Statutory presumptions, Part 2: Factual predicates are required to justify the use of presumptions
Recall that we noted in the last post that presumptions may not be invoked where the underlying facts needed to support them are not present (see People v Zekaj, 191 AD2d 663 [2nd Dept 1993]; People v Wilt, 105 AD2d 1089 [4th Dept 1984]). When are the underlying facts insufficient to warrant invoking a presumption? As you might expect, there’s no black on white rule, so we’ll lay out the considerations below. Consider...
read moreDon Thompson comments on the Monroe County District Attorney’s proposed conviction integrity unit
“Local attorney Donald Thompson, who has been involved in the reversal of several murder convictions in Monroe County, said New York is lagging behind other states by not mandating the videotaping of interrogations — which police sometimes do in Monroe County — and adjusting witness identification procedures to acknowledge the weaknesses of past processes. ‘Sometimes it’s not good to be one of the 13 colonies,’ he said. ‘We do things because we always have done...
read moreMr. Guilty, I presume? The use of statutory presumptions in criminal prosecutions.
This is the first in a series of several blog posts on statutory presumptions in criminal prosecutions, many of which deal with guns and drugs (presumption that all occupants possess a firearm found in a vehicle [Penal Law § 265.15(3)]; presumption that all occupants of a vehicle knowingly possess controlled substance not concealed on a occupant’s person [Penal Law § 265.25(1)]; presumption of knowing possession by all occupants of controlled substances or marijuana in...
read moreETKS announces its expansion in The Daily Record
“The Easton Thompson Kasperek Shiffrin law firm has announced its first expansion since being founded in 2008. Partners William Easton, Don Thompson, Larry Kasperek and Brian Shiffrin have been joined by Rhian Jones, who is officially ‘of counsel,’ now working within the firm’s offices in Suite 243 in the Powers Building, 16 W. Main St. Recent Syracuse University School of Law graduate Danielle Wild, who interned at the firm in the summer of 2014,...
read moreDoctor Who: Expert Testimony in an Eyewitness Identification Case
by Bill Easton Over the last eight years the Court of Appeals has addressed the admissibility of expert testimony in identification cases at least five times. It is scheduled to revisit the issue yet again in the near future. (People v McCullough, 126 AD3d 1452 [4th Dept 2015], lv to appeal granted 25 NY3d 1079). During this time, the Second Circuit has also issued a rare full panel decision on the same issue (Young v Conway,...
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