Utica, NY Attorneys, Lawyers and Law Firms

A plea deal had Richard Aquilone pleading to lesser charges and getting just a probation for the death of Jijo Puthuvamkunnath.

Puthuvamkunnath was to be married in a few weeks but he never got to tie the knot as he got killed when a drunk Aquilone rammed his boat with his yacht.

The impact was so great that Puthuvamkunnath's boat was split in two.

Aside from the probation, Aquilone will also be made to serve the community for 250 hours.

Marc Agnifilo, New York criminal attorney defending for Aquilone, said his client has expressed regret for the loss that he has caused the Puthuvamkunnaths.

A jury has exonerated Amanda Davis, a retired anchor of FOX 5, from charges of driving under the influence and reckless driving.

Instead, she was held liable for not being able to maintain driving on one lane which resulted to an accident in 2012.

For her sentence, Davis will be serving the community for 20 hours.

She will also be made to pay $200 as fine.

Defending for Davis was Atlanta DUI lawyer William "Bubba" Head.

After 18 months in prison, Monsignor William Lynn, may be released when he was granted bail following the reversal of his conviction.

Lynn, who served as a secretary for clergy at the Philadelphia archdiocese, will have to give up his passport. He will also be made to wear an electronic device for monitoring.

The Roman Catholic official was sentenced to between three to six years after he was convicted for endangering an abuse victim of a priest.

However, appeal judges reversed Lynn's conviction because the child-endangerment law which he was accused of violating did not apply to him.

Following the reversal, Lynn's defense lawyers asked for his release which the prosecution opposed during the bail hearing claiming that the priest is a flight risk.

However, Philadelphia defense attorney Thomas Bergstrom said that Lynn would never run away from conviction.

The murder charge filed against Freddie Earl Patton,53, for the shooting death of his girlfriend's father, Kenneth Millar, 81, has been dismissed upon the request of the Deputy District Attorney.

An order for Patton's release from jail has been signed, however, he may not be off the hook yet as the DA's office has stated that the case will be turned over to the grand jury in Jefferson County.

The prosecution moved for the dismissal after arguing with the defense who wanted to further question the detective about the autopsy report.

Birmingham criminal attorney John Lentine said that a manslaughter charge should have been filed instead of murder because the shooting was an accident.

If Patton gets indicted, he will have to go back to jail.

Ken Anderson, the former District Attorney of Williamson County, was meted with a 10-day jail term after the judge accepted his no-contest plea for the charge of contempt of court.

The charge steamed from the wrongful conviction of Michael Morton who was found guilty for the murder of his wife in 1986 and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

However, in 2011, Morton's conviction was overturned using DNA as proof that he did not kill his wife.

In the light of that development, Anderson, who had prosecuted Morton's case, was scrutinized and was determined to have erred when he withheld evidence which would have been beneficial for Morton's defense.

Aside from the short jail stay, Anderson will also have to give up his license as a lawyer and as part of the plea bargain, he will also be disbarred for five years.

Austin attorney Eric Nichols, however, pointed out that there will be no conviction for Anderson on any criminal charge.

Morton, for his part, said he is more than happy with the result because all he wanted was for Anderson not to practice law anymore to prevent what happened to him from happening to anyone else again.

Anderson was also fined and made to do community service.