My mom always told me I should’ve been a lawyer. And while I never really considered a career in law, it really isn’t such a bad idea, what with my love of sharks, suit-and-tie apparel, judges, juries, executioners and the like.
Oh, and John Grisham novels, of course.
Sorry, just a feeble attempt on my part at lawyerly humor ... which failed miserably, I’m sure.
Unfortunately for the legal system as a whole, the only careers I’ve ever seriously contemplated involved dinosaurs (hey, I was just a kid), guitars (mmm ... yeah) or writing (and here I am).
No joke.
Regardless – and considering I now spend a good portion of my time as an Evening Sun reporter in the courtroom – I must admit a more than casual interest in all things related to the law, including Governor Cuomo’s approval of legislation expanding upon DNA-eligible crimes and the collection of DNA samples in relation to such crimes.
This, according to a news brief that came across my desk (err ... e-mail) just yesterday, which states, “Currently, state law only permits DNA samples to be collected from less than half – 48 percent – of the offenders convicted of a Penal Law crime. Under the governor’s proposal, DNA-eligible crimes would be expanded to include all misdemeanors under the Penal Law (instead of only 36) and all felonies under other state law.”
Before I go any further with this, I must – ethically and morally – come clean. I do not, as of yet, have all the details on this developing story. For that, I’m afraid, you’ll have to wait for the actual news story (to be found in a forthcoming edition of The Evening Sun).
However, I simply couldn’t, in good conscience, pass up an opportunity to point out the fact that there are a number of misdemeanor crimes which – in all seriousness – do not require their perpetrators submit a DNA sample.
Such as fortune telling. And no, despite my penchant for the occasional jest (see above), I’m not kidding here ... fortune telling ... a crime that is – in reality – just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to each and every misdemeanor crime listed under NYS Penal Law.
