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
SURROGATE’S COURT, IN AWARDING ATTORNEY’S FEES FOR THE PETITION FOR JUDICIAL SETTLEMENT AND FINAL ACCOUNTING REGARDING A TRUST, DID NOT MAKE THE REQUIRED FINDINGS, MATTER REMITTED (FOURTH DEPT).
THE POLICE SUSPECTED DEFENDANT HAD SPECIFIC WEAPONS IN A SPECIFIC VEHICLE; AFTER A TRAFFIC STOP, THE POLICE SEARCHED THE CAR AND FOUND A WEAPON; LATER THEY SEARCHED THE CAR AGAIN AND FOUND A SECOND WEAPON; ONLY AFTER THE SEARCHES DID THEY START TO FILL OUT THE INVENTORY SEARCH FORM; THIS WAS NOT A VALID INVENTORY SEARCH; THE WEAPONS SHOULD HAVE BEEN SUPPRESSED (FOURTH DEPT).
Conviction on a Lesser Inclusory Count Can Not Stand Even In the Absence of Preservation
Labor Law 200 and Common Law Negligence Causes of Action Against Owner Properly Dismissed—Owner Did Not Exercise Supervisory Control Over Plaintiff’s Work
COUNTY COURT SHOULD NOT HAVE ACCEPTED GRAND JURY REPORTS RE: THE ALLEGED MISCONDUCT, NONFEASANCE OR NEGLECT IN OFFICE OF THREE PUBLIC OFFICIALS; THE PROSECUTOR DID NOT INSTRUCT THE GRAND JURY ON THE SUBSTANTIVE ASPECTS OF THE PUBLIC OFFICIALS’ DUTIES (FOURTH DEPT).
PLAINTIFF’S TITLE IX AND 42 USC 1983 CAUSES OF ACTION, BASED ON ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL ABUSE BY A TEACHER IN 1972 AND 1973, ARE TIME-BARRED (FOURTH DEPT).
PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON THE LABOR LAW 240 (1) CAUSE OF ACTION PROPERLY GRANTED, PLAINTIFF’S ACTIONS COULD NOT HAVE BEEN THE SOLE PROXIMATE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT (FOURTH DEPT).
THE SCHOOL BOARD DID NOT VIOLATE THE OPEN MEETINGS LAW WHEN IT CONSULTED WITH ITS ATTORNEY IN A CLOSED SESSION BEFORE DECIDING NOT TO RENEW PLAINTIFF FOOTBALL COACH’S EMPLOYMENT; THERE IS AN EXCEPTION TO THE OPEN MEETINGS LAW FOR LEGAL ADVICE (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...