Court of Appeals to Determine Whether the Defendant or the Attorney Decides to Have the Jury Consider a Lesser Included Offense
As detailed in a post last Fall (see) in People v Colville (79 AD3d 189 [2nd Dept 2010]) the Second Department, without reaching a decision on the issue, engaged in detailed review of the arguments as to whether the decision to submit a lesser included offense is a fundamental one that must be made by the defendant or is a strategic one that can be made by counsel. The Colville court noted that courts...
read moreA Few Thoughts on Sentencing
by Jill Paperno Second Assistant Monroe County Public Defender Plea and sentence negotiations are a part of our practice that requires social skills, strategy, and yes, a knowledge of the sentencing laws. If a client is facing a much higher sentence, maybe the deal on the table is a good one. But if they’re not, it may not be. Very often DAs and judges are not familiar with the details of the sentencing laws...
read moreThe Government’s Knowing Use of False Testimony And its Failure to Investigate its Witnesses
by Mark D. Hosken, Supervisory Assistant Federal Public Defender. Western District of New York What should happen when the government knowingly introduces a witness’ false testimony in a trial. That question was recently before the Seventh Circuit in United States v. Freeman, No. 09-4043, ___ F.3d ___ (7th Cir. June 17, 2011). There, the panel affirmed the District Court’s order granting the defendant a new trial. While taking place in the Seventh Circuit, the...
read moreSome Thoughts on Felony Sentencing in New York
Jill Paperno Second Assistant Monroe County Public Defender Plea and sentence negotiations are a part of our practice that requires social skills, strategy, and yes, a knowledge of the sentencing laws. If a client is facing a much higher sentence, maybe the deal on the table is a good one. But if they’re not, it may not be. Very often DAs and judges are not familiar with the details of the sentencing laws and...
read moreStrategies for Defending Sex Crimes
Frequent contributor to this blog, Second Assistant Monroe County Public Defender Jill Paperno, is a very knowledgeable and successful trial attorney. Her posts usually consist of practical advice to trial counsel in which she shares her expertise. Now, in a longer and more formal setting, Jill is sharing her expertise in a book. Jill is one of the co-authors of a the newly published “Strategies for Defending Sex Crimes: Leading Lawyers on Understanding the...
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