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THE FACT THAT THE PEOPLE WERE HELPING THE COMPLAINANT PROCURE A U VISA WHICH WOULD ALLOW THE COMPLAINANT TO STAY IN THE US AND APPLY FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE WAS BRADY MATERIAL WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN PROVIDED TO THE DEFENSE; U VISAS ARE AVAILABLE TO ALIENS WHO SUFFER ABUSE FROM CRIMINAL ACTIVITY; CONVICTIONS REVERSED AND INDICTMENTS DISMISSED (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Moulton, determined defendants’ convictions should be reversed and the indictments dismissed because the People failed to reveal they were helping the complainant procure a U visa which would allow the complainant to remain in the United States and apply for permanent residence. A U visa is available to an alien who has suffered abuse as a victim of criminal activity. The defendants have already served their sentences and have been deported:

A U visa is available to an alien who “has suffered substantial physical or mental abuse as a result of having been a victim of criminal activity[,] . . . possesses information concerning criminal activity . . . [and] . . . has been helpful, is being helpful, or is likely to be helpful” to a Federal, State, or local law enforcement official, prosecutor, judge, or other authority prosecuting criminal activity … . * * *

To obtain a U visa from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, an applicant must first acquire a certification from a Federal, State, or local law enforcement official, prosecutor, judge, or other Federal, State, or local authority investigating criminal activity (see 8 USC § 1184 [p][1]). The certification must confirm that the applicant for a U visa “‘has been helpful, is being helpful, or is likely to be helpful'” in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity … . Without a certification, the applicant cannot obtain a U visa. Law enforcement is not mandated to issue the certification … .

The U visa is a valuable benefit. Under Section 245(m) of the Act, after three years of continuous presence in the United States (in which the recipient also receives work authorization), the recipient may apply for lawful permanent residence in the United States. * * *

… [W]e cannot know what a jury would have done with further, material, impeachment arising from the U visa evidence. It might have found the U visa evidence fatally undermined [the complainant’s] credibility. We find that there is reasonable probability that had the jury considered the U visa evidence, it would have raised enough reasonable doubt to produce a different outcome. People v Flores, 2023 NY Slip Op 02768, First Dept 5-23-23

Practice Point: The People did not inform the defense they were helping the complainant procure a U visa which would allow the complainant to remain in the US and apply for permanent residence. A U visa is available to an alien who suffered abuse as a victim of criminal activity. The U-visa-information was Brady material which could have affected the outcome of the trial. The convictions were reversed and the indictments dismissed.

 

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