People v. DeLee

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Defendant was indicted for second-degree murder as a hate crime and second-degree murder. A jury convicted Defendant of the lesser included offense of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime and acquitted him of the lesser included offense of first-degree manslaughter. Defendant moved to set aside the verdict, arguing that the verdict was repugnant because the crimes of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime and ordinary first-degree manslaughter share the same basic elements. The sentencing judge denied Defendant’s motion to set aside the verdict on repugnancy grounds without elaborating on his reasoning. The Appellate Division modified the judgment by reversing Defendant’s conviction for first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime, concluding that the verdict was repugnant because the jury necessarily found that one of the essential elements of ordinary manslaughter in the first degree was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The Court of Appeals held that the jury’s verdict was inconsistent, and thus repugnant, and modified the order of the Appellate Division by granting the People leave to submit the charge of manslaughter in the first degree as a hate crime to another grand jury. View "People v. DeLee" on Justia Law