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THE DOCTRINE OF ABATEMENT AB INITIO REMAINS VALID; WHERE A DEFENDANT DIES BEFORE THE CONVICTION BECOMES FINAL THROUGH THE APPELLATE PROCESS VACATION OF THE CONVICTION AND DISMISSAL OF THE INDICTMENT IS REQUIRED; HERE BOTH DEFENDANTS HAD BEEN CONVICTED AND DIED BEFORE SENTENCING (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department affirmed Supreme Court in two consolidated cases in which the People unsuccessfully argued the doctrine of abatement ab initio should no longer be followed. The doctrine provides that where a defendant dies before the appellate process is complete the conviction is vacated and the indictment dismissed:

In these consolidated cases (People v Ricardo Cruciani and People v Jessie Nowell), the People, as the appellant, raise similar questions: Whether we should decline to follow, in the particular circumstances of each case, the common-law doctrine of abatement ab initio, which was first pronounced by the Court of Appeals in People v Mintz (20 NY2d 770 [1967]). The abatement ab initio doctrine seeks to protect a defendant’s constitutional due process rights that are afforded by appellate review of a conviction (see People v Matteson, 75 NY2d 745, 747 [1989]). Under this doctrine, the death of a defendant whose conviction has not become final through the appellate process results in the abatement of not only any pending appeal but also all proceedings from the case’s inception. In Cruciani, defendant’s conviction resulted from a jury verdict, but he died before sentencing. In Nowell, defendant’s conviction resulted from a guilty plea, but he died before sentencing. In each case, the trial court granted defense counsel’s motion to vacate the conviction and dismiss the indictment pursuant to the abatement ab initio doctrine. People v Cruciani, 2025 NY Slip Op 02735, First Dept 5-6-25

Practice Point: The doctrine of abatement ab initio requires the vacation of the conviction and dismissal of the indictment where a defendant dies before the appellate process is complete.

 

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