The Second Department, over a dissent, determined the juvenile delinquency finding was against the weight of the evidence. The juvenile was accused of throwing a kitten under the wheels of a moving vehicle. The single-witness case relied upon weak identification evidence. The court explained the “weight of the evidence” analytical criteria in this context:
We must “weigh conflicting testimony, review any rational inferences that may be drawn from the evidence and evaluate the strength of such conclusions” … . In weighing the conflicting testimony in a single-witness identification case, as here, we must independently consider, among other things, the truthfulness and reliability of the identification testimony … . * * *
… [T]he reliability of the witness’s identification of the appellant was called into doubt by several factors. An examination of her testimony reveals that the witness had only a limited opportunity and ability to observe the perpetrator because the incident occurred over a relatively short period of time, and there was a distance of a minimum of 10 feet between the witness and the perpetrator during their interaction. The witness was also admittedly excited and upset during the incident. In addition, the witness’s description of the perpetrator lacked specificity, and did not include body shape, height, weight, facial features, skin tone, accent, or any distinctive characteristics. We further note that the incident occurred in the late afternoon near the time that students were being released from several neighborhood schools, that the perpetrator was dressed in a school uniform similar in type to the uniforms worn by students at those schools, and that the witness’s description of the school uniform worn by the perpetrator did not match the appellant’s school uniform. Under these circumstances, the witness’s identification of the appellant was not convincing when balanced against the substantial evidence submitted by the appellant in her own defense. Matter of Shannel P., 2016 NY Slip Op 01853, 2nd Dept 3-16-16
FAMILY LAW (JUVENILE DELIQUENCY ADJUDICATION AGAINST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE)/JUVENILE DELINQUENCY (JUVENILE DELIQUENCY ADJUDICATION AGAINST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE)/EVIDENCE (JUVENILE DELIQUENCY ADJUDICATION AGAINST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE)/APPEALS (JUVENILE DELIQUENCY ADJUDICATION AGAINST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE)/WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE REVIEW (JUVENILE DELIQUENCY ADJUDICATION AGAINST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE, CRITERIA EXPLAINED)