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Discharge of Defense Attorney Was Abuse of Discretion; Issue Survives Guilty Plea 

The appellate division determined the trial court had abused its discretion in discharging defendant’s attorney and that the issue had not been forfeited by defendant’s guilty plea.  In affirming the appellate division, the Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Rivera, wrote:

Here, the claim to counsel is so deeply intertwined with the integrity of the process in Supreme Court that defendant’s guilty plea is no bar to appellate review. A claim that removal of counsel was part of the court’s disparate, unjustifiable treatment of defense counsel goes to the fundamental fairness of our system of justice. While the right to counsel of choice is qualified, and may cede, under certain circumstances, to concerns of the efficient administration of the criminal justice system, we have made clear that courts cannot arbitrarily interfere with the attorney-client relationship, and interference with that relationship for purpose of case management is not without limits, and is subject to scrutiny.  People v Griffin, 46. CtApp, 4-2-13

 

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Opposition to Additur or Remittitur After First Trial Can Not Be Appealed After Second Trial

In a full-fledged opinion by Judge Smith, the Court of Appeals dealt with several issues in a multi-million dollar medical malpractice suit that had already gone through two trials.  One of the issues was whether opposition to additur or remittitur with respect to the verdict in an intitial trial must be raised on appeal before retrying the case.  In holding that the issue is not appealable after a second trial, the Court of Appeals wrote:

The Appellate Division regularly reviews, and sometimes accepts, arguments that an additur or remittitur granted by a trial court is either excessive or inadequate … . In no such case, as far as we are aware, has the appellant’s claim been held unpreserved for failure to specify a more reasonable increase or decrease in the damages, and imposing such a requirement would serve little purpose.

But a party that wants to challenge the amount of an additur or remittitur on appeal must do so before a new trial takes place. The chief benefit of the devices known as additur and remittitur is that, when they are accepted, they spare the parties and the court the burden and expense of a second trial. Deferring appellate review until after the second trial destroys that benefit. Such a deferral also gives the party opposing the additur or remittitur an unjustified tactical advantage: if successful on appeal, that party can choose whether to accept the new amount of the additur or remittitur, already knowing what the second jury has awarded.  *  *  *

We see no unfairness in requiring a party dissatisfied with the size of an additur or remittitur to obtain appellate review before any retrial. If there is not time for such review, and neither the trial court nor the appellate court will grant a stay, the party’s remedy is to reject the proffered stipulation and retry the case. Defendants here pursued that remedy. They are not entitled to another remedy because they are displeased with the result.  Oakes … v Patel, 51, CtApp, 4-2-13

 

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Failure to Apply the Merger Doctrine In a Kidnapping Case is not a “Mode of Proceedings” Error—Failure to Object at Trial Precludes Review

n a full-fledged opinion by Judge Graffeo, the Court of Appeals determined that the failure to apply the merger doctrine, where kidnapping is deemed to merge with another substantive crime, is not a “mode of proceedings” error, and therefore is not reviewable in the Court of Appeals absent an objection at trial.  The merger doctrine was created to remedy overcharging by the prosecution where kidnapping was really part of another, less serious, offense.  Here the defendant argued the kidnapping charge, which was based on his briefly restraining a woman while threatening to shoot her, merged with the related reckless endangerment charge.  Because the alleged error was not preserved in the trial court by an objection, the issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the error should be deemed a “mode of proceedings” error which would allow the Court to hear the appeal, despite the lack of preservation.  The Court wrote:

In light of our case law on preservation, all four Appellate Divisions have concluded that a merger claim must be raised in the trial court … …. Defendant has offered no compelling justification for deviating from this established view and we see no valid reason to do so. Consequently, because the preservation rule applies to a merger claim in a kidnapping prosecution, defendant’s failure to assert the claim in Supreme Court precludes review by our Court … . People v Hanley, 45, CtApp 3-28-13

 

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Procedure for Invalidation of a Stipulation to the Record

The Fourth Department noted the criteria for invalidating a stipulation to a record on appeal:

It is undisputed … that plaintiff stipulated to settle the record … prior to seeking leave to reargue or renew and has not sought to be relieved from his stipulation … .  Once plaintiff stipulated to the record on appeal, he was no longer entitled to move to settle the record or, indeed, to seek leave to reargue or renew a motion to settle the record that preceded the stipulation.  “Only where there is cause sufficient to invalidate a contract, such as fraud, collusion, mistake or accident, will a party be relieved from the consequences of a stipulation made during litigation” …, and plaintiff made no such showing here.  Hale v Meadowood Farms of Cazenovia, LLC, et al, 351, CA 12-01192, 4th Dept. 3-22-13

 

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Prior Ruling on Appeal is Law of the Case for Both Trial and Appellate Courts

In a case which resulted in a second appeal, defendant contested the validity of a board meeting in both the first and second appeal.  The First Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Renwick, explained that the ruling in the first appeal was binding both on the trial court and the appellate court as the “law of the case: “

An appellate court’s resolution of an issue on a prior appeal constitutes the law of the case and is binding on the Supreme Court, as well as on the appellate court . . . [and] operates to foreclose re-examination of the question absent a showing of subsequent evidence or change of law”… .  Board of Mgrs. … v Seligson, 2013 NY Slip Op 01926, 1st Dept. 3-21-13

 

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Weight of Evidence Review Applies to More than Just Credibility—It Also Applies to Failure to Prove Elements Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

The Second Department determined the conviction for “criminal sexual act in the first degree” was against the weight of the evidence because the relevant testimony, although credible, did not prove all the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt:

The defendant correctly contends that his conviction of criminal sexual act in the first degree is against the weight of the evidence. In fulfilling our responsibility to conduct an independent review of the weight of the evidence (see CPL 470.15[5] …, we essentially sit as the “thirteenth juror” and “decide[ ] which facts were proven at trial” … . Here, we take no issue with the credibility of the People’s witnesses, or the jury’s decision to credit the complainant’s version of events over that of the defendant. However, weight of the evidence review is not limited to issues of credibility … . Rather, “in conducting its weight of the evidence review, a court must consider the elements of the crime, for even if the prosecution’s witnesses were credible their testimony must prove the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt” … .  People v Ross, 2013 NY Slip Op 01860, 2009-00582, Ind No 11304/07, 2nd Dept. 3-20-13

 

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Conviction of Endangering Welfare of a Child Against Weight of Evidence; Defendant Did Not Open Door to Questioning About Prior Bad Acts Ruled Off Limits in Sandoval Hearing; Rape Shield Law Exception Applied

In reversing the conviction, the Second Department determined that the acquittal on a rape count rendered the conviction on a related “endangering the welfare of a child” count “against the weight of the evidence.”  The Second Department also ruled that questions posed by defense counsel did not “open the door” to questioning by the prosecutor about prior “bad acts” which the trial court had ruled off limits in a Sandoval hearing.  The Second Department further ruled that an exception to the “rape shield law” was applicable and evidence the complainant had sex with defendant’s brother should have been admitted because it was relevant to a defense-theory alleging the brother had committed acts with which the defendant was charged. In ordering a new trial on one of the counts, the Second Department found that “the cumulative effect of certain trial errors deprived defendant of a fair trial…”.  In discussing the Sandoval error, the Second Department wrote: 

The purpose of a Sandoval hearing is to provide the defendant with “definitive advance knowledge of the scope of cross-examination as to prior conduct to which he will be subjected,” so that the defendant can decide whether to take the witness stand … . In the interest of fairness, a trial court’s authority to change its Sandoval ruling is limited once the defendant has decided to testify in good faith reliance on that ruling … . “When a defendant testifies to facts that are in conflict with the precluded evidence, he opens the door on the issue in question, and he is properly subject to impeachment by the prosecution’s use of the otherwise precluded evidence” … .

With respect to the rape shield law, the Second Department wrote:

A woman’s character or reputation for chastity is irrelevant to a charge that she was sexually abused … . Thus, the Rape Shield Law, codified in CPL 60.42, provides that “[e]vidence of a victim’s sexual conduct shall not be admissible in a prosecution for an offense or an attempt to commit an offense defined in article one hundred thirty of the penal law [i.e., sex offenses].” CPL 60.42 also provides five statutory exceptions. The first four exceptions allow the admission into evidence of a complainant’s prior sexual conduct in narrowly defined factual circumstances, which are inapplicable here … . The fifth exception, however, “vest[s] discretion in the trial court” … . Pursuant to CPL 60.42(5), evidence of a victim’s prior sexual conduct may be introduced upon a determination by the court that such evidence is “relevant and admissible in the interests of justice” (CPL 60.42[5]…). The Court of Appeals has recognized that, “in the interests of justice,” evidence of a complainant’s sexual conduct may be admissible if it is relevant to a defense … . In contrast, such evidence must be precluded if it does not tend to establish a defense to the crime, and will only harass the victim and possibly confuse the jurors … .  People v Fisher, 2013 NY Slip Op 01847, 2011-06453, Ind No 3421/09, 2nd Dept. 3-20-13​

 

 

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Alternative Holding in Prior Appeal Did Not Have Preclusive Effect

In a case involving a contract of sale for a painting (for 2 million euros), the First Department noted that a prior decision of that same court which stated the standing issue was not preserved for appellate review, and that if the issue were to be considered it would be rejected, was not binding for res judicata/collateral estoppel purposes:

[Defendant] was not barred by either res judicata or collateral estoppel from arguing the issue of standing in his motion to vacate the July 8, 2009 order. In particular, this Court’s holding on the prior appeal in this case (79 AD3d 534) cannot be considered binding for collateral estoppel purposes because this Court’s initial holding as to the issue of standing was that it had not been preserved for review. It was only as an alternate holding that this Court stated that the standing argument, if it were to be considered, would be rejected … .  Van Damme v Gelber, 2013 NY Slip Op 01782, 601995/07, 590203/08, 9553B, 1st Dept. 3-19-13

 

 

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Failure to Object to Curative Instruction Precludes Appeal

A curative instruction regarding admitted evidence was requested by the defendant and the court gave the requested instruction to the jury.  The defendant did not object to the instruction and did not seek a mistrial.  Therefore, the curative instruction “must be deemed to have corrected the error to the defendant’s satisfaction,” precluding appeal on that issue.  People v Mendez, 47, KA 09-01194, 4th Dept. 3-15-13

 

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No Appeal Lies from Direction to Settle Judgment on Notice

After denying a motion to set aside a verdict, the trial court directed the parties to settle judgment on notice.  The appeal of ruling was dismissed.  The Second Department explained: “[N]o appeal lies from a decision, or an appealed paper directing the settlement of a judgment (see CPLR 5512[a]; … . Moreover, plaintiff’s right to a direct appeal from any order denying a motion to set aside the verdict terminated with the entry of a judgment (see CPLR 5501…).”  Ryals v New York City Tr. Auth., 2013 NY Slip Op 01630, 9544 21244/04, 1st Dept. 3-14-13

 

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