You are here: / / DEFENSE COUNSEL WAS INEFFECTIVE FOR FAILURE TO INTERVIEW A POTENTIALLY...
,

DEFENSE COUNSEL WAS INEFFECTIVE FOR FAILURE TO INTERVIEW A POTENTIALLY EXCULPATORY WITNESS; MOTION TO VACATE THE MURDER CONVICTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing County Court, determined defendant’s motion to vacate his conviction on ineffective assistance grounds should have been granted. Defense counsel did not interview a witness who, based on the witness’s testimony at the hearing on the motion to vacate, would have testified defendant was not at the scene of the shooting:

… [W]e conclude that defendant met his burden of establishing that defense counsel’s failure to interview the potentially exculpatory witness constituted ineffective assistance of counsel, inasmuch as the record before us reflects “the absence of strategic or other legitimate explanations for defense counsel’s allegedly deficient conduct” … . The failure by defendant’s trial counsel to interview the witness cannot be characterized as a legitimate strategic decision because, “without collecting that information, [defense] counsel could not make an informed decision as to whether the witness[‘s] evidence might be helpful at trial” … . To the extent that the defense team deemed the witness not credible due to his criminal record or history, that alone “does not excuse trial counsel’s failure to investigate since a witness’s unsavory background[ ] does not render his or her testimony incredible as a matter of law” … . Further, we conclude that, “even if the witness[‘s] criminal record[] provided a strategic basis for choosing not to present [his] testimony, it does not provide an excuse for [defense] counsel’s failure to investigate [him] as [a] possible witness[ ]” … . Moreover, the witness’s testimony at the CPL article 440 hearing was wholly consistent with the theory pursued by trial counsel, namely that defendant was not present at the shooting and that the crime was instead committed by an individual seeking to rob the victims’ residence, and the proposed witness would have provided the only eyewitness testimony at trial as to the shooting. People v Williams, 2022 NY Slip Op 03625, Fourth Dept 6-3-22

Practice Point: Here defense counsel was made aware of a potentially exculpatory witness and did not interview him. The fact that defense counsel felt the witness was not credible did not excuse the failure to investigate. Defendant’s motion to vacate his conviction on ineffective assistance grounds was granted by the appellate court.

 

You might also like
PROPOSED 2019 ELECTION REFERENDUM REGARDING PUBLIC EDUCATION OFFICIALS IN THE CITY OF ROCHESTER IS IMPERMISSIBLY ADVISORY AND WAS PROPERLY DECLARED VOID (FOURTH DEPT).
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT ON BEHALF OF TENANTS ALLEGING LANDLORDS’ MISHANDLING OF SECURITY DEPOSITS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED (FOURTH DEPT).
ALTHOUGH DEFENDANT DID NOT VIOLATE THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW IN MAKING A LEFT TURN, THE OFFICER REASONABLY BELIEVED THERE WAS A VIOLATION; THE TRAFFIC STOP WAS JUSTIFIED AND THE SUPPRESSION MOTION WAS PROPERLY DENIED (FOURTH DEPT).
THE GRANDPARENTS’ PETITION FOR VISITATION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DENIED ABSENT A FULL BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD HEARING (FOURTH DEPT). ​
No Requirement that Defendant Submit Affidavit in Support of Suppression Motion; No Requirement Defendant Deny Commission of Charged Offense to Warrant a Hearing on a Suppression Motion
QUESTION OF FACT RAISED ABOUT WHETHER THE HOSPITAL DEFENDANTS MADE A REASONABLE AND SUFFICIENT EFFORT TO LOCATE THE NEXT OF KIN OF THE DECEDENT IN THIS RIGHT-OF-SEPULCHER CASE; THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR, HOWEVER, ENJOYED GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTION IMMUNITY AND NO SPECIAL DUTY WAS OWED PLAINTIFFS (FOURTH DEPT).
DEFENDANT WAS NOT IN CUSTODY WHEN HE WAS ASKED POINTED QUESTIONS, NO MIRANDA WARNING REQUIRED; POLICE OFFICER’S SUBJECTIVE BELIEF DEFENDANT WAS NOT FREE TO LEAVE IS IRRELEVANT; RAPE FIRST IS AN INCLUSORY CONCURRENT COUNT OF PREDATORY SEXUAL ASSAULT (FOURTH DEPT).
AFTER REMOVING THE FLASHING AND CAULKING AROUND A SECOND-STORY WINDOW, PLAINTIFF WAS GIVEN PERMISSION TO LOWER THE LIFT TO THE GROUND TO GO THE BATHROOM; THE UNSECURED WINDOW FELL ON HIS HEAD; PLAINTIFF WAS NOT THE SOLE PROXIMATE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT AND WAS ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON THE LABOR LAW 240(1) CAUSE OF ACTION (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

DEFENDANT PLED GUILTY TO ATTEMPTED GANG ASSAULT, WHICH IS A LEGAL IMPOSSIBILITY... ALTHOUGH FATHER FAILED TO APPEAR, HIS COUNSEL APPEARED AND FATHER WAS THEREFORE...