Toni Messina Law

05/05/2019

My client, Kane Balser, needs your help. Please sign petition and share. https://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/413/435/558/.

On July 29 2015, Kane Balser, a young man with a lot of promise, was arrested during a psychotic episode caused by bipolar (161 signatures on petition)

05/05/2019

Toggle navigation Mental States: The Criminalization of Mental Illness The Team Manhattan Film Festival Tickets May 4 7PM Mental States, documentary 76 & 52 min. MENTAL STATES reveals the troubling reality of the criminalization of mental illness in North America. This is the story of Kane, a young....

01/15/2019

https://abovethelaw.com/2019/01/how-to-pick-a-good-criminal-defense-attorney/

How do you really know your lawyer is the right one for you? Common sense.

12/31/2018

https://abovethelaw.com/2018/12/jailing-attorneys-for-doing-their-jobs/

In many countries, lawyers, targeted by police and government agents, are jailed and even murdered for doing the same work we do.

12/30/2018

https://abovethelaw.com/2018/12/the-insidiousness-of-overindicting/

Mitigating factors are often ignored by prosecutor offices and the highest crime possible is unjustly charged.

07/13/2017

Should convicts be allowed to write about their crimes? http://abovethelaw.com/2017/07/crime-that-might-pay/

How do you balance the First Amendment right of free speech with the societal imperative to punish people for crime?

04/07/2017

The end of an error. http://abovethelaw.com/2017/04/jail-to-jobs-and-the-end-of-rikers/

Any city that wants to decrease the costs of incarceration has to pay more than lip service to jobs and rehabilitation.

03/20/2017

What are you Miranda rights? And why are they so important? http://abovethelaw.com/2017/03/miranda-myths/

Miranda warnings are often misunderstood, and are sometimes abused by police.

11/08/2016

Did Trump Commit a Crime? http://abovethelaw.com/2016/11/when-does-grabbing-a-womans-breast-equal-a-crime/

Since one of our candidates has boasted that he has no problem grabbing women's breasts and other intimate body parts, it's appropriate to address just when this kind of behavior equals an actionable crime.

08/23/2016

Going into your uncle's apartment without permission, can get you in a lot of trouble.
http://abovethelaw.com/2016/08/criminally-yours-seeking-kinder-and-gentler-prosecutors-is-it-even-possible/

There may be real difference between how people who gravitate to prosecution, as opposed to defense, see life.

07/25/2016

In case you shoplift, here's what you should know. http://abovethelaw.com/2016/07/criminally-yours-sticky-fingers-trickier-than-you-think/?rf=1

06/21/2016

Question: Why do people plead guilty when they have a good defense?
Answer: Because they're scared.
http://abovethelaw.com/2016/06/criminally-yours-hooray-for-the-bully/

What happens when one of your clients faces injustice in the court system? Criminal-defense attorney Toni Messina explains.