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DEFENDANT WAS NOT ENTITLED TO VACATION OF HIS CONVICTIONS ON THE GROUND THE COUNTS WHICH WERE DISMISSED AT TRIAL HAD A PREJUDICIAL “SPILL-OVER-EFFECT” ON THE REMAINING COUNTS (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant’s motion to vacate his conviction under a “prejudicial-spill-over-effect” theory should not have been granted. Defendant argued the counts which were dismissed at trial had tainted the counts for which he was convicted:​

“Whether an error in the proceedings relating to one count requires reversal of convictions on other jointly tried counts is a question that can only be resolved on a case-by-case basis, with due regard for the individual facts of the case, the nature of the error and its potential for prejudicial impact on the over-all outcome” … . “[T]he paramount consideration in assessing potential spillover error is whether there is a reasonable possibility that the jury’s decision to convict on the tainted counts influenced its guilty verdict on the remaining counts in a meaningful way” … . “By contrast, where the jury’s decision to convict on the tainted counts had only a tangential effect on its decision to convict on the remaining counts, no reversal is warranted” … . “Spillover analysis is highly case-specific,” requiring an evaluation of “the individual facts of the case, the nature of the error and its potential for prejudicial impact on the over-all outcome” … . * * *

… [U]nder the circumstances of this case, there was no reasonable possibility that the evidence supporting the tainted counts pertaining to the robbery on November 27, 1995, had a spillover effect on the other counts … . As the jury’s decision to convict on the tainted counts had, at most, a tangential effect upon its decision to convict on the remaining counts pursuant to the robbery on November 13, 1995, vacatur of the defendant’s convictions related to the robbery on November 13, 1995, was unwarranted on the ground of spillover prejudice … . People v Breland, 2026 NY Slip Op 02848, First Dept 5-6-26

Practice Point: Consult this decision for insight into the argument that the counts on which defendant was convicted were tainted by the counts which were dismissed at trial.

 

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