Pro Bono Client Secures Dismissal of Indictment Based on Grand Jury Instruction Error

Paul, Weiss secured an appellate victory for a pro bono client when the New York Appellate Division, Second Department, reversed his criminal conviction and dismissed his grand jury indictment. The court held that the grand jury was not properly instructed on the complete defense of justification, even though the evidence supported that charge and the trial court in a bench trial later considered that defense.

Our client had served approximately seven and a half years of a 16-year sentence for manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon. Echoing the arguments in our briefing and at oral argument, the court concluded that, when viewed in the light most favorable to the defendant, the surveillance footage evidence offered to the grand jury supported a reasonable view that the decedent had brandished a firearm threatening imminent deadly force; that our client was not the initial aggressor; and that he could not retreat with complete safety.

Although the dismissal was without prejudice to the prosecution to present the case to another grand jury, the ruling vacates our client’s conviction and dismisses his indictment, entitling him to seek immediate release from incarceration, and requiring any future prosecution to start anew and properly instruct a grand jury. The Appellate Division’s ruling also offers important guidance for future grand jury presentations and safeguards future putative defendants from unwarranted prosecutions.

The Paul, Weiss appellate team was led by litigation partner Harris Fischman and associate Jonathan Jaroslawicz, who argued the appeal, and included partner Roberto Finzi.