Insufficient Specificity of Insufficiency of Proof
Ever since the Court in People v Gray (86 NY2d 10) made clear that a general motion for a trial order of dismissal (T.O.D.) which fails to specify the alleged insufficiency of proof does not preserve the claim that the proof was insufficient counsel and courts have struggled with the questions as what wording is needed in a T.O.D. motion. In depraved murder cases in which the defendant claims that the evidence shows intentional...
read moreRetained Counsel Cannot Withdraw Simply Because of Non-Payment
People v Woodring 2008 NY Slip Op 01234 [2/8/08] Contrary to defendant’s contention, the court did not improvidently exercise its discretion in denying trial counsel’s motion to withdraw as defendant’s attorney. In support of the motion to withdraw, defendant’s attorney stated that defendant had not been returning his telephone calls and had refused to accept several plea offers, and he stated that defendant’s family had “exhausted” their financial resources and could no longer afford...
read moreThe Right To Present Evidence of Threats by Complainant is Limited
In People v Valentine 2008 NY Slip Op 01231 [2/8/08] the Court affirmed holdings restricting the ability of a defendant to have a jury consider evidence of the complainant’s hostility towards the defendant We reject the contention of defendant that the court violated his constitutional right of confrontation by refusing to admit in evidence a tape recording of threats made against him by his ex-wife. “[T]he extent to which an examination may be pursued...
read moreThe Initial Aggressor and the Use of Deadly Physical Force
There may be circumstances in which a defendant is the initial aggressor and can still justifiably respond with deadly physical force. In People v Mc Williams 2008 NY Slip Op 01229 [2/8/08] the Court that …[W]here there is a reasonable view of the evidence that the defendant initiates nondeadly offensive force and is met with deadly physical force, the defendant may be justified in the use of defensive deadly physical force and that, in...
read moreIs People v Ventimiglia Still Good Law?
n a number of recent decisions the Fourth Department has approved the admission of uncharged crime evidence despite the failure of the People to first obtain a pretrial Ventimiglia (52 NY2d 350) ruling. Most recently, in People v Maclean, 2008 NY Slip Op 01188 [4th Dept 2/1/08] the Court held that We reject the contention of defendant that he was deprived of a fair trial when the court allowed the People to elicit evidence...
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