You are here: / / DEFENSE COUNSEL’S QUESTIONS WHETHER COMPLAINANTS HAD HIRED LAWYERS...
, ,

DEFENSE COUNSEL’S QUESTIONS WHETHER COMPLAINANTS HAD HIRED LAWYERS AND HAD SUED DEFENDANT-TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THIS CHILD SEX ABUSE CASE DID NOT OPEN THE DOOR TO ALL EVIDENCE OF DEFENDANT’S ALLEGED PRIOR SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN, CONVICTION REVERSED BECAUSE DEFENDANT WAS DEPRIVED OF A FAIR TRIAL; JUDGE SHOULD NOT HAVE PARTICIPATED IN A READBACK OF TESTIMONY (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing defendant’s conviction in this child sex abuse prosecution, determined that the trial court should not have allowed the prosecution to present all evidence of defendant’s alleged prior sexual abuse of children after defense counsel asked complainants whether they had hired a lawyer and were suing the defendant-teacher and the school district based upon defendant’s alleged sexual abuse of children. Re-direct should have been limited to only the evidence necessary to clarify and explain the reasons for the witness’s hiring a lawyer and bringing a lawsuit. The Second Department also noted that the trial judge should have participated in the readback of testimony and the harmless error analysis is not applicable:

… [D]efense counsel asked questions regarding the civil actions in an attempt to impeach credibility and establish that a motivation for some of the complainants’ testimony against the defendant was monetary gain or a pecuniary interest. This line of inquiry did not open an unfettered passageway for the People to elicit extensive and prejudicial evidence regarding alleged uncharged complaints. The extraneous testimony of alleged uncharged complaints did not serve to explain or clarify whether the civil actions provided certain complainants with a financial incentive to testify.

Moreover, the admission of evidence of alleged uncharged complaints violated the basic principle underlying Molineux and its progeny that “a criminal case should be tried on the facts and not on the basis of a defendant’s propensity to commit the crime charged …”. …

The Court of Appeals has explained that “if in any instance, an appellate court concludes that there has been such error of a trial court, such misconduct of a prosecutor, such inadequacy of defense counsel, or such other wrong as to have operated to deny any individual defendant his fundamental right to a fair trial, the reviewing court must reverse the conviction and grant a new trial, quite without regard to any evaluation as to whether the errors contributed to the defendant’s conviction” … . People v Watts, 2019 NY Slip Op 07426, Second Dept 10-16-19

 

You might also like
MOTION TO DISMISS THE COMPLAINT IN THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION FOR FAILURE TO TIMELY SERVE WITHIN THE 120 DAY WINDOW SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED, CRITERIA FOR ALLOWING LATE SERVICE EXPLAINED (SECOND DEPT).
DEFENSE COUNSEL WAITED UNTIL AFTER THE PROSECUTOR MADE SEVERAL ARGUABLY IMPROPER REMARKS IN SUMMATION BEFORE OBJECTING “TO ALL OF THIS;” THE OBJECTION WAS DEEMED UNTIMELY, VAGUE, AMBIGUOUS, GENERAL AND NONSPECIFIC; THEREFORE THE ISSUES RAISED BY THE PROSECUTOR’S REMARKS WERE NOT PRESERVED FOR APPEAL (SECOND DEPT). ​
THE DEFENDANT RESTAURANT DID NOT DEMONSTRATE WHEN THE AREA WHERE PLAINTIFF SLIPPED AND FELL HAD LAST BEEN INSPECTED PRIOR TO THE FALL; THEREFORE THE RESTAURANT DID NOT DEMONSTRATE A LACK OF CONSTRUCTIVE NOTICE OF THE ALLEGED WET CONDITION (SECOND DEPT).
BANK DID NOT DEMONSTRATE COMPLIANCE WITH THE NOTICE PROVISIONS OF THE REAL PROPERTY ACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS LAW (RPAPL), BANK’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION PROPERLY DENIED (SECOND DEPT).
WIFE’S MOTION TO BE SUBSTITUTED FOR HER DECEASED HUSBAND TO ENFORCE THE PAYMENT OF THE SETTLEMENT IN HER HUSBAND’S SLIP AND FALL CASE SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).
Waiver of Right to Appeal Invalid Despite the Signing of a Written Waiver
THE USUAL PROHIBITIONS RE: VACATING ORDERS ISSUED OPON A PARTY’S DEFAULT DO NOT APPLY IN CHILD CUSTODY MATTERS; TO MODIFY CUSTODY, A FULL AND PLENARY HEARING IS NECESSARY; IF A PARTY DOES NOT APPEAR IN A MODIFICATION PROCEEDING, AN INQUEST SHOULD BE HELD TO CREATE A RECORD (SECOND DEPT).
QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER THE SCHOOL DISTRICT CREATED OR EXACERBATED THE ICE CONDITION IN THE PARKING LOT AND WHETHER THE SCHOOL DISTRICT HAD CONSTRUCTIVE NOTICE OF THE CONDITION, SCHOOL’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE PROPERLY DENIED (SECOND 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

COURT HAD JURISDICTION TO ISSUE EAVESDROPPING WARRANTS TO INTERCEPT CELL PHONE... POST-VERDICT INTEREST IN THIS ACTION AGAINST THE NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT AUTHORITY...