconduct. "Just because you're a victim of sexual assault does not mean you can't sit on a jury. Just because you lie about that does not mean she was denied a fair trial," he explained. Read the full article here.
Incoming New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg issued a day-one policy memo to his staff directing them to help people who are arrested in Manhattan, not imprison them. ZMO Law PLLC attorney Tess Cohen told the New York Times: "He's thinking about this in terms of not letting them go, but letting them go into a program that will address the reasons why they committed this violent crime." Read the full article here.
"[Maxwell] could fight hard at sentencing," suggested Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma, when speaking with Metro UK about Ghislaine Maxwell's options are following her guilty verdict on December 29th, 2021. Read the full article here.
"The circumstances are difficult but everything he said today made perfect sense, they all fit together," said Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma, about Dannemora escapee David Sweat's testimony. ZMO Law PLLC is currently fighting to exonerate James Pugh--and Sweat gave breathtaking testimony implicating the police detetctive who investigated the case. Read the full article here.
With the prosecution's case now rested in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial, it appears her defense will continue their focus on the manipulation and motivation of her accusers. While speaking with Reuters, Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma wondered whether Maxwell herself will take the stand, arguing the "only real counter to that is (Maxwell's) coming back and saying 'no, I didn't intend that'." Read the article here.
David Sweat, the cellmate of infamous Dannemora escapee Richard Matt, testifies in Buffalo on behalf of ZMO Law client James Pugh, who was wrongfully convicted of a 1993 murder. Sweat said that Matt admitted to the murder of Deborah Meindl and that he plotted it with the detective later assigned to investigate it. Attorney Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma and Tess Cohen are fighting to exonerate James Pugh, who was wrongfully imprisoned for 26 years. Read the article here.
Ghislaine Maxwell‘s defense team faces a tough challenge in their upcoming trial in the Southern District of New York. Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma shared his thoughts with Reuters about some of the risks: “Victim shaming doesn’t work especially now in 2021. You have to show the utmost empathy in my opinion to people who have been victimized.” Read the article here.
Russian state press covers sentencing of ZMO Law client Aleksandr Zhukov, who was convicted after jury trial of fraudulently selling automated programmatic ad traffic on the internet. Read the article here.
After a 2018 DNA review revealed James Pugh's DNA was not present at the scene of the murder he was convicted of, the Buffalo DA's office began reinvesigating the case. But when two assistant DAs concluded that it was likely that celebrity criminal Richard Matt was responsible and that Mr. Pugh and his co-defendant had been wrongfully convicted, they were removed from the case. Now, Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma, Tess Cohen, and the ZMO Law PLLC team are fighting for a full investigation into what really happened to Deborah Meindl in 1993. Read the article here.
James Pugh, a ZMO Law PLLC client, was wrongfully convicted of murder. With new information recently revealed in an affidavit, Mr. Pugh will finallly see his day in court to overturn this miscarriage of justice. "This case has taken many twists and turns but one thing remained clear, which is that there was never enough evidence to convict James Pugh of this murder," Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma told Fox News. Read the article here.
The family of Miguel Richards is trying to find out what went wrong when a "wellness check" ended in his shooting death at the hands of police officers. ZMO Law PLLC and the Law Offices of Daniel A. McGuinness are working hard to get them answers through a federal lawsuit. Read the article here.
Twice-impeached former President Donald Trump seems to think he has a good defense to the recent fraud charges brought against his organization: ignorance. ZMO Law attorney Tess Cohen, however, isn't so sure. “To a certain extent, not knowing the law is a defense… It's one of the only defenses in a case like this,” she told The Daily Beast, for their recent article. “But I have trouble believing that’ll get very far.” Read the article here.
A ZMO Law client has been awarded $550k in damages after being sexually assaulted and traumatized by a correction officer while she was an inmate. Read the article here.
ZMO Law attorney Tess Cohen explains the unusual partnership between the New York Attorney General's office and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office that is pursuing the criminal case against former president Donald Trump. Read the article here.
In his closing arguments Monday, Zhukov’s lawyer, Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma, compared his client to a businessman selling water to a grocer, who then uses it to water down the milk he sells. “You don’t go after the water seller in that analogy,” Margulis-Ohnuma said. “It’s the person who’s claiming that it’s real who is the fraudster.” Read the article here.
ZMO Law PLLC heads to trial for the first time in over a year in a case that tests the applicability of the wire fraud statute to machine-generated internet ad traffic. Read the article here.
In an article exploring reaction to a recent report from the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers regarding trial penalty, Law360 interviewed ZMO Law PLLC attorney Tess Cohen. "Banishing the minimums is the most urgent point of reform," explained Cohen. "Mandatory minimums remain the primary driver of pretrial penalties and the reason people don't exercise their right to trial." Read the article here.
ZMO Law PLLC suit against the New York City police officers who shot and killed Miguel Richards alleges the officers planted of a toy gun after the shooting. Read the article here.
Margulis-Ohnuma's client, Felipe Rodriguez, was interviewed and featured on Telemundo. "I never lost faith or hope," says Rodriguez, who regained his freedom after 27 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Watch the Interview Here.
"Courts can only do so much without legislative authorization, and choose to do less because of institutional and political concerns," said Associate Attorney Benjamin Notterman, in an article analyzing the startlingly few reprieves granted to eligible, vulnerable inmates in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Read the Article Here.
Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma was quoted in an article about Harvey Weinstein's sentencing, and the implications of this "historical litigation." Read the Article Here.
Margulis-Ohnuma's client Felipe Rodriguez was highlighted in a NY Times opinion piece that explores the power and need for clemency in America's justice system. Read the Article Here.
Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma and Victoria Medley were interviewed by WGRZ-2 about their new lawsuit against the NY State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. Watch the Piece Here.
The Law Office of Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma and the Law Offices of Daniel A. McGuinness P.C. sued high-ranking officials of the NY State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision for permitting the sexual assault of five female inmates and covering up those assaults. Read the NY Daily News Exclusive Here.
"This is a once-in-a-career case," explained Margulis-Ohnuma in closing arguments. Read About the Trial Here.
"The chains have come off. God has taken them off and said, 'Okay, son, now you are free,'" says Marguils-Ohnuma client Felipe Rodriguez, about how it feels to be exonerated for a murder 30 years later. Read the Article Here.
Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma, in coordination with the Innocence Project, secured the final exoneration of Felipe Rodriguez for a murder he did not commit. Read the Article Here.
Margulis-Ohnuma's client, two years after being granted clemency, is now officially exonerated. "I will be absolutely, completely free," he said of the exoneration. Read the article here.
The Washington Post quoted sex crimes attorney Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma about the high-profile Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case. Read article here.
The Law Office of Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma and the Law Offices of Daniel A. McGuinness P.C. filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the family of Miguel Antonio Richards after he was shot and killed on video by police in September 2017. Read article here.
After being used unwittingly as bait to catch a predatory corrections officer, a female inmate refused to cooperate with prison investigators. So they put her in solitary confinement, then guards retaliated against her once she finally spoke up. Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma and Daniel McGuinness are suing corrections officials for the physical, mental, and psychological trauma she sustained. Read article here.
Margulis-Ohnuma client was sentenced to six months in jail after a trial on child pornography charges. Read article here.
"There's a sense in the courts that criminal hacking is not serious. That's dead wrong," said Margulis-Ohnuma, weighing in on the information obtained by the FBI by use of malware on the dark web. Read article here.
ABC News profiled Margulis-Ohnuma client Felipe Rodriguez after Gov. Andrew Cuomo granted him executive clemency. Read article here.
Petitions for clemency on behalf of three men convicted of murder, including a Margulis-Ohnuma client, highlight the difficulty of Gov. Cuomo's clemency push. Read the Article Here.
A jury ruled a police officer's fifth bullet in the back of the head was justified and not excessive force. Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma said that the jury "got it wrong on the facts" and plans to appeal. Read the Article Here.
Judge Katherine Forrest ruled that the first four bullets which struck Mauricio Jaquez were justified, in the police shooting that resulted in Jaquez' death. The case hinges on the fifth and final bullet, which was shot into the back of Jaquez' head as he lay on the floor. Read the Article Here.
Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma argues that the NYPD showed a "reckless disregard" for civil rights when Sergeant Flores shot a bleeding and immobilized Mauricio Jaquez in the back of the head. Read the Article Here.
After an illegal search, a Brooklyn judge will not allow evidence obtained from an iPhone belonging to a Margulis-Ohuma client in an impending case. Read the Article Here.
Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma's case was profiled in a New Yorker article debunking the false connection between Al Qaeda and Saharan drug trafficking. Read the Article Here.
Sgt. William Flores must stand trial to determine whether the final bullet he shot at Mauricio Jaquez in 2009 was "reasonable." Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma, who represents Jaquez's estate in the civil case against Flores, says the family is looking forward to their day in court. Read the Article Here.
Margulis-Ohnuma files a lawsuit against the city of New York on behalf of client Antonio Yarbough. Yarbough was exonerated and released after being wrongfully imprisoned for nearly 22 years. Read the Article Here.
"He won't have to worry about money for quite a long time," Margulis-Ohnuma told The Daily News, indicating that the financial security would allow his client to take a separate federal lawsuit against the city and the NYPD all the way to trial. Read the Article Here.
Client Antonio Yarbough expressed his gratitude to an anonymous donor, who provided a gravestone for Yarbough's mother and sister in a previously unmarked grave. Yarbough, who was falsely convicted of slaughtering his family in 1992 and was recently exonerated, had hoped to purchase a gravestone once he secured employment. Read the Article Here.
Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma praises the new Brooklyn District Attorney's "remarkable flushing out of a very, very bad era." Read the Article Here.
"Anybody looking at this evidence with an open mind would see that there is no chance in the world that Tony murdered his mother and these two little girls," his lawyer Zachary Magulis-Ohnuma said. Read the Article Here.
After speaking by phone to ZMOLAW client Antony Yarbough, Daily News journalist Denis Hamil came to the same conclusion Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma has: Antonio Yarbough is innocent. Read the Article Here.
Margulis-Ohnuma client stepped up and "took responsibility" by turning over stolen funds and accepting a guilty plea for his part in what authorities are calling a "worldwide ATM withdrawal campaign." Read the Article Here.
Defense attorneys Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma and Michele Gelernt were successful in their argument that their clients, a husband-and-wife team, had been charged with the wrong crimes, leading to dismissal of the charges. Read the Article Here.
Acting Supreme Court Judge Diane Kiesel denied a joint defense-prosecution motion to dismiss ZMO Law PLLC client Tracy McCarter's murder indictment, "in the interests of justice." The judge cited a combination of a lukewarm motion from District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office (one double spaced page, compared to 34 pages and multiple exhibits from McCarter's defense) and a confusing interpretation of what constitutes public confidence in the criminal justice system. Read the full article here.