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ALTHOUGH THERE WAS EVIDENCE DEFENDANT WAS SELLING TICKETS TO A SPORTING EVENT OUTSIDE THE ARENA, THE EVIDENCE DEFENDANT KNEW THE TICKETS WERE FORGED WAS LEGALLY INSUFFICIENT; DEFENDANT’S FLIGHT WHEN HE SAW THE POLICE WAS EQUIVOCAL (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing defendant’s convictions of criminal possession of a forged instrument, determined the evidence that defendant knew the Rangers tickets were forged was legally insufficient. The defendant briefly held an envelope containing the tickets and fled when he say the police:

Defendant approached Rangers fans outside of Madison Square Garden before a game, and at one point said “tickets, tickets.” He was on a cell phone call for a few seconds with an unspecified caller, the substance of which was not overheard. Defendant then met an unapprehended man, who gave defendant an envelope, which he immediately passed to a codefendant. The envelope, which the police recovered from the codefendant, contained a birthday card and the four forged Rangers tickets.

The evidence suggested that defendant sought to buy or sell tickets, but it did not show that he knew the tickets in question were forged. Even if the evidence established that defendant knowingly acted in concert with one or more other persons to sell tickets, in the circumstances presented this failed to support an inference that he knew he was selling forged tickets. His momentary possession of the envelope as he took it from one man and handed it to another, without looking inside or otherwise seeing the tickets, and the lack of any evidence of the codefendant’s conduct, besides his walking with defendant and receiving the tickets, does not suffice to establish that defendant knew the tickets were forged, either personally or while acting in concert with the codefendant.

Defendant’s flight from a plainclothes officer, whom defendant may have recognized, was too equivocal to prove that he knew the tickets inside the envelope were forged. There are other reasonable explanations for defendant’s flight, such as his potential awareness that it is unlawful to sell tickets, even if genuine, in the vicinity of the Garden … . People v Johnson, 2020 NY Slip Op 02708, First Dept 5-7-20

 

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ALTHOUGH DEFENDANT’S SUPPRESSION MOTION RELATED TO A THEFT ON OCTOBER 3 AND DEFENDANT PLED GUILTY TO A DIFFERENT THEFT ON OCTOBER 1 IN SATISFACTION OF BOTH, DEFENDANT WAS ENTITLED TO APPELLATE REVIEW OF HIS SUPPRESSION MOTION; THE APPELLATE DIVISION’S DENIAL OF REVIEW REVERSED (CT APP).

The Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Fahey, reversing the Appellate Division, determined defendant was entitled to appellate review of the denial of his suppression motion even though the suppression motion did not relate to the offense to which defendant pled guilty. The defendant was charged with two thefts from the same residence on different days, a laptop computer taken on October 1 and jewelry taken on October 3. The police stopped the defendant on the street on October 3 and seized the jewelry. The suppression hearing related to that street stop. The defendant pled guilty to the theft of the computer and the jewelry-theft was satisfied by the plea. The Fourth Department held defendant was not entitled to appellate review of the jewelry-related suppression motion because defendant pled to the computer-theft. The case was sent back for review of the denial of the suppression motion:

Defendant was charged by indictment with two counts of burglary in the second degree … . The first count related to the laptop computer, taken from a dwelling on October 1, 2014; the second count related to the jewelry, which was taken from the same dwelling on October 3, 2014, the day of the arrest.

Defendant moved to suppress the jewelry, contending that his detention and the seizure of the jewelry violated his right to freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures …. Following a suppression hearing, with testimony from two of the police officers present at the arrest, Supreme Court denied defendant’s motion, concluding that the police had “reasonable suspicion that a crime had been committed and that the defendant was the perpetrator.”

Defendant, a predicate felony offender who was facing a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison if convicted of both counts of burglary, pleaded guilty to one count of burglary in the second degree, in satisfaction of the entire indictment. … [D]efendant pleaded guilty to the October 1 burglary, as charged in the count pertaining to the theft of the laptop computer, in satisfaction of the count charging the October 3 burglary of jewelry, which was the subject of his motion to suppress.  * * *

“[W]hen a conviction is based on a plea of guilty an appellate court will rarely, if ever, be able to determine whether an erroneous denial of a motion to suppress contributed to the defendant’s decision, unless at the time of the plea he states or reveals his reason for pleading guilty” … . * * *

A defendant who pleads guilty to one count will invariably take into consideration that other counts are satisfied by the plea. Importantly, a count satisfied by a guilty plea bears the double jeopardy consequences of a judgment of conviction. The judgment in this case prevents the People from prosecuting defendant again for the October 3, 2014 burglary, even though defendant did not plead to that count … . People v Holz, 2020 NY Slip Op 02682, CtApp 5-7-20

 

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THE BANK DID NOT DEMONSTRATE COMPLIANCE WITH THE NOTICE REQUIREMENTS OF RPAPL 13O4 AND A CONDITION PRECEDENT IN THE MORTGAGE IN THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION; THE BANK’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the bank did not demonstrate compliance with the notice requirements of RPAPL 1304 and a condition precedent in the mortgage and therefore was not entitled to summary judgment in this foreclosure action:

Here, the plaintiff failed to establish, prima facie, that it complied with the requirements of RPAPL 1304 … . Contrary to the plaintiff’s contention, its submission of an affidavit of an employee of the loan servicer was not sufficient to establish that the notice was sent to the defendant in the manner required by RPAPL 1304. The affiant did not aver that he had personal knowledge of the purported mailings, that he was familiar with the mailing practices and procedures of the plaintiff, which allegedly sent the notice, or that the plaintiff’s records had been incorporated into the records of the loan servicer and were routinely relied upon by the loan servicer in its business … . Further, the plaintiff’s submission of an affidavit of its own employee was insufficient to establish the plaintiff’s strict compliance with RPAPL 1304, since that employee had no personal knowledge of the purported mailings, and his unsubstantiated and conclusory statements failed to establish that the notice was mailed to the defendant not only by certified or registered mail, but also by first-class mail … . Although the plaintiff submitted tracking information from the United States Postal Service for certified mailings of the notice, the redacted proof of first-class mailing did not contain any information linking a first-class mailing to the RPAPL 1304 notice, and thus, failed to establish that the notice was mailed by first-class mail … . Likewise, the plaintiff’s submission of a “Proof of Filing” statement pursuant to RPAPL 1306 contained no information indicating that the mailing was done by both registered or certified mail and first-class mail as required by RPAPL 1304 … .

The plaintiff similarly failed to establish, prima facie, that it mailed a notice of default to the defendant by first-class mail as required by the terms of the mortgage as a condition precedent to acceleration of the loan … . JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. v Nellis, 2020 NY Slip Op 02621, Second Dept 5-6-20

Similar issues and result in Deutsche Bank Natl. Trust Co. v Nelson, 2020 NY Slip Op 02604, Second Dept 5-6-20

 

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THE PEOPLE DID NOT DEMONSTRATE THAT THE ANALYST WHO TESTIFIED ABOUT THE GENERATION OF THE DNA PROFILE HAD FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE OF THE PROCEDURE USED OR INDEPENDENTLY ANALYZED THE RAW DATA; NEW TRIAL ORDERED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing defendant’s conviction, determined the defendant was deprived of the opportunity to cross-examine a witness who had first-hand knowledge of the generation of the DNA profile:

When confronted with testimonial DNA evidence at trial, a defendant is entitled to cross-examine “an analyst who witnessed, performed or supervised the generation of defendant’s DNA profile, or who used his or her independent analysis on the raw data” … . As the defendant contends, the People failed to establish that the analyst who testified in this case performed such a role in the testing or analysis of the testimonial DNA evidence introduced against him at trial … . Since the error was not harmless, the defendant is entitled to a new trial … . People v Butler, 2020 NY Slip Op 02676, Second Dept 5-6-20

 

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DEFENDANT DID NOT OFFER PROOF OF WHEN THE AREA WHERE PLAINTIFF SLIPPED AND FELL ON WATER WAS LAST CLEANED OR INSPECTED; THEREFORE DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant’s motion for summary judgment in this slip and fall case should not have been granted. The defendant failed to demonstrate it did not have constructive notice of the water on the floor because it did not offer any proof of when the area had last been cleaned or inspected:

“A defendant who moves for summary judgment in a slip-and-fall case has the initial burden of making a prima facie showing that it did not create the hazardous condition which allegedly caused the fall, and did not have actual or constructive notice of that condition for a sufficient length of time to discover and remedy it” … . “A defendant has constructive notice of a dangerous condition when the dangerous condition is visible and apparent, and existed for a sufficient length of time before the accident that [it] could have been discovered and corrected” … . “To meet its initial burden on the issue of lack of constructive notice, the defendant must offer some evidence as to when the area in question was last cleaned or inspected relative to the time when the plaintiff fell” … .

Here, the defendant failed to meet its initial burden as the movant to affirmatively demonstrate that it did not have constructive notice of the condition that allegedly caused the plaintiff to fall, because the defendant did not proffer any evidence as to when the subject area was last cleaned or inspected … . Merchant v New York City Tr. Auth., 2020 NY Slip Op 02666, Second Dept 5-6-20

 

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DENIAL OF FATHER’S PETITION FOR CUSTODY WAS NOT SUPPORTED BY THE EVIDENCE (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing Family Court, held that the denial of father’s petition for a change in custody (from mother to father) was not supported by the evidence:

Here, the only factor that weighs in favor of respondent mother is the existing custody arrangement, which had been in place for a lengthy period of time … . Although the subject child has a brother at the mother’s house, that is not a factor that favors the mother because “both parties have other children, [and thus] an award of [primary residential] custody to either party would necessarily separate the child at issue from some of her siblings” … .

The remaining factors favor awarding primary residential custody to the father. During the time that the mother had primary residential custody, the child performed poorly at school and experienced a significant increase in her depression … . Additionally, due to the mother’s work schedule, the child was required to arise before 5:00 a.m. and to thereafter be taken to a relative’s house, where the child stayed for two hours before going to school. Also, the mother is admittedly unable to assist the child with school work, or to schedule or attend the child’s medical and mental health counseling appointments. The father, in contrast, is able to provide a more stable home for the child and is currently helping the child with those measures.

Furthermore, the child expressed a desire to reside with the father. Although the “[c]ourt is . . . not required to abide by the wishes of a child to the exclusion of other factors in the best interests analysis” … , we conclude that “the wishes of the [14]-year-old child are . . . entitled to great weight where, as here, the age and maturity [of the child] would make [her] input particularly meaningful” … . In addition, although the position of the AFC is not determinative, it is a factor to be considered … , and the AFC here has supported the child’s wish to live with the father both in Family Court and on appeal. Matter of Alwardt v Connolly, 2020 NY Slip Op 02574, Fourth Dept 5-1-20

 

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WHETHER TO INSTRUCT THE JURY ON THE EXTREME EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE (EED) AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE MUST BE DETERMINED BASED SOLELY UPON THE PEOPLE’S PROOF AT TRIAL; IT WAS (HARMLESS) ERROR FOR THE COURT TO MAKE THAT DETERMINATION PRIOR TO TRIAL (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department noted that the court committed (harmless) error when it ruled, prior to the trial, that the jury would not be instructed on the extreme emotional disturbance (EED) affirmative defense:

… [T]he court erred in determining prior to trial that it would not charge the jury on the affirmative defense of EED. A defendant may be entitled to a jury charge on the affirmative defense of EED based solely on the People’s proof … , and thus it was error for the court to make that ruling without any consideration of the People’s evidence. People v Taglianetti, 2020 NY Slip Op 02561, Fourth Dept 5-1-20

 

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DEFENDANT, FROM THE OUTSET, CLAIMED A MAN SHE HAD JUST MET AT A BAR WAS DRIVING HER CAR WHEN IT WENT OFF THE ROAD AND THEN FLED THE SCENE; THE DWI CONVICTIONS WERE AGAINST THE WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing the Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) convictions, determined the convictions were against the weight of the evidence. The defendant claimed from the outset that her car, which had gone off the road, was driven by a man she just met at a bar and who fled after the accident. There was no direct evidence defendant was the driver:

Defendant’s assertion that the car had been operated by an individual named Paul was not inconsistent with the evidence at trial. Although defendant’s request that the passing motorist not call 911 constituted evidence of consciousness of guilt, it is well settled that consciousness of guilt evidence is a “weak” form of evidence … . The failure of defendant to provide a more detailed description of Paul did little to disprove defendant’s hypothesis of innocence, given the general nature of the questions posed to her and their emphasis on contact information for Paul that defendant reasonably was not in a position to provide. Finally, the testimony of the investigator that the position of the driver’s seat in the car was inconsistent with the car being driven by someone who is 5 feet 10 inches tall, as opposed to defendant’s height of 5 feet 7 inches, may have been persuasive if there were other such circumstantial evidence, but no other evidence existed here. Giving the evidence the weight it should be accorded, therefore, we find that the People failed to establish, beyond a reasonable doubt, that defendant operated the car that had gone off the roadway … . People v Bradbury, 2020 NY Slip Op 02577, Fourth Dept 5-1-20

 

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THE GRAND JURY EVIDENCE OF TWO LACERATIONS ON THE VICTIM’S NECK, 3-4 AND 5-6 CENTIMETERS LONG, SUPPORTED THE TWO COUNTS OF FIRST DEGREE ASSAULT BASED UPON DISFIGUREMENT (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing County Court, over a two-justice dissent, determined the evidence presented to the Grand Jury was sufficient to support the assault first degree counts based upon disfigurement, i.e., two lacerations, 3-4 and 5-6 centimeters long, on the victim anterior neck:

… [T]he evidence before the grand jury included the testimony of the victim, the victim’s medical records, and photographs of the victim taken on the day of the incident. The evidence established that, as a result of the assault, the victim sustained “two significant lacerations to her anterior neck,” which were 3-4 and 5-6 centimeters long, respectively, with soft tissue defects and exposure of underlying subcutaneous fat. The lacerations required at least 10 sutures to close. We conclude that the grand jury could reasonably infer from the evidence that the sutured wounds resulted in permanent scars … . We further conclude that, when “viewed in context, considering [their] location on the body”… , the grand jury could reasonably infer that the scars would “make the victim’s appearance distressing or objectionable to a reasonable person observing her” … . People v Harwood, 2020 NY Slip Op 02594, Fourth Dept 5-1-20

 

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AFTER A TRAFFIC STOP AND A FOOT CHASE DEFENDANT WAS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY; NOTHING THE DEPUTY HAD SEEN AT THAT POINT PROVIDED PROBABLE CAUSE TO SEARCH THE DEFENDANT’S CAR; AFTER OPENING THE CAR DOOR AND SMELLING MARIJUANA THE DEPUTY CONDUCTED A WARRANTLESS SEARCH; THE DRUGS AND WEAPON SHOULD HAVE BEEN SUPPRESSED (FOURTH DEPT)

The Fourth Department, reversing defendant’s conviction and dismissing the indictment, determined the deputy did not have probable cause for a warrantless search of defendant’s car and the drugs and weapon found in the car should have been suppressed. The deputy initiated a traffic stop because defendant allegedly made a turn without signaling. The defendant told the deputy he could not roll down his window or open the driver side door. After making “furtive” movements inside the car, the defendant opened the passenger side door and fled. The deputy chased defendant and took him into custody. When asked why he ran, defendant said there was a warrant for his address. The deputy returned to defendant’s car, opened the door, smelled marijuana and searched the car. The Fourth Department found that nothing the deputy had seen prior to his opening the car door provided probable cause for the search:

Under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, “a search conducted without a warrant issued by an impartial Magistrate is per se unreasonable unless one of the established exceptions applies” … . “One such exception is the so-called automobile exception’, under which State actors may search a vehicle without a warrant when they have probable cause to believe that evidence or contraband will be found there” … . Applying our State Constitution, the Court of Appeals has held that when police want to search a vehicle at the time they arrest its occupant, “the police must… not only have probable cause to search the vehicle but . . . there must also be a nexus between the arrest and the probable cause to search” … . “[T]he requirement of a connection” between “the probable cause to search and the crime for which the arrest is being made” is “flexible” inasmuch as a court need not focus “solely on the crimes for which a defendant was formally arrested” … . “[T]he proper inquiry is simply whether the circumstances gave the officer probable cause to search the vehicle” … . When police officers stop a vehicle, they may have probable cause to search the vehicle under the automobile exception based “on grounds other than those that initially prompted [the officers] to stop the vehicle,” i.e., the probable cause may come to light after the stop… . …

Although defendant engaged in “furtive and suspicious activity” and his “pattern of behavior, viewed as a whole” was suspicious … , there was no direct nexus between the initial traffic stop for a traffic violation and the search of defendant’s vehicle. Furthermore, there was no direct nexus between the arrest of defendant and the search of his vehicle. Defendant made no statements to suggest that the vehicle contained contraband or evidence of a crime … , the deputy did not observe any contraband in plain view , the deputy did not find any contraband on defendant’s person when he took defendant into custody … , and it cannot be said that defendant’s “furtive movements” toward the center console lacked any innocent explanation or occurred under circumstances suggesting that criminal activity was afoot … . People v Johnson, 2020 NY Slip Op 02589, Fourth Dept 5-1-20

 

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