You are here: / / ALTHOUGH AN INDICTMENT NEED NOT ALLEGE ACCESSORIAL LIABILITY TO BE LEGALLY...
,

ALTHOUGH AN INDICTMENT NEED NOT ALLEGE ACCESSORIAL LIABILITY TO BE LEGALLY SUFFICIENT; WHERE THERE IS NO EVIDENCE A DEFENDANT ACTED AS A PRINCIPAL THE JURY MUST BE INSTRUCTED ON ACCESSORIAL LIABILITY; THE FAILURE TO SO INSTRUCT THE JURY HERE RENDERED THE CONVICTION AGAINST THE WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing defendant’s conviction, determined the failure to instruct the jury on accessorial liability rendered the conviction against the weight of the evidence. The defendant and a companion were involved in an altercation with the victim. The companion slashed the victim and struck the victim with a baseball bat. There was no evidence defendant attacked the victim. The court noted that the indictment need not allege accessorial liability to be legally sufficient, but the jury must be instructed on the theory where there is no evidence a defendant acted as a principal:

The circumstances supported the inference that defendant was guilty of acting in concert in the attack, but undisputedly failed to support liability as a principal, that is, for personally attacking the victim. However, the prosecutor did not request, either before or after the court’s charge, that the court instruct the jury regarding accessorial liability (see Penal Law § 20.00), and the court did not give such an instruction.

Because there is “no legal distinction between liability as a principal or criminal culpability as an accomplice” … , an indictment need not contain any language relating to accessorial liability. However, this does not mean that a conviction may be sustained on an acting-in-concert theory when no such theory was submitted to the jury … . People v Ballo, 2021 NY Slip Op 00810, First Dept 2-9-21

 

You might also like
Failure to Allege “Demand Futility” as Required Under Delaware Law Required Dismissal of the Derivative Causes of Action
EVEN A UBIQUITOUS “DE MINIMUS” VIOLATION OF THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW IS VALID JUSTIFICATION FOR A PRETEXTUAL TRAFFIC STOP; HERE THE LICENSE PLATE FRAME OBSCURED “GARDEN STATE” ON THE NEW JERSEY LICENSE PLATE (FIRST DEPT).
IN A COMPREHENSIVE DECISION ANALYZING THE ELEMENTS OF PROOF IN A SLIP AND FALL CASE, INCLUDING EXPERT OPINION EVIDENCE, THE 1ST DEPARTMENT DETERMINED THE DEFENDANT STORE DEMONSTRATED IT DID NOT HAVE CONSTRUCTIVE OR ACTUAL KNOWLEDGE OF A PUDDLE OF WATER IN FRONT OF AN ICE MACHINE (FIRST DEPT).
WIFE ENTITLED TO A PERCENTAGE OF HUSBAND’S ENHANCED EARNING CAPACITY BY ENABLING HUSBAND’S LONG WORKING HOURS AND HIS STUDY FOR MEDICAL BOARD EXAMS.
First Degree Burglary Conviction Upheld Even though the Residential Portion of the Building Was Not Accessible from the Basement of the First-Floor Store Where the Defendant Entered the Building
Court’s Erroneous Jury Instruction Re: State’s Territorial Jurisdiction Over the Alleged Crime Was Not a Mode of Proceedings Error—Objection Is Required to Preserve the Issue for Appeal
THERE IS NO HEIGHTENED PLEADING REQUIREMENT FOR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES STEMMING FROM A BREACH OF AN INSURANCE CONTRACT, PLAINTIFF ALLEGED THE INSURER’S DELAY IN PAYING THE CLAIM FOR DAMAGE TO PLAINTIFF’S BUILDING, WHICH SHIFTED WHEN WORK WAS DONE ON AN ADJOINING BUILDING, RESULTED IN AN ARRAY OF CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, THE CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ASPECT OF THE COMPLAINT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED (FIRST DEPT).
PETITIONER WAS ENTITLED TO ATTORNEY’S FEES AS THE PREVAILING PARTY BECAUSE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TURNED OVER THE REQUESTED BODY CAM VIDEOS VOLUNTARILY WHILE THE PROCEEDING WAS PENDING; THE RESPONDENTS HAD NO REASONABLE BASIS FOR DENYING THE REQUEST (FIRST 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 © 2025 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

THE SEXUAL ASSAULT REFORM ACT (SARA), WHICH REQUIRES THAT CERTAIN SEX OFFENDERS... THE FOUR-YEAR LOOKBACK CAN BE APPLIED TO DETERMINE WHETHER DEFENDANT ENGAGED...