New York Paralegal Blog

It's a question that's been on my mind: why are some truly remarkable figures seemingly left out of our history textbooks, especially when their achievements are so groundbreaking? Today, I want to shine a light on one such individual: Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, a Black surgeon whose incredible contributions deserve to be known by everyone. In a time when racial discrimination was rampant and opportunities for Black individuals were severely limited, Dr. Williams defied the odds and achieved something truly extraordinary. In 1893, he performed one of the world's first successful open-heart surgeries (Columbia Surgery, n.d.; Rock County Wisconsin, n.d.). Think about that for a moment: long before many of the modern medical advancements we take for granted, Dr. Williams bravely and skillfully operated directly on a human heart and saved a life. His patient, James Cornish, had suffered a severe stab wound to the chest. Dr. Williams, without the benefit of today'...

Washington - The U.S. Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today published a proposal to amend the rules of practice in patent cases to implement the “first-inventor-to-file” provision of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA).

Washington, D.C., July 15, 2011 – The Securities and Exchange Commission filed fraud charges Thursday against the CEO of a purported foreign currency trading firm, alleging he scammed hundreds of investors with false promises of high, fixed-rate returns while secretly using their money to fund his start-up alternative newspaper. Additional Materials

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN, 62, on two counts of Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, one count of Attempted Rape in the First Degree, one count of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, one count of Unlawful Imprisonment in the Second Degree, one count of Forcible Touching, and one count of Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree. [1] Today’s indictment in Supreme Court signifies that a New York State Grand Jury has voted to indict the defendant on all of the charges he faced following his Criminal Court arraignment on May 16, 2011. Today’s hearing in Supreme Court voids the need for tomorrow’s court date in Part F, and the next court date in this case will be June 6, 2011. “The Grand Jury, an independent body comprised of impartial jurors, considered the evidence presented by prosecutors from my Office, and found it sufficient to file an indictment,” said District Attorney Vance. “Under American law...

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the sentencing of CURTIS TUCKER, 46, to 15 years in prison for the vicious assault of a 15-year-old as she attempted to exit her apartment building in 2004. Although the defendant was not apprehended after the attack, his DNA was recovered from evidence at the scene, and was indicted as a "John Doe" case in January 2007. Following TUCKER's 2010 conviction for the unrelated burglary and assault of a 74-year-old man, his DNA was collected and added to the state's DNA databank, where it matched the attempted rape case. On April 21, 2010, the defendant pleaded guilty to Robbery in the First Degree and Attempted Rape in the First Degree. “DNA evidence solves crimes, and today’s sentence brings a small measure of justice to a young woman who was introduced to our criminal justice system far too early in her life,” said District Attorney Vance. “This case went unsolved for seven years, and took just three day...

ATLANTA—An indictment unsealed today charges two former top officers of FirstCity Bank of Stockbridge, Georgia—MARK A. CONNER, 44, formerly of Canton, Georgia, and CLAYTON A. COE, 44, of McDonough, Georgia—with a variety of offenses, including conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud in connection with misconduct at FirstCity Bank in the years before the bank’s seizure by state and federal authorities on March 20, 2009. In addition to the conspiracy and bank fraud charges, the indictment charges CONNER with conducting a continuing financial crimes enterprise at the bank between February 2006 and February 2008, during which CONNER’s and his co-conspirators’ crimes allegedly generated over $5 million in unlawful gross proceeds. A federal grand jury in Atlanta returned the sealed indictment against CONNER and COE on March 16, 2011. CONNER was arrested on the charges and taken into custody by federal agents at Miami International Airport yesterday morning, the two-year anniversary ...

The first annual report to Congress containing new bankruptcy statistics mandated by the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 was filed by the Administrative Office in advance of the July 1, 2008 deadline. The 2005 law requires bankruptcy courts to collect statistics on debtors who meet certain criteria. The Judiciary data systems in place when the law was enacted could not capture all the required information. Consequently, a whole new system and software had to be built, and the Judiciary began collecting the mandated data on October 17, 2006. The data in this inaugural report represents cases filed or closed during calendar year 2007. Although all cases filed in 2007 are included, the number closed is limited to those commenced after October 17, 2006 and closed during the calendar year. “The primary consequence of this limitation is that data . . . based on cases closed during the reporting period may not be typical for a calendar year period,” the report ...