You are here: / / THE FOR CAUSE CHALLENGE TO A PROSPECTIVE JUROR WHO SAID HE WOULD BE INCLINED...

THE FOR CAUSE CHALLENGE TO A PROSPECTIVE JUROR WHO SAID HE WOULD BE INCLINED TO BELIEVE THE TESTIMONY OF POLICE OFFICERS SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing defendant’s conviction, determined the for cause challenge to a juror who said he would tend to believe the testimony of police officers should have been granted, despite the assurances elicited by the judge:

… [T]he statement of the prospective juror during voir dire with respect to the credibility of the testimony of police officers or bias in favor of the police cast serious doubt on his ability to render an impartial verdict, and the prospective juror failed to provide “unequivocal assurance that [he could] set aside any bias and render an impartial verdict based on the evidence” … . Specifically, after the prospective juror stated that he was a former correction officer and had “a lot of friends and family members” in law enforcement, he agreed that he would “be inclined to give more credibility to an officer than [he] would a lay person,” explained that, based on his experiences, he found police to be “honest people,” and specifically described one of the officers who would later testify for the People as “an honest person.” Although the court inquired further of the prospective juror, we conclude that the prospective juror’s answers to the questions asked by the court were “insufficient to constitute . . . an unequivocal declaration” that he could set aside any bias and render an impartial verdict … . People v Harrison, 2021 NY Slip Op 07445, Fourth Dept 12-23-21

 

You might also like
THE PLEA COLLOQUY IN WHICH DEFENDANT STATED HE CARED FOR THE THREE-YEAR-OLD VICTIM NEGATED AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF DEPRAVED INDIFFERENCE MURDER; PLEA VACATED (FOURTH DEPT).
THE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD SUPPORTED THE GRANT OF THE ARIA VARIANCE BY THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS; SUPREME COURT SHOULD NOT HAVE SUBSTITUTED ITS JUDGMENT FOR THE BOARD’S (FOURTH DEPT).
Motion to Vacate Conviction Should Not Have Been Granted—Hearsay Statement Exonerating Defendant Did Not Meet the Criteria for a Statement Against Penal Interest and Should Not Have Been Admitted—The Underlying Evidence Was Not Newly Discovered Because Defendant Was Aware of It at the Time of Trial–Defendant Did Not Provide the Evidence at Trial Because He Feared Retaliation by Gang Members
IF A PREMATURE CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE WITH DISCOVERY OBLIGATIONS WAS NOT FILED IN GOOD FAITH, THE STATEMENT OF READINESS FOR TRIAL IS ILLUSORY; MATTER REMITTED FOR A DETERMINATION WHETHER THE CERTIFICATE WAS FILED IN GOOD FAITH; THE JUDGE CONSIDERED ONLY WHETHER DEFENDANT WAS PREJUDICED BY THE POST-CERTIFICATE PRODUCTION OF DISCOVERY (FOURTH DEPT). ​
UNDER CRITERIA RECENTLY ANNOUNCED BY THE COURT OF APPEALS, GRANDPARENTS HAD STANDING TO CONTEST MOTHER’S PETITION FOR CUSTODY.
THE MAJORITY CONCLUDED THAT EVEN IF DEFENDANT WAS ILLEGALLY FRISKED AND DETAINED OUTSIDE OF HIS VEHICLE, THE DEPUTY’S SEEING COCAINE ON THE DRIVER’S SEAT PROVIDED PROBABLE CAUSE FOR THE SEARCH OF THE VEHICLE; THE TWO-JUSTICE DISSENT ARGUED THE OBSERVATION OF THE DRUGS WAS A PRODUCT OF THE ILLEGAL FRISK AND DETENTION OF THE DEFENDANT (FOURTH DEPT). ​
DESIGNATING PETITION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN INVALIDATED, WIFE SIGNED FOR HUSBAND WHO WAS PRESENT, AT MOST ONLY THE ONE SIGNATURE SHOULD HAVE BEEN STRUCK, NOT THE ENTIRE PAGE OF SIGNATURES (FOURTH DEPT).
HEARSAY STATEMENTS BY A CODEFENDANT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ADMITTED TO SHOW THE STATE OF MIND OF THE INVESTIGATORS QUESTIONING THE DEFENDANT; THE INVESTIGATORS’ STATE OF MIND WAS NOT RELEVANT TO ANY ISSUE IN THE CASE (FOURTH 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

THE JUDGE’S THREAT TO IMPOSE A MUCH HARSHER SENTENCE SHOULD THE DEFENDANT... THE REQUIREMENTS FOR AN APPEALABLE ORDER IN A SORA RISK-LEVEL PROCEEDING EXPLAINED...