You are here: / / IF POSSIBLE, A RECONSTRUCTION HEARING MUST BE HELD TO DETERMINE DEFENDANT’S...

IF POSSIBLE, A RECONSTRUCTION HEARING MUST BE HELD TO DETERMINE DEFENDANT’S COMPETENCY AT THE TIME HE ENTERED A GUILTY PLEA, IF A HEARING CANNOT BE HELD THE PLEA MUST BE VACATED.

The Fourth Department determined a reconstruction hearing should be held to determine whether defendant was competent to stand trial in 2008 when he entered a guilty plea. If a reconstruction hearing cannot be held, the plea should be vacated. At the time of the plea two examining psychiatrists came to opposite conclusions about defendant’s competency. Yet the guilty plea was accepted without holding a competency hearing:

“Article 730 of the Criminal Procedure Law sets out the procedures courts of this State must follow in order to prevent the criminal trial of [an incompetent] defendant” … . The CPL expressly provides that, “[w]hen the examination reports submitted to the court show that the psychiatric examiners are not unanimous in their opinion as to whether the defendant is or is not an incapacitated person, . . . the court must conduct a hearing to determine the issue of capacity” … . “That section is mandatory and not discretionary” … , and a plea of guilty cannot be accepted unless the requisite hearing is held and the defendant is found competent … . People v Pett, 2017 NY Slip Op 02178, 4th Dept 3-24-17

CRIMINAL LAW (IF POSSIBLE, A RECONSTRUCTION HEARING MUST BE HELD TO DETERMINE DEFENDANT’S COMPETENCY AT THE TIME HE ENTERED A GUILTY PLEA, IF A HEARING CANNOT BE HELD THE PLEA MUST BE VACATED)/VACATE CONVICTION, MOTION TO (IF POSSIBLE, A RECONSTRUCTION HEARING MUST BE HELD TO DETERMINE DEFENDANT’S COMPETENCY AT THE TIME HE ENTERED A GUILTY PLEA, IF A HEARING CANNOT BE HELD THE PLEA MUST BE VACATED)/COMPETENCY (CRIMINAL LAW, (IF POSSIBLE, A RECONSTRUCTION HEARING MUST BE HELD TO DETERMINE DEFENDANT’S COMPETENCY AT THE TIME HE ENTERED A GUILTY PLEA, IF A HEARING CANNOT BE HELD THE PLEA MUST BE VACATED)

You might also like
TOWN COURT PROPERLY ORDERED THE EUTHANASIA OF RESPONDENT’S DOG AFTER THE DOG ATTACKED AND REPEATEDLY BIT A THREE-YEAR-OLD CHILD; THE DISSENTER ARGUED PETITIONERS DID NOT ESTABLISH THAT THEIR CHILD SUFFERED SERIOUS INJURY WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE AGRICULTURE AND MARKETS LAW (FOURTH DEPT).
THE ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD SUPPORTED THE GRANT OF THE ARIA VARIANCE BY THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS; SUPREME COURT SHOULD NOT HAVE SUBSTITUTED ITS JUDGMENT FOR THE BOARD’S (FOURTH DEPT).
THE WARRANTLESS SEIZURE AND SEARCH OF A BAG IN DEFENDANT’S CAR WAS NOT JUSTIFIED UNDER THE INEVITABLE DISCOVERY DOCTRINE; ERROR HARMLESS HOWEVER (FOURTH DEPT).
FATHER AND MOTHER SUBMITTED INADMISSIBLE EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THEIR SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTIONS ON THE ISSUE WHETHER THE CHILDREN WERE CONSTRUCTIVELY EMANCIPATED; FATHER’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON HIS PETITION TO TERMINATE HIS CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS WAS PROPERLY DENIED BUT MOTHER’S PETITION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT DISMISSING FATHER’S PETITION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FOURTH DEPT).
Motion to Set Aside Convictions Based On Newly Discovered Evidence Should Have Been Granted
JUROR MISCONDUCT, INCLUDING COMMUNICATIONS WITH THIRD PARTIES AND WEB BROWSING IN VIOLATION OF THE JUDGE’S ADMONITIONS, WARRANTED A NEW TRIAL IN THIS MURDER CASE (FOURTH DEPT).
The Absence of Plaintiff’s (Buyer’s) Attorney’s Explicit Unconditional Approval of the Purchase Contract Invalidated the Contract, Despite Plaintiff’s Desire to Go Through with the Purchase
MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE LATE NOTICE OF CLAIM AGAINST A PUBLIC CORPORATION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED FOR ONE OF TWO ACCIDENTS, CLAIMANT FAILED TO SHOW DEFENDANT HAD TIMELY ACTUAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE FIRST OF TWO ACCIDENTS (FOURTH 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

BOTH THE GRAND JURY AND THE TRIAL JURY SHOULD HAVE BEEN INSTRUCTED ON THE DEFENSE... AMENDMENT OF INDICTMENTS CHARGING A COURSE OF SEXUAL CONDUCT TO CHARGES WHICH...