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Entries by Bruce Freeman

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FAMILY COURT SHOULD HAVE APPOINTED A GUARDIAN FOR THE CHILD AND MADE THE FINDINGS NECESSARY FOR THE CHILD TO PETITION FOR SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS (SIJS) (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Family Court, determined that a guardian should have been appointed for the child and findings should have been made to allow the child to petition for special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS): “When considering guardianship appointments, the infant’s best interests are paramount” … . Here, the Family Court erred in determining that […]

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COUNTY COURT SHOULD NOT HAVE DENIED THE REQUEST FOR A CROSS-RACIAL IDENTIFICATION JURY INSTRUCTION, THE COURT OF APPEALS CROSS-RACIAL IDENTIFICATION RULING IN PEOPLE V BOONE APPLIES RETROACTIVELY, HOWEVER THE ERROR WAS HARMLESS (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department determined County Court should have given the cross-racial jury instruction, but deemed the error harmless: The defendant correctly contends that the County Court erred in denying his request for a jury charge on cross-racial identification. In People v Boone (30 NY3d 521, 526), the Court of Appeals held that where, as here, “identification is […]

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FAMILY COURT SHOULD HAVE FOUND BISHME’S DAUGHTER TO HAVE BEEN DERIVATIVELY ABUSED AND NEGLECTED BASED UPON BISHME’S ABUSE AND NEGLECT OF ANOTHER CHILD (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Family Court, determined that the derivative abuse and neglect petition against Bishme A. should not have been dismissed and found that Bishme A. had derivatively abused his own daughter based upon the abuse and neglect of another child, Jassir R.: The Administration for Children’s Services (hereinafter ACS) commenced two related child […]

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DETECTIVE’S TESTIMONY INDICATING DEFENDANT WAS IDENTIFIED IN A LINEUP IDENTIFICATION PROCEDURE CONSTITUTED INADMISSIBLE BOLSTERING, ALTHOUGH THIS WAS A ONE WITNESS IDENTIFICATION CASE, THE EVIDENCE WAS OVERWHELMING AND THE ERROR WAS DEEMED HARMLESS (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reviewing the unpreserved issue in the interest of justice, determined that the detective’s testimony indicated defendant had been identified in a lineup was inadmissible bolstering. The error was reviewed in the interest of justice. In light of the overwhelming evidence, however, the error was deemed harmless: We conclude that the detective’s testimony […]

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PLAINTIFF BANK DID NOT DEMONSTRATE STANDING TO FORECLOSE ON THE REVERSE MORTGAGE WITH EVIDENCE ADMISSIBLE UNDER THE BUSINESS RECORDS EXCEPTION TO THE HEARSAY RULE (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing (modifying) Supreme Court, determined that plaintiff bank did not demonstrate standing to foreclose on the reverse mortgage. The evidence submitted did not meet the requirements of the business records exception to the hearsay rule: … [T]he plaintiff submitted, among other things, the affidavit of Stephen Craycroft, an assistant secretary of Nationstar […]

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RESPONSE TO A JURY NOTE MAY HAVE MISLED THE JURY TO CONCLUDE THEY COULD MAKE THEIR OWN LAY JUDGMENT, AS OPPOSED TO RELYING ON EXPERT OPINION, ABOUT WHETHER DEFENDANT SEX OFFENDER SUFFERED FROM A MENTAL ABNORMALITY IN THIS CIVIL MANAGEMENT PROCEEDING, ISSUE REVIEWED ON APPEAL IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE, NEW TRIAL ORDERED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Duffy, over a dissent, reversed the finding that defendant sex offender (Timothy R.) suffers from a mental abnormality and requires civil commitment and ordered a new trial. The jury sent out a note asking whether they must agree with the diagnosis of one of the experts to find […]

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EVIDENCE THE CHILD WITNESSED A PHYSICAL ALTERCATION BETWEEN MOTHER AND FATHER WAS SUFFICIENT FOR A FINDING FATHER NEGLECTED THE CHILD (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Family Court in this child neglect proceeding, determined there was sufficient admissible evidence to find father had neglected the child. Although hearsay statements by mother were properly deemed inadmissible, the evidence that the child witnessed a physical altercation between mother and father was sufficient: “[E]xposing a child to domestic violence is not […]

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THE AFORD PLEA WAS NOT SUPPORTED BY STRONG EVIDENCE OF DEFENDANT’S INTENT TO COMMIT GRAND LARCENY, THE PLEA WAS VACATED IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department vacated defendant’s Alford plea finding that the record lacked the requisite strong evidence of actual guilt. The defendant and two codefendants were seen by a security guard heading toward the exit of a store with unpaid merchandise in a cart. They abandoned the merchandise near the exit, got in a car, and […]

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SUPREME COURT SHOULD NOT HAVE AUTHORIZED CHANGING THE CHILD’S NAME TO A NAME NOT REQUESTED IN FATHER’S PETITION, A HEARING IS REQUIRED TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE NAME CHANGE IS IN THE CHILD’S BEST INTERESTS (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined that the court should not have authorized a change in the child’s name to a different name than that requested in father’s petition. The Fourth Department further found that a hearing to determine whether the name change is in the best interests of the child must be held: […]

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LEGAL SENTENCE FOR A PERSISTENT FELONY OFFENDER DRASTICALLY REDUCED IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE PURSUANT TO A MOTION FOR A WRIT OF CORAM NOBIS BASED UPON APPELLATE COUNSEL’S FAILURE TO CONTEND THE SENTENCING COURT ABUSED ITS DISCRETION (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department drastically reduced defendant’s sentence pursuant to a motion for a writ of coram nobis based on appellate counsel’s failure to to contend that the sentencing court abused its discretion in finding defendant to be a persistent felony contender. The Fourth Department found that the sentencing court  was not erroneous as a matter […]

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