In criminal cases, the 2013-2014 term of the New York Court of Appeals continued the pattern of recent years. The court was remarkably busy (it decided 98 criminal cases) and frequently divided (10 cases were decided 4-to-3 and 26 cases 5-to-2). And there were several noteworthy decisions.
In People v. Hughes, the court, for the first time, considered a Second Amendment challenge to a gun conviction.1 Under Penal Law §265.03(3), a person who possesses an unlicensed loaded firearm is guilty of a class C felony unless the possession takes place in his home or business, in which case the crime is a class A misdemeanor. The home or business exception, however, is inapplicable if the person has been previously convicted of any crime. Hughes possessed an unlicensed loaded handgun in his home and had a prior misdemeanor conviction for resisting arrest. He was convicted of the class C felony and sentenced to 31/2 years’ imprisonment.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
