Court of Appeals: 2011 Term

The following is a list of recent and currently pending cases before the Court of Appeals of New York concerning criminal matters



Patrick R. Ashley
St. Lawrence County ADA Jennifer M. Hollis
Affirmed, SSM, 1/6/2011
Defendant's argument against being sentenced as a second felony offender was mooted when he was resentenced as a first time felony offender and defendant did not preserve his claim that his plea was rendered involuntary by a subsequent arrest

Peter Rivera (People's Appeal)
Westchester County
Lv granted, 6/23/2010 (Graffeo, J).
AD opinion, 71 AD3d 700
Where defendant’s license had been revoked for six months, but he had been issued a conditional license, was evidence before the grand jury legally sufficient to establish the aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor
vehicle under VTL §511[3]?

Wayne Stewart
Herkimer County
Lv granted,
AD opinion, 70 AD3d 1367
Was evidence legally sufficient to establish the “serious physical injury” element of first-degree assault?

Christian Bueno
Kings County
Lv granted, 7/21/10 (Smith, J)
AD opinion, 71 AD3d 908
Where the proof did not show that, when the defendant caused injury to an EMT, he did so intending to interfere with the performance of a lawful duty, was evidence legally sufficient to establish second-degree assault?

Herbert Aponte
Queens County ADA Daniel Bresnahan
Argument, 1/6/11
App Term opinion, 24 Misc3d 118
Is attempted stalking in the third degree is a legally cognizable offense since it is solely a conduct based crime, or does the statutory definition of the object crime encompasses an attempt?


Zufer Cecunjamin
Special Franklin County DA by Clinton County CADA Timothy Blatchley
lv granted, 3/16/10 (Smith, J)
AD opinion,67 AD3d 1072
Was evidence legally sufficient to establish that the drunken victim was “physically helpless” to make out Attempted Sexual Abuse 1 where victim testified that, at one point, she resisted defendant’s advances?

Michael Hall
John Freeman
Queens County ADA William Branigan
lv granted, 9/2/10 (Ciparick, J)(both cases), People's brief filed, 11/15/10
AD opinion,74 A.D.3d 836, __ A.D.3d__, (slip op 9530, December 21, 2010) (Freeman)
AD opinion,74 A.D.3d 837, __ A.D.3d__, (slip op 9533, December 21, 2010) (Hall)
Dos stun gun used to incapacitate the victim
during a robbery constitute a dangerous instrument?


Michael Edward Prindle
Monroe County ADA Leslie E. Swift
Modified, 2/22/11
Even under the standards of the now explicitly overruled People v Register, 60 NY2d 270 (1983), which was how the jury was instructed without objection, evidence that defendant drove a van at a high rate of speed on city streets was not legally sufficient to establish depraved indifference murder.

Tony Weaver
Wayne County DA, by Wendy Evans Lehmann (NYPTI)
Affirmed, 2/10/11
Since a defendant may be guilty of disorderly conduct regardless of whether the action results in public inconvenience,
annoyance or alarm if the conduct recklessly creates a risk of
such public disruption evidence of disorderly conduct was legally sufficient consistent with People v. Munafo, 50 NY2d 326(1980).