'Unconstitutional' Merger of NY Courts Puts 1000s of Misdemeanor Convictions in Doubt
It doesn’t appear likely to be the final answer.
But an opinion by a divided appellate panel casts doubt on thousands of misdemeanor convictions in a busy borough of New York City.
A dissent in the state Appellate Division opinion, which held that a controversial 2004 merger of state criminal and supreme courts in the Bronx was unconstitutional, indicates that the court’s ruling upends every misdemeanor conviction in the merged courthouse, reports the New York Daily News.
In his dissent, Justice Rolando Acosta says that the four-judge majority’s “unbridled judicial activism effectively upends tens of thousands of misdemeanor convictions in Bronx County over the past five years,” reports the New York Law Journal.
The Bronx District Attorney’s office is expected to seek a stay and appeal to the state’s highest court. The supreme court in New York handles trial-level cases.
