case results
Proven Results in Criminal Defense Cases
In July of 2023, Mr. Kaufman’s client was found Not Guilty after trial on the charges of Attempted Murder, Assault in the First Degree, and two weapons charges. At trial, Mr. Kaufman exposed the flaws in law enforcement’s investigation that left doubt as to whether Mr. Kaufman’s client was the perpetrator of the crime.
In February of 2022, Mr. Kaufman’s client was found Not Guilty at trial after being accused of forcibly touching the intimate parts of a stranger on a subway platform. At trial, Mr. Kaufman contradicted the testimony of police officers with prior statements made on body word cameras and with surveillance video at odds with an officer’s testimony.
In August of 2019, a jury acquitted Mr. Kaufman’s client of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the 3rd Degree. It was alleged that Mr. Kaufman’s client had the proceeds of a drug sale and was with the individual who gave crack cocaine to an undercover officer just before the sale.
In June of 2019, a jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty of the sole felony count for a client facing up to seven years in prison for allegedly assaulting a friend, leading to her blindness in one eye. Mr. Kaufman successfully argued that the evidence did not show that his client intended to cause a serious physical injury. Mr. Kaufman’s client was found guilty of only a lesser included misdemeanor.
In October of 2018, a jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty on all counts for a client facing up to fifteen years in prison under allegations of stabbing an acquaintance with a sharp object, in New York State Supreme Court, Criminal Term. Mr. Kaufman successfully raised doubt as to whether the complainant’s injuries were caused by Mr. Kaufman’s client and whether the weapon that was allegedly used met the legal definition of a “dangerous instrument” as required by law.
In March of 2015, Mr. Kaufman received a verdict of Not Guilty on all felony counts for a client facing a minimum of seven years for Burglary in the Second and Third Degrees in New York State Supreme Court, Criminal Term. The client was accused of entering two establishments with the intent to commit a crime inside. The client was arrested with property from one of the establishments on his person and his DNA was found at the scene. Mr. Kaufman successfully convinced a Manhattan jury that his client entered these locations for shelter and only while inside decided to steal property
In July of 2014, one of Mr. Kaufman’s clients successfully completed Manhattan Mental Health Court and had his violent felony charge dismissed, leaving him only with a misdemeanor charge. Mr. Kaufman fought hard for his client to be accepted into Mental Health Court in 2012 which at the time was not taking defendants charged with violent offenses. Over the next two years Mr. Kaufman continually supported and advocated for his client, who is now drug free and free of the mandatory state prison term he would have received had he been convicted of the burglary he was charged with.
In June of 2014, in New York Supreme Court Criminal Term, Gary Kaufman went to trial on a Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance case. Mr. Kaufman’s client was accused of acting as part of a team selling crack cocaine by directing an undercover officer to the individual who allegedly sold him the narcotics. Mr. Kaufman successfully exposed the inconsistencies in the testimony of the two undercover officers through cross examination and his client was acquitted by a Manhattan jury.
In November, 2013, Gary Kaufman represented his client in a pre-trial hearing over the legality of the stop and search of the vehicle Mr. Kaufman’s client was allegedly driving and the admissibility of the statements made by Mr. Kaufman’s client. Mr. Kaufman’s client was accused of possessing an illegal knife and more than $50,000 worth of stolen IPads that were allegedly recovered in the car’s center console, back seat, and trunk. After the hearing the judge suppressed all of the IPads and the statement as the fruit of an unlawful search, after Mr. Kaufman argued that the police had no probable cause to search the vehicle. As a result, Mr. Kaufman’s client’s case was dismissed in October 2014, after the prosecutor conceded that he could not mount a case against Mr. Kaufman’s client, in light of the suppressed evidence.
In early 2013, Mr. Kaufman represented a client at a school suspension hearing for bringing a firearm into school. This offense carries a presumption of expulsion from the New York City Public School system. After collecting letters and other mitigating evidence in favor of his client, the Office of School Suspension agreed to allow Mr. Kaufman’s client to remain in school and graduate from high school.
In 2012, Gary Kaufman received a misdemeanor plea and an outpatient Anger Management program for a client facing life in prison on a Robbery charge under New York’s Mandatory Persistent Law. Mr. Kaufman listened to his client’s story and immediate served a subpoena to obtain street surveillance, which showed people watching the incident from across the street and Mr. Kaufman’s client walking away. The prosecution was claiming that Mr. Kaufman’s client punched a cab driver and stole $16 dollars from him. The truth was that Mr. Kaufman’s client was a musician who was carrying heavy musical equipment and whose foot was run over by the cab driver and stole no money from the taxi driver. Mr. Kaufman, always believed his client and over the course of over a year, Mr. Kaufman convinced the Assistant District Attorney that his client was not guilty of Robbery and a low level misdemeanor offer was made, leading to Mr. Kaufman’s client’s release from prison and ability to continue with a successful recording career.