Defendant’s Motion to Vacate His Conviction Should Not Have Been Denied Without a Hearing On the Ground It Was Untimely/The Motion Raised Legal Grounds for Relief (Evidence Withheld at Trial) and There Is No Time Limit for a Motion to Vacate a Conviction Pursuant to CPL 440.10
The Second Department determined defendant’s motion to vacate his conviction should not have been denied without a hearing on the ground it was untimely. Defendant had raised substantive, supported claims that Brady and Rosario material had not been turned over to him at trial. The Second Department noted there is no time limit for bringing a motion to vacate a conviction pursuant to Criminal Procedure law section 440.10:
…[T]he defendant’s moving papers allege a ground constituting legal basis for the motion, i.e., that “[i]mproper and prejudicial conduct not appearing in the record occurred during a trial resulting in the judgment which conduct, if it had appeared in the record, would have required a reversal of the judgment upon an appeal therefrom” (CPL 440.10[f]). The County Court erred in denying the motion on the ground that the defendant unduly delayed making the allegations of Brady and Rosario violations, as “[t]here is no time limit on the filing of CPL 440.10 motions” … . Further, the moving papers were sufficient to establish entitlement to a hearing … . People v Taylor, 2014 NY Slip Op 02964, 2nd Dept 4-30-14