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Legal Practice Areas
| Notable Cases |
The following is a synopsis of a number of cases Matthew C. Hug has won before the appellate courts of New York State. New York State Court of Appeals People v. Weaver, New York State Court of Appeals (May 12, 2009) Matthew Hug won the most important state constitutional case of this young 21st century. The issue in the case asked the court to decide whether the placement of a GPS tracking device on a motor vehicle by law enforcement for the purpose of tracking and cataloguing their every movement requires a warrant issued by a neutral magistrate. Before the Court of Appeals, Mr. Hug argued that the constitutional rights of New Yorkers would be trampled if law enforcement were given this unrestrained power. Ultimately, the Court of Appeals agreed and held, in a ground-breaking case, that prior to the employment of GPS tracking, law enforcement must present their case to a neutral judge and secure a warrant. People v. Maye, 12 NY3d 731 (2009) Matthew Hug secured a reversal of the defendant's conviction before the New York Court of Appeals, for possession of a controlled substance based upon his argument that the manual body cavity search employed by law enforcement without judicial oversight violated the defendant's constitutional rights. Pursuant to this decision, before police may engage in the humiliating procedure of manual body cavity searches, they must secure a warrant. New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division People v. Lewie, 67 AD3d 1056 (3 Dept. 2009) Matthew Hug, reversed manslaughter conviction. McCaffrey v. Town of East Fishkill, 42 AD3d 22 (2 Dept. 2007) Matthew Hug, in another landmark case, secured a reversal in a case involving the revocation of an injured police officer's General Municipal Law benefits. Pursuant to the law of the State of New York, a police officer that is injured during service is entitled to financial benefits. These financial benefits are in recognition of the danger inherent in policing our streets and serves to provide security to those injured in the line of duty. In McCaffrey, the town supervisor unilaterally revoked a portion of the injured officer's municipal benefit upon learning that he was also receiving Social Security Disability benefits. The lower court affirmed the municipality's actions and Matthew C. Hug appealed to the Second Department. As a result of his advocacy, Matthew Hug won a reversal of the lower court's decision, returned the municipal benefit to the injured police officer and protected the benefits for all of New York's police officers. Matter of Rivera v. Tomaino, 46 AD3d 1249 (3 Dept 2007) Matthew Hug obtained a reversal of a family court decision in which the religious beliefs of the appellant's paramour were taken into account in a visitation decision. People v. Moore, 59 AD3d 564 (3 Dept 2009) Matthew Hug secured a reversal of a conviction in which the defendant was sentenced to a 50 year prison term. People v. Hall, 41 AD3d 880 (3 Dept. 2007) Matthew Hug secured a reversal of the defendant's conviction in which, he was sentenced to a 14 year prison term. On account of Mr. Hug's Miranda violation argument, the defendant's conviction was reversed and he was granted a new trial. Matter of Ross v. Sperow, 57 AD3d 1255 (3 Dept. 2008) Matthew Hug won a landmark case involving the effect of bankruptcy proceedings on a child support/attorney's fee award rendered by the family court. Mr. Hug effectively prevented the use of a bankruptcy proceeding to affect a previously existing family court order. Matter of McGovern v. McGovern, 58 AD3d 911 (3 Dept. 2009) Matthew Hug secured a reversal of a family court order denying Appellant custody of her son. Representative Cases 2006-2010
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