ALTHOUGH NO OBJECTIONS WERE MADE TO THE PROSECUTOR’S NUMEROUS INAPPROPRIATE REMARKS, THE APPEAL WAS CONSIDERED IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE AND A NEW TRIAL WAS ORDERED (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, reversing defendant’s conviction, determined prosecutorial misconduct deprived defendant of a fair trial. The errors were not preserved by objections, but the appeal was considered in the interest of justice. The prosecutor’s remarks are detailed in the decision and are too numerous to include here:
The prosecutor denigrated any possible defense, invoked the jury’s sympathy for the complainants based upon irrelevant evidence, vouched for the credibility of the People’s witnesses, and misstated the law on circumstantial evidence … . People v Beck, 2021 NY Slip Op 04556, Second Dept 7-28-21