In this month’s column, we discuss two unusual criminal cases. In one case, the Court of Appeals overturned an almost 40-year-old rule limiting its review of certain discretionary orders denying motions to vacate judgments. In another case, the court issued an unsigned memorandum decision determining whether an anonymous tip provided a sufficient basis to find reasonable suspicion for a police stop. The four judges supporting the memorandum decision agreed on the result but disagreed on the appropriate standard to be applied, and two of those judges have since left the court; there were three dissenters. Lastly, we discuss another case that divided the court and which addressed whether a corporate subsidiary of the Seneca Nation of Indians was protected by the Nation’s sovereign immunity.
Reviewability of Orders
In People v. Jones, the court overturned a rule dating back to its 1975 decision in People v. Crimmins, 38 NY2d 407 (1975) which limited the court’s ability to review discretionary orders denying motions to vacate a judgment based on newly discovered evidence. In a decision by Judge Eugene F. Pigott Jr. and joined by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman and Judges Susan Phillips Read, Robert Smith and Jenny Rivera, the court determined that the Crimmins rule needlessly restricted its power of review and that the Appellate Division had abused its discretion in summarily denying the defendant’s motion for an evidentiary hearing.
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