You are here: / / Repugnant Verdict Required Reversal

Repugnant Verdict Required Reversal

The Fourth Department, over a dissent, reversed defendant’s conviction of manslaughter in the first degree as a hate crime as inconsistent with defendant’s acquittal of manslaughter in the first degree (without the hate crime element).  The Fourth Department wrote:

“A verdict is inconsistent or repugnant . . . where the defendant is convicted of an offense containing an essential element that the jury has found the defendant did not commit” … .  “A verdict shall be set aside as repugnant only when it is inherently inconsistent when viewed in light of the elements of each crime as charged to the jury” …, “without regard to the accuracy of those instructions” … .  “The underlying purpose of this rule is to ensure that an individual is not convicted of ‘a crime on which the jury has actually found that the defendant did not commit an essential element, whether it be one element or all’ ” ….

By acquitting defendant of manslaughter in the first degree, the jury necessarily found that the People failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt at least one element of manslaughter in the first degree.  To find defendant guilty of manslaughter in the first degree as a hate crime, however, the jury must have found that the People proved beyond a reasonable doubt all of the elements of manslaughter in the first degree, plus the added element that defendant selected the victim due to his sexual orientation.  It therefore follows that the verdict is inconsistent.  People v DeLee, 419, 4th Dept 7-19-13

 

You might also like
THE PEOPLE DID NOT DEMONSTRATE THE ANONYMOUS TIP PROVIDED PROBABLE CAUSE TO BELIEVE DEFENDANT WAS IN THE VEHICLE PURSUED AND STOPPED BY THE POLICE (FOURTH DEPT).
THE DEFENDANT’S STATEMENTS MADE TO A CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES CASEWORKER SHOULD HAVE BEEN SUPPRESSED; THE CASEWORKER, UNDER THE FACTS, ACTED AS AN AGENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT DURING THE INTERVIEW (FOURTH DEPT).
PLAINTIFFS DID NOT DEMONSTRATE DEFENDANT HAD ACTUAL OR CONSTRUCTIVE KNOWLEDGE OF THE DOG’S VICIOUS PROPENSITIES IN THIS DOG BITE CASE, DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FOURTH DEPT). ​
PLAINTIFF TESTIFIED HE DID NOT CHECK THE POSITION OR LOCKING MECHANISM OF THE A-FRAME LADDER HE FELL FROM, PLAINTIFF’S SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION IN THIS LABOR LAW 240(1) ACTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED, DISSENT DISAGREED (FOURTH DEPT).
DEFENDANT WAS DEPRIVED OF HIS RIGHT TO COUNSEL WHEN HE REPRESENTED HIMSELF AT RESENTENCING (FOURTH DEPT). ​
Consequential Damages Related to a Parcel of Land Sold Prior to the Taking Should Not Have Been Granted by the Court of Claims
THE NEGLECT FINDING WAS NOT SUPPORTED BY A PREPONDERANCE OF THE EVIDENCE, CRITERIA EXPLAINED (FOURTH DEPT).
ALTHOUGH PLAINTIFF’S DECEDENT FELL FROM EITHER A LADDER OR A SCAFFOLD, THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE THE LADDER OR SCAFFOLD TIPPED OR SHIFTED, PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON THE LABOR LAW 240(1) CAUSE OF ACTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED 4TH DEPT.

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

Judges Not Obligated to Adhere to Pay-Voucher Recommendations Made by Assigned... Judge’s Refusal to Allow Defendant to Call Inmate Witness Required Rever...