Appellate victory at the Court of Appeals for Brian Shiffrin
The state Court of Appeals reversed the conviction of Richard Leonard, who was found guilty of first-degree sexual abuse and illegally giving a child alcohol. The alleged victim in the 2007 incident in Parma was an 18-year-old girl. Leonard, 41, has maintained his innocence in the case. He served three years in prison, and has continued to pursue a reversal of his conviction. The Court of Appeals decision does not hinge on questions of...
read moreDonald Thompson featured on Speaking for Justice discussing rights of protesters
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read moreBrian Shiffrin secures new trial for client
An appeals court ordered a new trial for a man convicted of sexually abusing a child, saying a prospective juror related by marriage to the district attorney whose office prosecuted the case should have been excused for cause. The Appellate Division, Fourth Department, panel ruled unanimously in People v. Collins, 14-02296, that the trial judge, Craig Doran, erroneously denied the request from defendant Todd Collins to excuse the juror during Collins’ 2014 trial in...
read moreBrian Shiffrin comments on 4th Dept case concluding that new science about “shaken-baby injuries” constitutes newly discovered evidence
The Fourth Department’s recent decision in People v Bailey is the first appeals case in New York to conclude that new scientific findings about shaken-baby injuries constitute the type of newly discovered evidence that could overturn a conviction. Brian Shiffrin of ETKS is quoted saying, in part, “It makes it both easier for defense attorneys to argue the science and it puts the burden back on prosecutors to show there is evidence to support...
read moreFourth Department orders hearing on defense claims
ETKS Partner, Brian Shiffrin, filed a 440 motion to set aside the verdict convicting Jenise Haddad-Smith of Attempted Second Degree Murder. The prosecution claimed Haddad-Smith cut her husband’s neck while he was lying in bed in March 2010. * * * * After being cut, Todd Smith was able to get outside where he yelled in the street that she had stabbed him. Police found Haddad-Smith inside with allegedly self-inflicted stab wounds, including an...
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