If you have been charged with a violent crime in New York, including assault, assault and battery, or a firearms charge, there may be grounds to argue that there is an issue of identity in the case against you. In a recent case in a New York court, the defendant argued that the guilty conviction against him was unreasonable because the assault victim had no way of accurately identifying him after the incident in question.
Case Before the Appellate Division
In the case before the New York Appellate Division, Third Department, the defendant argued that his assault-related case should have been dismissed by the trial court. According to the defendant, the victim did not actually see who punched him on the left side of his face, since he was busy looking at two other individuals involved in the altercation, who were wrestling on the ground. Therefore, said the defendant, the guilty conviction was not supported by legally sufficient evidence. He asked the higher court to vacate his conviction.
Analysis of Events Surrounding the Assault
The higher court disagreed with the defendant, concluding instead that the events surrounding the incident could have led a reasonable jury to believe he was guilty of the assault. For example, the assault victim saw the defendant standing directly over him after he was hurt. After that, the defendant and the victim had a verbal altercation, and the defendant head-butted the victim. Because of this chain of events, the victim could have sensibly identified the person that assaulted him. Therefore, defendant’s argument did not have merit – there was not reason for the trial court to have dismissed his case.