Law Office of Connie Janine Corsentino, Esq.

Today, December 14th 2019, New York's "Green Light Law" goes into effect. This law allows undocumented immigrants to apply for N.Y.S. issued driver's licenses without benefit of citizenship in the country. The law's controversy stems in part from the seeming unfairness in sanctioning illegal immigrants jumping to the front of the license line ahead of those who take the lengthy legal path to citizenship; and fear over National Highway Safety Administration reports that 10 of... 12 states who currently have this law on the books experience increases in collisions, impaired driving and traffic fatalities.There is also the argument that more interstate operation of heavy load transport trucks will promote a rise in smuggling of drugs, illegal weaponry and human trafficking. Proponents applaud that our roads will be safer since drivers will be required to have automobile insurance; prove their identity by means other than social security cards including foreign issued passports & drivers licenses and proofs of current address; as well as provide social justice by increased economic opportunities for getting to and from work and school. Although the law doesn't measure up to Federal Standards, it appears to have superseded the prior Executive Order signed by Governor George Pataki in 2001 barring the practice.

The Shinnecock Nation, a federally recognized Tribal State, has been recently hit with a Temporary Restraining Order issued by NYS Supreme Court. The tribe has been busily constructing huge, 61 foot tall neon advertising signs on Sunrise Highway in the Hamptons, to raise money for the reservation in Southampton. The problem is that the State does not agree that the Tribe is immune from suit for building the towers that may well be a Department of Transportation violation. The Plaintiffs claim that the billboard size and extreme illumination cause distraction to drivers on the busy thoroughfare as well as harm to local wildlife. Stay tuned....

The current issue of the New York Law Journal features several articles devoted to the "mental health" of Lawyers. The profession is called upon relentlessly to come to the aid of individuals in need, either by volunteerism, donations, pro bono work, committee work, article writing, bar associations and mandatory CLE. Lawyers as a profession are much maligned and ridiculed; yet who do you call when your ship is sinking fast and you're in dire straights? Surely not Ghostbuste...rs. You got it, LAWYERS! Lawyers are the pillars and bedrock of society and without them the country would devolve rapidly into anarchy. Harping on an entire body of professionals for seeking help when needed, whether it be physical, spiritual, economic or behavioral, is just another scapegoating technique to further erode the foundation of the "most noble profession."

Good news for New York Lawyers. The State Legislature's proposed $50 increase to the Biennial Attorney Registration fee has been rejected. The purported purpose was to help support the legal defense fund for criminal cases of indigents. The state's general fund has always supported this effort and now will continue to do so. Attorneys should never be subject to what amounted to a tax on professional practice....something no other profession must endure. Attorneys perform more volunteer and pro bono activities than any other profession. It is time for gratitude not more money mongering.