People v. Tucker

3 Analyses of this case by attorneys

  1. The Law of Lesser Included Offenses

    Easton Thompson Kasperek Shiffrin LLPApril 17, 2012

    Review of the entire record in an attempt to divine the jury's collective mental process of weighing the evidence is inappropriate." (People v Tucker, 55 NY2d 1 [1981]). If it would not be repugnant, then definitionally there is a reasonable view of the evidence that the defendant committed the lesser but did not commit the greater.When considering a lesser, put yourself in the shoes of an obstinate juror. You can accept half of what someone says and reject the other half. You can accept half of every sentence out of the mouth of every witness and reject the other half. You can accept odd numbered exhibits and reject even numbered ones (though not for that reason).

  2. Repugnant Verdicts

    Easton Thompson Kasperek Shiffrin LLPJuly 10, 2010

    In other words, a combination of convictions and acquittals will be legally unacceptable when, no matter what evidence the jury might have accepted or rejected, this combination is impossible to reconcile with itself. A verdict is repugnant if an acquittal on one charge conclusively negates a necessary element of a crime for which the defendant was convicted (People v Tucker, 55 NY2d 1 [1981]). A verdict is also repugnant/inconsistent if the defendant is convicted of two counts which effectively find differing mental states as to the same act (People v Gallagher, 69 NY2d 525 [1987] [the same murder cannot be both intentional and depraved]).

  3. Can Contrary Verdicts For Co-Defendants Be Repugnant?

    Easton Thompson Kasperek Shiffrin LLPSeptember 24, 2008

    Although the answer to the question posed by the caption is "yes," the Court in People v McLaurin, [4th Dept 4/25/2008]rejected a claim that that a verdict convicting a father of resisting arrest was repugnant to the jury's acquittal of the son on that charge, where they had the same defense - that the son was not present. The Court explained that [A] conviction will be reversed [as repugnant] only in those instances where acquittal on one crime as charged to the jury is conclusive as to a necessary element of the other crime, as charged, for which the guilty verdict was rendered" (People v Tucker, 55 NY2d 1, 7, rearg denied 55 NY2d 1039). That rule also applies when one codefendant is convicted of a crime while another is acquitted of the same crime (see generally People v Green, 71 NY2d 1006, 1008; People v Hampton, 61 NY2d 963, 964).