You are here: / / Ineffective Assistance On Suppression Issues—Case Sent Back
,

Ineffective Assistance On Suppression Issues—Case Sent Back

The Court of Appeals, over two dissenters, determined defendant had not been provided with effective assistance counsel with respect to the motion to suppress and suppression hearing.  The court sent the matter back to properly consider the suppression issues, stating that if defendant prevailed on suppression the conviction should be vacated and the indictment dismissed:

In his written motion requesting a hearing, counsel misstated the facts relating to the arrest, indicating that defendant had been involved in a motor vehicle stop rather than a street encounter with police.  At the suppression hearing, the attorney did not marshal the facts for the court and made no legal argument.  This, coupled with his failure to make appropriate argument in his motion papers or to submit a posthearing memorandum, meant that the defense never supplied the hearing court with any legal rationale for granting suppression. Moreover, after the court issued a decision describing the sequence of events in a manner that differed significantly from the testimony of the police officer (the only witness at the hearing) and was adverse to the defense, defendant’s attorney made no motion to reargue or otherwise correct the court’s apparent factual error.  Counsel never ascertained whether the court decided the motion based on the hearing proof or a misunderstanding of the officer’s uncontradicted testimony.

And this is not a case where any of these errors can be explained as part of a strategic design (assuming one could be imagined), given that defense counsel asked to be relieved, informing the court that he was unable to provide competent representation to defendant.  Thus, although the attorney secured a hearing, his representation in relation to the application as a whole was deficient in so many respects — both before, during and after the proceeding — that defendant was not afforded meaningful representation at a critical stage of this prosecution.  People v Clermont, 166, CtApp 10-22-13

 

You might also like
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION (DEC) HAS THE POWER TO UNILATERALLY UNDERTAKE THE REMEDIATION OF A HAZARDOUS WASTE SITE, WITHOUT THE PARTICIPATION OF THE CORPORATION WHICH RELEASED THE WASTE (CT APP).
THREE-YEAR-OLD SEXUAL ABUSE VICTIM’S STATEMENTS AND GESTURES, MADE WITHIN A HALF HOUR OF THE ABUSE, PROPERLY ADMITTED AS EXCITED UTTERANCES.
Experts’ Use of Unreliable Hearsay in Article 10 Trial Violated Due Process
IN THIS SUIT BY YELLOW CAB MEDALLION OWNERS AGAINST THE NYC TAXI AND LIMOUSINE COMMISSION, PLAINTIFFS DID NOT STATE A CLAIM FOR BREACH OF AN IMPLIED COVENANT OF GOOD FAITH OR DECEPTIVE BUSINESS PRACTICES; PLAINTIFFS’ CLAIMS WERE BASED UPON DEFENDANTS’ ALLEGED FAILURE TO REGULATE COMPETING SERVICES LIKE UBER AND LYFT (CT APP).
FAILURE TO MOVE TO SUPPRESS WEAPON CONSTITUTED INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE.
Sealed Records Relating to Vacated Convictions Were Sufficiently Reliable to Allow Expert Testimony to Be Based Upon Them In a Mental Hygiene Law Article 10 Trial (to Determine Whether a Sex Offender Should Be Committed to a Mental Health Facility)/However, a Presentence Report Mentioning Uncharged Offenses Was Not Reliable Enough to Be Used as a Basis for Expert Opinion
“Substantial Factor in Producing the Injury” Jury Instruction (Re: Causation) Did Not Reduce Plaintiff’s Burden of Proof
THE SIX-MONTH WAITING PERIOD ASSOCIATED WITH THE REVIVAL OF OTHERWISE TIME-BARRED ACTIONS PURSUANT TO THE CHILD VICTIMS ACT IS NEITHER A STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS NOR A CONDITION PRECEDENT; THEREFORE, PURSUANT TO FEDERAL PROCEDURAL LAW, THE SECOND CIRCUIT MAY RULE THAT DEFENDANT FORFEITED THE RIGHT TO A TIMELINESS DISMISSAL OF THE FEDERAL COMPLAINT (BASED ON THE ARGUMENT PLAINTIFF’S ACTION WAS PREMATURE) BY FAILING TO TIMELY RAISE THE ISSUE (CT APP). ​

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

Physician Can Be Removed from Medicaid Program Irrespective of Action Taken... Recklessness Demonstrated In Operation of Vehicle