People v. Greenspan

Summary

The Appellate Division, Second Department, reversed Daniel Greenspan's murder conviction and remitted the matter for a new trial before a different Justice. The court held that the trial court deprived the defendant of a fair trial by negotiating a plea agreement with a testifying codefendant that required testimony against the defendant in exchange for a more favorable sentence.

Holdings

1. The verdict finding the defendant guilty of second-degree murder was not against the weight of the evidence.
2. A trial court commits reversible error when it negotiates and enters into an agreement with a codefendant requiring that codefendant to testify against the defendant in exchange for a more favorable sentence.
3. The Appellate Division exercised its interest-of-justice jurisdiction to review the defendant's otherwise unpreserved claim.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the murder conviction was against the weight of the evidence.
2. Whether the County Court deprived the defendant of due process and a fair trial by negotiating and entering into a plea or sentencing agreement with a testifying codefendant in exchange for that codefendant's testimony against the defendant.
3. Whether the unpreserved fair-trial claim should be reviewed in the interest of justice.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded