Name: ___________________________
Title of Article: ____Judge Drops Assault Charge Against Ex-Council Official________
Author of Article: James C. McKinley, Jr. Date: Jan 13, 2015 Period: _______
List what you already know about the topic. If nothing, state what you want to learn about the topic. List your comments/opinion about the topic.
I did not know anything about this specific case against Mr. Niblack. I did know that after an arrest for a crime, the prosecutor’s office conducts an investigation to determine if they will bring a case against the person who is arrested and that they would need to prove the case against Mr. Niblack beyond a reasonable doubt. I would like to know if there was any evidence which supported the claim against Mr. Niblack or if Mr. De Faria made up the story. I also would like to know if Mr. Niblack can file a civil suit against his employer or Mr. DeFaria for his firing from his job. I think he should have the right to collect money from Mr. DeFaria if the story was completely false.
Main Idea:
The main idea of the article is that while Mr. Niblack had been arrested for a domestic violence assault, the prosecutor decided not go forward with a trial against him because there was not enough evidence to convince a jury that he had committed a crime. However, while the investigation was on-going, Mr. Niblack employer the New York City Council fired him from his job at least in part because of his arrest.
List supporting details:
1. The judge threw out the case because prosecutors told him that a 6 month investigation did not turn up evidence to support the claim made against him.
2. His partner, Helvio de Faria told officers that he was hit by Mr. Niblack in the face with a wooded statute.
3. The prosecutor interviewed Mr. de Faria, reviewed medical records and the statue and looked at security and text and telephone messages and did not find evidence to support the claim.
4. Mr. Niblack was fired from his job as finance director for the New York City Council last week despite being informed before his arrest that he would retain his position under the new speaker of the Council.
5. After the arrest, the speaker said that the charges were serious and they would take appropriate action and he was later fired, though after the charges were dismissed a spokesman for the speaker would not comment on the reason for Mr. Niblack’s firing.
New vocabulary used
Using context clues from the article, write down the definitions of the new words learned.
Prosecutor or district attorney—government attorney who brings cases against criminal defendants.
Appropriate—good, correct and suitable for the situation.
What major key concept in law does the topic in this article fall under? (civil rights, crimes against persons, crimes against property, list charges or years in prison offender is given, civil law, marriage, divorce, lawsuits). You are not limited to these suggestions.
Assault—is a crime to hit and attack someone.
Burden of proof—must prove criminal charges against defendant beyond a reasonable doubt.
Wrongful claim—possible that there is a civil lawsuit for falsely bringing criminal charges against defendant