Port of Corpus Christi Auth. v. Sherwin Alumina Company
(United States Fifth Circuit) - Affirmed. The bankruptcy court's rejection of a Texas Port Authority's claims of sovereign immunity and fraud in their gambit to invalidate a bankruptcy sale that extinguished an easement they held was affirmed because there was no Eleventh Amendment violation or basis to claim fraud.
Wozniak v. Adesida
(United States Seventh Circuit) - Affirmed. A tenured teacher who waged an extended campaign against students who did not give him an award and sued the school when the Board of Trustees took action against him lost his appeal of the grant of summary judgment to the school. The First Amendment didn't protect his firing for intentionally causing harm to students and failing to follow the dean's instructions.
State of Texas v. EEOC
(United States Fifth Circuit) - Affirmed. A lawsuit in which Texas complained that EEOC regulations relating to the use of criminal records in hiring was an unlawfully promulgated substantive rule properly dismissed the suit but enjoined EEOC enforcement until the agency complies with notice and comment rulemaking requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act.
Cantu v. Moody
(United States Fifth Circuit) - Affirmed. The denial of money damages to a member of the Texas Mexican Mafia in a case alleging constitutional and civil rights violations arising from a drug bust was affirmed.
US v. Evans
(United States Seventh Circuit) - Affirmed. The district court did not violate the confrontation clause when it prevented defendants in an armed robbery prosecution from cross examining government witnesses about the specific prison terms they avoided through their cooperation with the government.
Torry v City of Chicago
(United States Seventh Circuit) - Affirmed. Police officers who could not recall making a Terry stop of three black men in a grey sedan following a nearby shooting were entitled to qualified immunity because the description of the shooter was close enough to justify the stop.
Thomas v. Bryant
(United States Fifth Circuit) - Affirmed. The majority of a merits panel affirmed a district court judgment declaring a Mississippi redistricting plan as violative of the Voting Rights Act.
Leiser v. Kloth
(United States Seventh Circuit) - Reversed. Defendant prison guards were entitled to qualified immunity in a case claiming cruel and unusual punishment where a PTSD-suffering prisoner asked guards not to stand behind him but they continued to do so. It did not violate clearly established constitutional law for non-medical staff to refuse to provide what amounts to medical accommodation that hadn't been ordered by the medical staff.
US v. Jackson
(United States Seventh Circuit) - Vacated and remanded. Convictions for using or carrying a firearm to commit a federal crime of violence were remanded for resentencing after previous 7th Circuit opinions and the Supreme Court's decision in US v. Davis found the term "crime of violence" to be unconstitutionally vague.
People v. Bridgeforth
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Conviction for first-degree robbery is reversed and a new trial ordered where: 1) skin color is a cognizable classification upon which a challenge to a prosecutor's peremptory strikes can be made under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986); and 2) defendant made a prima facie showing of discrimination and the prosecutor failed to give a non-discriminatory reason for the juror exclusion at issue.
People v. Flowers
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Conviction for criminal possession of a weapon is affirmed where: 1) defendant failed to preserve his argument that the trial court erred by re-imposing the original sentence after reversal on appeal; and 2) defense counsel's failure to challenge the resentencing was not ineffective assistance of counsel.
Hain v. Jamison
(Court of Appeals of New York) - In a negligence action, the Appellate Division's grant of defendant's motion for summary judgment is reversed where there is a material question as to whether the escape of defendant's calf onto the road was a proximate cause of decedent's death in car accident while she was trying to assist.
People v. Miller
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Conviction for manslaughter is reversed where the trial court abused its discretion by prohibiting defense counsel from questioning prospective jurors about their views on involuntary confessions.
Turturro v. City of New York
(Court of Appeals of New York) - In an injury and tort action, brought against defendant city after twelve-year old plaintiff was seriously injured in a collision involving a speeding driver on a Brooklyn roadway, the trial court's entry of judgment for plaintiff is affirmed. The Court held that: 1) plaintiff did not have to prove the existence of a special duty because the city's acts or omissions regarding the road were made in a proprietary capacity; 2) the evidence was legally sufficient to uphold the jury's finding that the city's negligence was a proximate cause of the accident; and 3) the doctrine of qualified immunity did not apply.
Newcomb v. Middle County Central School District
(Court of Appeals of New York) - In a civil action, arising from an auto accident allegedly caused by defendant school district's sign distracting and obstructing passing drivers on a roadway, the trial court's conclusion that plaintiff should not be permitted to serve late notice of a claim is reversed where the trial court abused its discretion in determining that defendant would be substantially prejudiced without any record evidence to support that determination.
People v. Finkelstein
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Conviction for coercion in the first-degree relating to defendant's harassment of his ex-girlfriend, both while still living at her apartment and from jail, is affirmed where: 1) defendant failed to preserve his argument that the court committed Apprendi error; and 2) defendant's sought jury instruction for second-degree coercion as a lesser-included offense was not warranted.
People v. Patterson
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Conviction for second-degree burglary and robbery is affirmed where the trial court did not err in admitting into evidence subscriber information in prepaid cell phone records as nonhearsay evidence within a business record, because the information was not introduced for the truth of the matters asserted.
Flo & Eddie, Inc. v. Sirius XM Radio, Inc.
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Answering a certified question from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the Court held that New York common law does not recognize a right of public performance for creators of sound recordings and answered the Second Circuit's question in the negative.
People v. Clark
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Conviction for second-degree murder is affirmed where defendant's trial counsel did not commit ineffective assistance of counsel in pursuing a misidentification defense while not advancing an inconsistent justification defense, after defendant decided on the strategy and denied that he was the person depicted shooting the victim on a surveillance video recording.
People v. Morgan
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Conviction for manslaughter and possession of a weapon is affirmed where the trial court's supplemental instruction to the jury to continue deliberating, following the jury's return of a verdict which polling determined not to be unanimous, did not deprive defendant of a fair trial.
People v. Perkins
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Conviction for multiple robberies is reversed and remanded. The Court held that a lineup's suggestiveness should not turn solely on whether a defendant's distinctive feature, here dreadlocks, figured prominently in a witness's prior description to police but can be considered as one factor when a court determines the suggestiveness of a lineup.
People v. Brown
(Court of Appeals of New York) - In consolidated criminal actions concerning the People's change of their readiness status after having previously filed off-calendar statements of readiness, the Court held that there is a rebuttable presumption that such statements were truthful when made and that defendants can rebut the presumption with a demonstration that the People were not, in fact, ready at the time the statement was filed.
Stonehill Capital Management v. Bank of the West
(Court of Appeals of New York) - In a contracts action arising from a dispute over the auction sale of a syndicated loan, the Appellate Division's grant of defendant's motion for summary judgment is reversed where the lack of a written sales agreement and plaintiffs' failure to submit a timely cash deposit were not conditions precedent to the formation of the parties' contract and do not render their agreement unenforceable.
In re Brooke S.B.
(Court of Appeals of New York) - In a consolidated family law appeal, the court overruled its decision in Alison D. v. Virginia M., 77 N.Y.2d 651 (1991), and held that an unmarried partner who lacks a biological or adoptive connection to subject children has standing to seek visitation and custody under Domestic Relations Law section 70 by showing, clearly and convincingly, that the parties agreed to conceive a child and raise the child together.
In re Glickman
(Court of Appeals of New York) - In an election law action, concerning whether Steven Glickman, a candidate for the state senate, is eligible to run for that office, the Appellate Division's judgment that he was eligible is reversed where Glickman's 2014 registration to vote in Washington, D.C. precludes him as a matter of law from establishing the five years of continuous residency in New York required by the state constitution.
In re Springer
(Court of Appeals of New York) - In an employment action, arising after a tenured teacher resigned his position to teach at another school and was subsequently terminated there, the Appellate Division's order is affirmed where New York City Board of Education Chancellor's Regulation C-205 paragraph 29 requires a written request to withdraw a prior resignation and petitioner did not strictly comply with its terms.
People v. Nelson
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Conviction for second-degree murder and fist degree assault is affirmed where the trial court did not err in refusing to remove three spectators, silently wearing t-shirts bearing a photograph of one of the victims, from the courtroom during summation at defense counsel's request.
People v. Powell
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Conviction for first-degree murder and other crimes is affirmed. The Court held that New York's standard for admitting evidence of third-party culpability, articulated in People v. Primo, 96 N.Y.2d 351 (2001), is consistent with Holmes v. South Carolina, 547 U.S. 319 (2006) and does not infringe on a defendant's constitutional right to present a complete defense.
People v. Badalamenti
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Conviction for assaults and related offenses is affirmed where a parent or guardian can vicariously consent on behalf of a child to create an audio or video recording of a conversation to which the child is a party, pursuant to Penal Code section 250.00 (2), provided that the parent or guardian has a good faith, objectively reasonable basis to believe that it is necessary in order to serve the best interests of his or her minor child.
People v. Williams
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Conviction for criminal sale of a controlled substance is affirmed where defendant was given a reasonable opportunity to object to the legality of his guilty plea and didn't do so, thus failing to preserve his claim challenging the validity of his plea.
Yaniveth R. v. LTD Realty Co.
(Court of Appeals of New York) - In a personal injury action, arising after plaintiff, a minor child, was exposed to lead at her grandmother's apartment where she was cared for during the day, the Supreme Court's dismissal of the complaint is affirmed where plaintiff child' did not 'reside' at her grandmother's apartment for the purposes of section 27-2013[h][1] of the Administrative Code of the City of NY, which requires landlords to remove lead-based paint in any dwelling in which a child six year of age and under resides.
People v. Johnson
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Conviction for multiple counts of robbery and larceny is affirmed where the People's use of defendant's non-privileged telephone conversations, made while in custody at Rikers Island, did not violate defendant's Sixth Amendment right to counsel and the dissemination of recordings of conversations at the District Attorney's request does not violate state law.
Chanko v. Am. Broadcasting Companies
(Court of Appeals of New York) - In an injury and tort action, brought against defendants ABC News, a hospital, and attending physician for the nonconsensual filming and subsequent broadcast of decedent's treatment and death at the hospital, the Appellative Division's order is modified and affirmed where: 1) the broadcasting of the footage as part of a documentary series about medical trauma was not so extreme and outrageous as to support an intentional infliction of emotional distress claim; but 2) plaintiffs have stated a cause of action against the hospital and treating physician for breach of physician-patient confidentiality.
Gov't Employees Ins. v. Avanguard Med. Group
(Court of Appeals of New York) - In an insurance action, brought by plaintiff insurance companies seeking declaratory relief, the Appellate Division's order is affirmed where Insurance Law section 5102 does not require no-fault insurance carriers to pay a facility fee to reimburse New York State-accredited office-based surgery centers for the use of their facilities and related support services.
People v. Gray
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Conviction for second-degree intentional murder is affirmed where defendant's attorney did not render ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to move to reopen the suppression hearing following a detective's trial testimony about his interview with defendant.
In re N.Y.C. C.L.A.S.H.
(Court of Appeals of New York) - In a health action challenging the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPHRP)'s regulation prohibiting smoking in certain outdoor locations, the Appellate Division's order is affirmed where the OPRHP acted within the confines of legislation in enacting the regulation at issue.
In re Aoki
(Court of Appeals of New York) - In a trusts and estates action, the Appellate Divisions' order is affirmed where defendant, the wife of decedent, founder of the Benihana restaurant chain, failed to raise a triable issue of fact that two irrevocable releases signed by decedent were signed as a result of fraud or other wrongful conduct.
In re Sand and Stone Corp.
(Court of Appeals of New York) - In an environmental action, challenging a Town Board's positive declaration under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and requiring a draft environmental impact statement, the trial court's dismissal of the petition is affirmed where the positive declaration is not justiciable and the case not ripe for judicial review.
People v. King
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Conviction for first-degree burglary and assault is affirmed where: 1) defendant's right to a trial by jury was not impaired by the trial court's failure to adhere to the statutory procedural protection for excusing potential jurors for hardship; 2) the trial court did not abuse its discretion by excluding defendant's third-party culpability evidence as not probative and speculative; and 3) the prosecutor's reference to defendant's gender in summation was inexcusable and irrelevant, but defense counsel's failure to object was not ineffective assistance of counsel.
People v. Berry
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Conviction for murder in the second degree and related offenses are affirmed where the trial court: 1) properly permitted the People to call a government witness who invoked his Fifth Amendment rights before receiving immunity; 2) properly permitted the government to use a redacted statement for the limited purpose of impeaching its own witness; and 3) did not abuse its discretion by precluding defendant's expert from testifying with regard to the effects of event stress on eyewitness identification.
People v. Berry
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Conviction for murder in the second degree and related offenses are affirmed where the trial court: 1) properly permitted the People to call a government witness who invoked his Fifth Amendment rights before receiving immunity; 2) properly permitted the government to use a redacted statement for the limited purpose of impeaching its own witness; and 3) did not abuse its discretion by precluding defendant's expert from testifying with regard to the effects of event stress on eyewitness identification.
People v. Johnson
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Conviction for robbery in the second degree is reversed where the admission of a non-testifying codefendant's out-of-court statements to establish an element of the crime violated defendant's Sixth Amendment right of confrontation under Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123 (1968).
People v. Cedeno
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Conviction for gang assault and weapons possession is reversed where the admission of a nontestifying codefendant's redacted statement to police violated defendant's rights under the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment, and such error was not harmless.
People v. DiPippo
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Conviction for felony murder and rape is reversed where the trial court abused its discretion by precluding the defendant from introducing evidence of third-party culpability and such error was not harmless under the circumstances.
In re Perlbinder Holdings, LLC
(Court of Appeals of New York) - In a real estate and property action, arising after the Manhattan Department of Buildings revoked plaintiff's erroneously-issued permit for a large outdoor advertising sign, the order of the Appellate Division is reversed where: 1) plaintiff did not acquire a vested right to maintain the sign on its property through its reliance on the erroneously issued permit; and 2) the issue of plaintiff's good-faith reliance on the erroneously-issued permit is properly raised in an application for a zoning variance.
People v. Sanders
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Conviction for criminal possession of a weapon in the second and third degrees is vacated and the case remanded where the police’s seizure of defendant’s clothing from a clear hospital bag without a warrant or defendant’s consent violated his Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.
Torres v. Jones
(Court of Appeals of New York) - In a false arrest case contending that police invented a false confession to aid in the prosecution of plaintiff, in violation of 42 U.S.C. section 1983 and New York common law, the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to defendants is: 1) reversed where plaintiff has pleaded sufficient facts to constitute violations of New York's false arrest and malicious prosecution claims and 42 U.S.C. section 1983 claims against individually-named plaintiffs; and 2) affirmed as to the City of New York and New York City Police Department in accordance with Monell v. N.Y.C. Dept. of Soc. Services, 436 U.S. 658 (1978).
People v. Thompson
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Sentence for robbery in the first degree based on a prior conviction for assault in the first degree is vacated and remanded for resentencing. The Court held that the revocation of probation under Penal Code section 60.01 is not the analogue of an annulment of a sentence and concluded that the original sentencing date controls for the purpose of determining the eligible look-back period in Penal Law section 70.04 for prior conviction sentencing.
People v. Jones
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Sentence following conviction for criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree is affirmed where the sentencing court properly refused defendant’s request to defer payment of a mandatory surcharge imposed under Penal Law section 60.35 that was not subject to the court’s discretion.
People v. Nicholson
(Court of Appeals of New York) - Conviction for sexual conduct against a child in the first degree is affirmed where the trial court did not commit reversible error in admitting rebuttal testimony intended prove defendant’s sole witness was biased and motivated to fabricate evidence. The Court clarified that the Appellate Division may rely on the record to discern an unarticulated predicate for the trial court’s evidentiary rulings.