Staten Island Terrorist Threats Lawyer

Staten Island Terrorist Threats Attorney

It shouldn’t be a surprise that New York takes terrorist threats very seriously. It’s a Class D felony charge with very serious penalties. Charges for terrorist threats, though, do not mean guilt. You have rights that deserve protection throughout the legal process, and you have the right to have yourself defended in criminal proceedings. With a strong criminal defense lawyer on your side in Staten Island, NY, you do have a chance of winning your case. The investigators and prosecutors are not flawless. Whether you’ve been wrongly charged, there was a procedural error, or the prosecution simply doesn’t have a strong enough case, you don’t need to give up hope. At The Vitaliano Law Firm, we’ve successfully defended criminal charges of all kinds, and we’re ready to defend you as well.

Terroristic Threats

Making a terrorist threat has a few different components that the prosecution must prove. First, the defendant must have threatened to commit a specific offense, and there must be a reasonable expectation or fear that the offense may be committed. Another component of a terroristic threat is the intent behind it. The intent must be to:

• Influence government policy.
• Coerce or intimidate civilians.
• Affect the conduct of government through murder, assassination, or kidnapping.

Ineligible Defenses

While there are a number of ways that a criminal defense lawyer can defend against terrorist threat charges, there are a few things that are described by law to be ineligible defenses. They are:

• The defendant didn’t actually intend to commit the crime.
• The defendant wasn’t actually capable of committing the crime.
• The defendant made the threat to someone who wasn’t a target of the threat.

Penalties

Making a terrorist threat is a Class D Felony. While the exact nature of the penalty will depend on a variety of factors, the maximum possible penalties include seven years in prison, a fine of up to $100,000, or both a fine and a prison sentence.

FAQs

Q: What Should I Do If I’m Arrested for Terrorist Threats in Staten Island?

A: If you find yourself arrested, it’s far too easy to take a situation from bad to worse. The most effective thing that you can do is trust the process. While you might be upset and angry, it’s critical that you try to remain calm. You don’t want to say or do something that could hurt your case later.

It’s especially important that you be cautious regarding what you say. Police are trained to try to get a confession out of you. Even casual conversation could be an attempt to get you to drop your guard. You have a right to remain silent, and you should use it.

The last thing to remember is to call The Vitaliano Law Firm as soon as you can. It’s our job to help protect your rights and put together your defense. The sooner that you reach us, the sooner we can begin doing so.

Q: What Can a Lawyer Do for Me?

A: Your criminal defense lawyer can do a variety of different things for you throughout the legal process. In fact, if you contact us while you are being investigated and haven’t been arrested yet, we can even begin helping you then. You have rights, such as the right to not self-incriminate and the right to not be subject to unlawful searches. We can help protect and preserve those rights, not just through the judicial process, but even during the investigation.

We also perform our own investigation to ensure that we find anything that might be useful in your defense. As we put together a defensive strategy for you, we consider the kind of case that the prosecution might put forth. This allows us to find potential holes and weak points in their case that can be used to create a “reasonable doubt.”

If your case goes to trial, we can represent you in court and put forth the strongest defense we can on your behalf. If the verdict doesn’t go the way we want, it’s our job to make the case for a lighter sentence. Even beyond the trial, if appeals are a possibility, we can help with that as well.

Q: What Is the Statute of Limitations for Terrorist Threats?

A: The statute of limitations sets a time limit for how long after a crime occurred that the state can then bring the case against someone. For making terrorist threats, this limit is set at eight years. This means that you could go to trial at any point within eight years after the threats were made.

Q: What Are the Consequences of a Criminal Record?

A: If you are convicted of terrorist threat charges, it means that you will have a criminal record. That record will appear on background checks and can negatively impact things like your career, education, finances, and social life. Some of the things that a criminal record causes problems with include:

• Employment – It can be difficult to find an employer who will hire someone with a felony criminal record.
• College Acceptance – As with employment, many colleges may choose not to accept applicants with criminal records.
• Professional Licenses – For some professional licenses, a criminal record is an automatic disqualification, and for others, it’s a significant challenge to overcome.
• Student Loans – Funding can be nearly impossible to find for those who are lucky enough to still be accepted to a college with a criminal record.
• Reputation – A criminal background can often lead to people treating you very differently, including friends and family.

We Fight Terrorist Threat Charges

At The Vitaliano Law Firm, we pride ourselves on putting forth a formidable defense for our clients. Crimes like making terrorist threats have serious consequences that can negatively impact the rest of your life. You have a right, though, to defend against these charges, and it’s on the prosecution to prove them beyond a reasonable doubt. We take on that challenge and aggressively fight to demonstrate the ways in which the prosecution has failed to make their case. If you are in need of defense against terrorist threat charges, then contact us today.