You are here: / / ADVANCES IN MEDICINE AND SCIENCE CALL INTO QUESTION PREVIOUS OPINIONS ...

ADVANCES IN MEDICINE AND SCIENCE CALL INTO QUESTION PREVIOUS OPINIONS ABOUT SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME, MOTION TO VACATE DEFENDANT’S CONVICTION GRANTED AND NEW TRIAL ORDERED.

The Fourth Department affirmed the grant of defendant’s motion to vacate her conviction based on newly-discovered evidence. Defendant, a daycare provider, was convicted in the death of a toddler. Medical testimony at trial attributed the death to shaken baby syndrome. In the motion to vacate her conviction, defendant argued that advances in medicine and science have called into question the prior opinions about shaken baby syndrome, and indicate a short-distance fall can mimic the shaken baby symptoms:

In general, advancements in science and/or medicine may constitute newly discovered evidence … , and we conclude that defendant established, by a preponderance of the evidence (see CPL 440.30 [6]), that “a significant and legitimate debate in the medical community has developed in the past ten years over whether infants [and toddlers] can be fatally injured through shaking alone, . . . and whether other causes [such as short-distance falls] may mimic the symptoms traditionally viewed as indicating shaken baby or shaken impact syndrome” … .

We further conclude that defendant established, by a preponderance of the evidence (see CPL 440.30 [6]), that the newly discovered evidence would probably change the result if a new trial were held today. “A motion to vacate a judgment of conviction upon the ground of newly discovered evidence rests within the discretion of the hearing court . . . The court must make its final decision based upon the likely cumulative effect of the new evidence had it been presented at trial’ ” … . Here, the cumulative effect of the research and findings on retinal hemorrhages, subdural hematomas or hemorrhages and cerebral edemas as presented in SBS/SBIS cases and short-distance fall cases supports the court’s ultimate decision that, had this evidence been presented at trial, the verdict would probably have been different … . People v Bailey, 2016 NY Slip Op 07490, 4th Dept 11-101-6

 

CRIMINAL LAW (ADVANCES IN MEDICINE AND SCIENCE CALL INTO QUESTIONS PREVIOUS OPINIONS ABOUT SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME, MOTION TO VACATE DEFENDANT’S CONVICTION GRANTED AND NEW TRIAL ORDER)/VACATE CONVICTION, MOTION TO (ADVANCES IN MEDICINE AND SCIENCE CALL INTO QUESTIONS PREVIOUS OPINIONS ABOUT SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME, MOTION TO VACATE DEFENDANT’S CONVICTION GRANTED AND NEW TRIAL ORDER)/SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME (ADVANCES IN MEDICINE AND SCIENCE CALL INTO QUESTIONS PREVIOUS OPINIONS ABOUT SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME, MOTION TO VACATE DEFENDANT’S CONVICTION GRANTED AND NEW TRIAL ORDER)

You might also like
ALTHOUGH THE FOREIGN CORPORATION MIGHT BE LIABLE FOR CONTAMINATION OF PLAINTIFFS’ PROPERTY, THE CORPORATION HAS NO PRESENT CONTACTS IN NEW YORK AND THEREFORE IS NOT SUBJECT TO THE COURT’S JURISDICTION (FOURTH DEPT)
References to Counsel Did Not Constitute an Unequivocal Request for Counsel
NEGLECT FINDINGS BASED ON MOTHER’S MENTAL ILLNESS AND INADEQUATE SHELTER, EDUCATION, HYGIENE OR CLOTHING NOT SUPPORTED BY THE EVIDENCE; CRITERIA EXPLAINED IN SOME DEPTH (FOURTH DEPT).
DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS THE INDICTMENT ON SPEEDY TRIAL GROUNDS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED, THE UNAVAILABILITY OF A WITNESS AND THE RELATED ADJOURNMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN CHARGED TO THE PEOPLE (FOURTH DEPT).
ALTHOUGH THE TRIAL COURT ABUSED ITS DISCRETION BY ALLOWING A VIOLENT COURTROOM SCENE IN A MOVIE TO BE PLAYED FOR THE JURY BECAUSE THE DEFENDANT HAD QUOTED DIALOGUE FROM IT, THE ERROR WAS HARMLESS; THE DISSENT ARGUED IT WAS NOT HARMLESS ERROR (FOURTH DEPT).
County Properly Passed Legislation Phasing Out Tax Exemption
PLAINTIFF AT-WILL EMPLOYEE WAS ENTITLED TO COMMISSIONS EARNED ON HIS ACCOUNTS BEFORE, BUT NOT AFTER, PLAINTIFF WAS TERMINATED; ALTHOUGH THE EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT WAS ORAL, IT WAS NOT SUBJECT TO THE STATUTE OF FRAUDS UNTIL AFTER PLANTIFF WAS TERMINATED. (FOURTH DEPT).
Supreme Court Properly Considered Documentary Evidence Re: a Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Cause of Action Pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(7)—Limited Role of Such Evidence in this Context Clarified/Criteria for Specific Performance of a Real Estate Contract Explained

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

SANDOVAL HEARING HELD IN DEFENDANT’S ABSENCE REQUIRED DISMISSAL OF THE... DEFENDANT’S REQUEST TO REPRESENT HIMSELF, MADE DURING JURY SELECTION,...