In addition to maintaining this blog on its website, ETKS has long-maintained a separate blog entitled “New York Criminal Defense,” accessible at http://newyorkcriminaldefense.blogspot.com/.
Attack A Plea At Your Peril
In another reminder to counsel of the need to to be cautious in attacking a guilty plea, the Court, in People v Hinckley, 2008 NY Slip Op 03737 [4th Dept 4/25/08], in vacating one of two counts of a plea to CSCS in the third degree on finding that the defendant’s “plea with respect to that count falls within the narrow exception to the preservation requirement (see Lopez, 71 NY2d at 666)” held that...
read moreAttenuation: White, Paulman and Chapple
In People v Parker, 2008 NY Slip Op 03906 [4th Dept 4/25/2008] the Court found that despite a a period of custodial interrogation without Miranda warnings, during which the defendant repeatedly made admissions, the post-Miranda statement was attenuated The record establishes that, shortly after defendant was taken into police custody, he was questioned by a police officer and made admissions in response to those questions. Before he was transported to the police station, he...
read moreCourt Cites Decision in Douglas Warney’s Appeal In Affirming Conviction Despite Challenges to Confession and Claims of Misconduct
In rejecting the Defendant’s contention that he was deprived of a fair trial based on alleged misconduct by the prosecutor in cross-examining defendant’s witnesses, the Court, in People v Alexander, 2008 NY Slip Op 04163 [4th Dept 5/2/2008] held that Defendant’s contention with respect to three of the allegedly improper questions is not preserved for our review inasmuch as defendant made only general objections to those questions (see generally People v Pierre, 300 AD2d...
read moreClaim of Right Defense Should Have Been Charged
In People v Ace,2008 NY Slip Op 04162 [4th Dept 5/2/08], the Court reversed a larceny conviction in the interest of justice, holding that County Court erred in failing to charge the jury that his claim of right was a defense to the count of grand larceny, where Defendant testified at trial that he was instructed by one of the co-owners of the company that employed him to take the allegedly stolen rails to...
read more“I Did This Before” Admissible as Res Gestae
In a prosecution for murder in the fist degree based on a murder committed during a rape (Penal Law § 125.27 [1] [a] [vii]), as well as two counts of rape in the first degree (§ 130.35 [1]), the Court in People v Owens [4th Dep 5/2/08], held that defendant’s contention that the court erred in permitting the victim who [*2]was the subject of the two rape counts to testify that during the course...
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