You are here: / / THE JURY FOUND THE DEFENDANT SEX OFFENDER DID NOT SUFFER FROM A MENTAL...
,

THE JURY FOUND THE DEFENDANT SEX OFFENDER DID NOT SUFFER FROM A MENTAL ABNORMALITY WHICH AFFECTED HIS ABILITY TO CONTROL HIS BEHAVIOR AND WAS THEREFORE ENTITLED TO RELEASE; UPON THE STATE’S MOTION THE VERDICT WAS SET ASIDE; THE APPELLATE DIVISION REVERSED FINDING THAT THE STATE WAS NOT PREJUDICED BY ALLEGED JUROR MISCONDUCT (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing Supreme Court, over a two-justice dissent, determined the sex offender civil management verdict, which found defendant did not suffer from a mental abnormality and was therefore entitled to release, should not have been set aside. The state argued the jury foreperson’s telling the jury that, according to the foreperson’s father, “if inmates wanted to do something in prison they could do it” constituted jury misconduct. The remark was relevant to the expert testimony about the ways an inmate can act out sexually. The defendant argued he had not been cited for sexual misbehavior during his 30 years in prison, so the evidence he could have acted out was relevant to his ability to control his behavior:

… [W]e conclude that petitioner [the state] was not prejudiced by the foreperson’s failure to disclose during voir dire that his father previously worked as a correction officer… . We note that several of the jurors in this case either worked in prison or had close relations who worked as correction officers or in law enforcement. Neither party seems to have considered that to have been a disqualifying attribute because those jurors were selected to serve on the jury. Indeed, because the trial was held in the shadow of Auburn Correctional Facility, it would have been difficult for the parties to select 12 qualified jurors with no connection to the prison. Petitioner’s attorney was well aware of that fact and seized upon it during summation, urging the jurors to draw upon their knowledge of the internal workings of prisons in order to decide the case. Petitioner had every reason to believe that a jury packed with prison employees and their relations would likely return a verdict unfavorable to the convicted offender. Petitioner cries foul only because its strategy backfired. Matter of State of New York v Donald G., 2020 NY Slip Op 04716, Fourth Dept 8-20-20

 

You might also like
Stop and Investigative Detention of Defendant Was Proper Under DeBour Analysis/Defendant’s Absence from Initial Sandoval Conference Cured by His Presence at a Subsequent Sandoval Hearing/Defendant’s Sentence Reduced Based In Part on a Much Lower Sentence Attached to a Plea Offer
THE WARRANT AUTHORIZING THE SEARCH OF THE CONTENTS OF DEFENDANT’S CELL PHONE DID NOT RESTRICT THE SEARCH TO EVIDENCE OF ANY PARTICULAR CRIME AND DID NOT INCORPORATE THE POLICE INVESTIGATOR’S AFFIDAVIT WHICH PURPORTEDLY LAID OUT THE BASIS FOR FINDING PROBABLE CAUSE; THE WARRANT DID NOT MEET THE “PARTICULARITY REQUIREMENT” (FOURTH DEPT).
The Destruction of Decedent’s Body in a Trash Compactor Gave Rise to a Cause of Action for Loss of Sepulcher
SUPPORT MAGISTRATE DID NOT HAVE JURISDICTION TO REDUCE FATHER’S CHILD SUPPORT BY DISTRIBUTING A TAX REFUND (FOURTH DEPT).
DEFENDANTS LOST TITLE TO THE PROPERTY WHEN THE FORECLOSURE SALE TOOK PLACE, NOT WHEN THE JUDGMENT OF FORECLOSURE WAS ENTERED, THEREFORE PLAINTIFFS’ ALLEGED EXPOSURE TO LEAD PAINT TOOK PLACE WHEN THE DEFENDANTS STILL HELD TITLE (FOURTH DEPT).
Punishment Was “Shocking to One’s Sense of Fairness”
THE TOWN’S APPROVAL OF CHANGES TO A WIND-TURBINE PROJECT WITHOUT A SECOND SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (SEIS) WAS NOT ARBITRARY AND CAPRICIOUS (FOURTH DEPT).
Rules Prohibited Interim County Organization of Erie County Independence Party from Authorizing the Designation of Candidates

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

ALTHOUGH THE TRIAL COURT ABUSED ITS DISCRETION BY ALLOWING A VIOLENT COURTROOM... THE SIX ‘LURING A CHILD’ CONVICTIONS WERE AGAINST THE WEIGHT OF...