Justia New York Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Articles Posted in Criminal Law
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After a jury trial in 1981, Defendant was convicted of rape in the first degree, murder in the second degree, and attempted robbery in the first degree. During trial, Defendant pursued a mistaken identity defense. Defendant later moved to vacate his conviction and for a new trial pursuant to N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law 440.10(1) on the ground that newly discovered evidence in the form of mitochondrial DNA testing excluded him as the perpetrator of the crimes. Defendant sought an evidentiary hearing as part of his postjudgment motion. Supreme Court summarily denied Defendant’s motion. The Appellate Division affirmed, concluding that Defendant was not prejudiced by the absence of a hearing. The Court of Appeals reversed, holding (1) because the rule announced in People v. Crimmins that the power to review a discretionary order denying a motion to vacate judgment on the ground of newly discovered evidence cease at the Appellate Division needlessly restricts the Court of Appeals’ power of review concerning section 440.10(1)(g) motions, that part of the decision is overruled; and (2) in this case, the Appellate Division abused its discretion in summarily denying Defendant’s motion for an evidentiary hearing. Remanded. View "People v. Jones" on Justia Law

Posted in: Criminal Law
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A police officer stopped the car Defendant was driving due to traffic violations. After observing that Defendant appeared to be intoxicated, the officer asked Defendant to step out of the car and then patted him down. The officer found a switchblade knife in Defendant’s pocket and arrested him. Defendant filed a motion to suppress the knife. The motion was denied on the ground that the pat-down was justified as a search incident to arrest. Defendant subsequently pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon. The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that the police officer’s search of Defendant was not incident to Defendant’s arrest because, although there was probable cause to arrest Defendant before the search, Defendant would not have been arrested if the search had not produced evidence of a crime. View "People v. Reid" on Justia Law

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Defendant was convicted of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder, among other charges. Defendant appealed, arguing, inter alia, that the count of the indictment charging him with attempted murder was rendered duplicitous due to events that unfolded during the course of the trial. The Appellate Division affirmed the convictions, concluding that the duplicity argument was unpreserved. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) a duplicity argument based on trial evidence must be preserved for appeal where the count is not duplicitous on the face of the indictment; and (2) none of the other issues raised by Defendant warranted reversal. View "People v. Allen" on Justia Law

Posted in: Criminal Law
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The defendants in these two separate criminal cases were convicted of criminal offenses by a jury. The two juries each sent notes to the court requesting specific information for use in deliberations. The transcripts did not show in either case that the courts were aware of the juries’ submission of some of the notes. Defendants appealed, contending that the trial courts committed mode of proceedings errors under People v. O’Rama and its progeny by accepting the verdicts without acknowledging or responding to the jury notes at issue. The Court of Appeals reversed in both cases, holding that because the substantive jury notes, marked as court exhibits, were neither revealed to the attorneys nor addressed by the courts, a mode of proceedings error occurred under O’Rama in both cases, and the defendants were entitled to new trials. View "People v. Silva" on Justia Law

Posted in: Criminal Law
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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

Posted in: Criminal Law
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In 2008, Defendant pleaded guilty pro se in Town Court to a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated. Defendant took no appeal. In 2010, Defendant was charged with a felony under N.Y. Veh. & Traf. Law 1193(1)(c)(k), which is applicable to persons who drive while intoxicated after having been convicted of such a crime within the preceding ten years. Defendant moved to withdraw his 2008 guilty plea, arguing that he was deprived of his right to counsel in the 2008 proceedings. The Town Court granted the motion. The Appellate Term reversed, concluding that Defendant was barred from raising his right to counsel claim in a motion under N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law 440.10 by failing to raise it on direct appeal. The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that Defendant was not barred from raising his right to counsel claim. View "People v. Grubstein" on Justia Law

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In these two matters, the State commenced civil commitment proceedings against Kenneth T. and Donald DD under N.Y. Mental Hyg. Law 10. After trials were held in both cases, it was found that the men had a condition, disease or disorder that prdisposed them to the commission of conduct constituting a sex offense and resulted in their having serious difficulty in controlling such conduct. Following dispositional hearings, both men were ordered to be confined. The Court of Appeals reversed in both cases, holding (1) the evidence was legally insufficient to support the conclusion that Kenneth T.’s mental conditions resulted in his having serious difficulty in controlling conduct constituting a sex offense; and (2) in Donald DD’s case, Supreme Court erred in using a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, together with testimony concerning Donald DD’s sex crimes, but without evidence of some independent mental abnormality diagnosis, to ground a finding of mental abnormality within the meaning of article 10. View "Matter of State of New York v. Donald DD" on Justia Law

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In 2007, the Queens County District Attorney implemented a central booking pre-arraignment interview program consisting of a structured, videotaped interview conducted by members of the District Attorney’s staff with a suspect immediately prior to arraignment. During these interviews, a detective investigator delivered a scripted “preamble” to the Miranda warnings informing suspects that “this is your opportunity to tell us your story” and “your only opportunity” to speak with the District Attorney staff before going to court. Defendants here made statements in their respective videotaped interviews that they unsuccessfully sought to suppress. The Appellate Divisions reversed and ordered suppression of the statements, concluding that the preamble prevented the Miranda warnings from effectively conveying to suspects their rights. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that the preamble undercut the subsequently-communicated Miranda warnings to the extent that Defendants were not adequately and effectively advised of their rights safeguarded by the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination before they agreed to speak with law enforcement authorities. View "People v. Dunbar" on Justia Law

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Defendant testified at a grand jury proceeding against his brother and received transactional immunity but subsequently refused to testify at his brother's trial. The court cited Defendant for contempt and ordered him to be taken into custody. Defendant’s brother’s trial ended in an acquittal, and Defendant was released from custody. Thereafter, the People charged Defendant with two counts of criminal attempt in the second degree for his refusal to testify at his brother’s trial. City Court dismissed the charges on double jeopardy grounds. County Court affirmed, concluding that the prior contempt proceedings were criminal in nature because the court ordered Defendant’s confinement, and in so doing relied on language in the criminal contempt provisions of the Judiciary Law. The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that where a court subjects a defendant to conditional imprisonment in an attempt to compel the defendant to testify and does not otherwise adjudicate the defendant to be in criminal contempt or impose punishment that is criminal in nature, double jeopardy will not bar a subsequent prosecution for contempt under the Penal Law. View "People v. Sweat" on Justia Law

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Defendant was indicted on one count of predatory sexual assault against a child for engaging in two or more acts of sexual conduct with the Complainant, who was less than thirteen years old. After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted as charged. Defendant appealed, arguing that he was denied a fair trial by the prosecutor’s references to the Complainant’s prior consistent statements disclosing the abuse and by the trial court’s ruling that Defendant’s mother was precluded from testifying about an allegedly prior inconsistent statement made by the Complainant. The Appellate Division affirmed. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that the trial judge did not abuse his discretion when he made these evidentiary rulings, as (1) the challenged testimony was admissible for the nonhearsay purpose of explaining to the jury how and when the sexual abuse came to light; and (2) Defendant’s mother’s proffered testimony was inadmissible hearsay not subject to any exception. View "People v. Ludwig" on Justia Law

Posted in: Criminal Law