You are here: / / THE PRIOR BAD ACT EVIDENCE EXCEEDED THAT ALLOWED BY THE MOLINEUX RULING,...
,

THE PRIOR BAD ACT EVIDENCE EXCEEDED THAT ALLOWED BY THE MOLINEUX RULING, DEFENDANT’S MURDER CONVICTION REVERSED IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department determined defendant’s murder conviction must be reversed in the interest of justice because the evidence of prior bad acts exceeded that allowed by the court’s Molineux ruling:

Defendant also challenges certain testimony by the victim’s niece as being beyond the scope of County Court’s Molineux ruling. As part of its Molineux application, the People requested that they be allowed to offer proof about instances of verbal and emotional abuse by defendant toward the victim. The court granted the application and permitted the People to elicit such evidence. At trial, however, the niece testified that the victim told her that defendant once grabbed her arm in a store because he did not like who she was talking to and that bruises on her legs were caused by defendant. The niece further testified that she observed defendant kick the victim in the stomach. That said, incidents of physical abuse by defendant were not part of the People’s Molineux application. As such, the niece’s testimony, some of which was hearsay, exceeded the scope of the court’s Molineux ruling and deprived defendant of a fair trial … .

Because the evidence of defendant’s guilt was not overwhelming, there must be a new trial … . We note that defendant did not object to the niece’s testimony and, consequently, failed to preserve this argument . Despite this infirmity, we deem it appropriate under the particular circumstance… s of this case to exercise our interest of justice jurisdiction and reverse the judgment (see CPL 470.15 [6] [a]). People v Callahan, 2020 NY Slip Op 04618, Third Dept 8-20-20

 

You might also like
INABILITY TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF AN EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT IS NOT GOOD CAUSE FOR LEAVING EMPLOYMENT.
THE WORKERS’ COMPENSATION BOARD DID NOT PROVIDE AN EXPLANATION FOR DISQUALIFYING CLAIMANT FROM FUTURE WAGE REPLACEMENT BENEFITS, MATTER REMITTED SO THAT ASPECT OF THE PENALTY CAN BE REVIEWED ON APPEAL (THIRD DEPT).
THE EDUCATION LAW PROVISIONS AND RELATED REGULATIONS (1) REQUIRING NONPUBLIC SCHOOLS TO PROVIDE EDUCATION EQUIVALENT TO THAT PROVIDED BY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, AND (2) ALLOWING PUBLIC FUNDING TO BE CURTAILED AND REQUIRING STUDENTS TO ATTEND A DIFFERENT SCHOOL IF THE EQUIVALENCY TEST IS NOT MET ARE VALID AND ENFORCEABLE; THERE WAS A DISSENT (THIRD DEPT).
Custody Petition by Maternal Grandmother Denied in Favor of Child’s Mother
Jury Should Not Have Been Allowed to Hear Defendant’s Refusal to Waive His Right to Remain Silent and His Invocation of His Right to Counsel
Claimant Entitled to Partial Disability Benefits for a Back Injury Until the Relationship Between the Back Injury and Claimant’s Inability to Work Was Raised for the First Time at the Hearing—Claimant Had Stopped Working After an Unrelated Knee Injury
CLAIMANT WAS NOT TOTALLY UNEMPLOYED WHEN WINDING UP HIS CORPORATION’S BUSINESS, ACTUAL FINANCIAL GAIN IS NOT A PREREQUISITE TO FINDING A CLAIMANT IS NOT TOTALLY UNEMPLOYED (THIRD DEPT).
Tax Payments Made Voluntarily Cannot Be Recovered Under a Mistake of Law Theory/Supreme Court Should Not Raise a “Non-Subject-Matter-Jurisdiction” Defense Sua Sponte

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

THE SIX ‘LURING A CHILD’ CONVICTIONS WERE AGAINST THE WEIGHT OF... WHETHER MOTHER MOVED MORE THAN 40 MILES WAS AN ISSUE IN THIS MODIFICATION OF...