Criminal Law Slanguage of New York

I received a free, review copy of this small volume from its author, Gary Muldoon, about eight months ago. What took me so long to mention it here? I skimmed through the compilation of New York criminal “slang” and thought to myself, “I’d better take this with me to court.” I was on my way out the door for an appearance in a criminal defense matter. “Slanguage” took up little room in my briefcase or on counsel table; but it proved invaluable as a quick reference for the dozens of terms, case names, and criminal concepts buzzing back and forth in court. We New Yorkers have a case to refer to for every action contemplated in a criminal matter! The “Slanguage” entires ended with references to more complete coverage of various subjects in the author’s standard text, Handling a Criminal Case in New York, the larger volume I keep back in the office.

My case finished well and as I was cleaning out the briefcase, there was “Slanguage”. I am keeping it and will use it again. My only regret is it took me too long to mention it here. I hope its a valid excuse that the book was “in use”.

Criminal Law Slanguage of New York, Third Edition, by G. Edward Murray and Gary Muldoon, is published by LexisNexis Publications. Price: $19.00. Contactwww.lexis.com.

Muldoon is also the author of Handling a Criminal Case in New York (West Group 2006). Call 1-800-328-4880 or contact the West Group website at www.west.thomson.com. Cost of the soft cover edition is $241.00.

CriminalSearches.com

Last month, PeopleFinders, a 20-year-old company based in Sacramento, introducedCriminalSearches.com, a free service , supported by ads,which lets people search by name through criminal archives of all 50 states and 3,500 counties in the United States.

You’ll want to read the site disclaimer carefully before use:

The data on this site provides only public record information and is intended for your personal use only. Our data should not be relied upon to determine an individual’s actual criminal record since the offense listed is sometimes generic and could represent several different charges. Assumptions should NOT be made solely on the offense displayed on this web site. Our data includes more than criminal records, such as traffic and other minor offenses, so people listed may not be actual criminals. Also, not all criminal records result in conviction, nor do they all provide dispositions of guilt or innocence. Charging decisions made by the State Attorney’s Office or from the outcome of criminal trials should be obtained from the source.

*** Hat tip to NYTIMES: