You are here: / / THE JUDGE READ THE WRONG DEFINITION OF THE CHARGED OFFENSE TO THE JURY;...
,

THE JUDGE READ THE WRONG DEFINITION OF THE CHARGED OFFENSE TO THE JURY; NEW TRIAL ON THAT CHARGE ORDERED (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, reversing defendant’s attempted robbery first degree conviction and ordering a new trial on that count, determined County Court provided the jury with the wrong definition of the offense:

Defendant was charged with attempted robbery in the first degree pursuant to Penal Law § 160.15 (2), defined as forcibly stealing property while armed with a deadly weapon. When the court instructed the jury on this count, it initially made reference to the requirement of being armed with a deadly weapon. However, when thereafter summarizing the elements of this crime, the court omitted the deadly weapon element and instead substituted in its place the element of causing serious physical injury to the victim, which is a different theory of robbery in the first degree … . This error was repeated by the court when the jury asked for the definitions of the crimes to be read back. Under these circumstances, the jury was left to consider an internally inconsistent definition of attempted robbery. Given that ” ‘the charge, read as a whole against the background of the evidence produced at trial, likely confused the jury regarding the correct rules to be applied in arriving at a decision’ ” … , the court’s error was not harmless and remittal for a new trial on this count is necessary … . People v Smith, 2025 NY Slip Op 05847, Third Dept 10-23-25

Practice Point: Here the judge’s reading the wrong definition of the charged offense to the jury required a new trial on that charge.

 

You might also like
Injury to Officer from Collapsing Stretcher Deemed Accidental
CLAIMANT WAS AN EMPLOYEE OF A RESIDENTIAL NEWSPAPER DELIVERY SERVICE AND WAS ENTITLED TO UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE BENEFITS (THIRD DEPT).
THE OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES (OCFS) DID NOT EXCEED ITS AUTHORITY IN CREATING THE HOST FAMILY PROGRAM FOR TEMPORARY PLACEMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES (THIRD DEPT).
ELECTRONIC IMAGES OF ELECTION BALLOTS MAY BE OBTAINED THROUGH A FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAW (FOIL) REQUEST (THIRD DEPT).
THE MAJORITY HELD THE RECORD WAS SILENT ON WHETHER THE POLICE, WHO DID NOT APPLY FOR A NO-KNOCK WARRANT, ENTERED THE APARTMENT WITHOUT PROPER NOTICE TO THE OCCUPANTS AND THE ISSUE WAS NOT PRESERVED FOR APPEAL; THE DISSENT ARGUED THE ISSUE CAN BE ADDRESSED ON APPEAL UNDER INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE (FAILURE TO MOVE TO SUPPRESS), THE RECORD SUPPORTED AN UNAUTHORIZED NO-KNOCK ENTRY AND THE SEIZED EVIDENCE SHOULD HAVE BEEN SUPPRESSED (THIRD DEPT).
Denial of Pistol Permit Application Was Based Upon a Misinterpretation of Penal Law 400.00
ABSENCE OF AN ATTORNEY’S SIGNATURE ON A LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY’S NOTICE OF CLAIM WAS NOT A JURISDICTIONAL DEFECT, COURT OF CLAIMS CAN NOT GRANT EQUITABLE RELIEF WHICH IS NOT RELATED TO THE REQUESTED MONETARY RELIEF.
CLAIMANT PROPERLY DENIED WORKERS’ COMPENSATION BENEFITS BECAUSE CLAIMANT DID NOT OBTAIN THE WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CARRIER’S CONSENT BEFORE SETTLING WITH A THIRD-PARTY (THIRD 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 PROOF OF ALL THE CHARGES, INCLUDING THE DEPRAVED INDIFFERENCE MURDER OF... THE DEFENDANT, PERSONALLY, MUST BE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONTROVERT THE PROSECUTION’S...