I am pleased to report that I was able to obtain a not guilty verdict after a jury trial last Friday. The name of the case was People v. Jechan Burnett, and the circumstances were unusual in that this was a re-trial of a case that was overturned on appeal by the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, in November of last year.
In 2008, Mr. Burnett was convicted of Assault in the First Degree and sentenced to 15 years in state prison. He authored his appeal pro se – that is to say on his own and without assistance of counsel. His conviction was reversed because the Court at the first trial declined to instruct the jury as to two lesser included offenses of Assault in the Second Degree. By the time the case was returned to Supreme Court for re-trial, Mr. Burnett had served a little more than five years of his sentence.
Mr. Burnett always maintained that he had acted in self-defense on the day of the incident, which is known in New York as the defense of justification. He further maintained that the injuries suffered by the complaining witness, while significant, were not as serious as had been presented to the jury at the first trial.
After a week long trial, Mr. Burnett was found not guilty of Assault in the First Degree, as well as the two lesser included offenses of Assault in the Second Degree. I believe that Mr. Burnett’s decision to testify on his own behalf, after we had prepared at length, was critical to the outcome.
So a man who was facing the next decade of his life behind bars now has an opportunity for a much brighter future. I credit him with having the confidence to proceed with a second trial, and I credit both of us with communicating effectively as attorney and client as well as being thoroughly prepared. I will leave the last word for Mr. Burnett himself:
“Matt was a good listener. He allowed me to participate actively in preparing my defense. Matt was both a great lawyer to have represent me and a great person to work with.”
If you find yourself in need of representation, please contact me right away.
(Past results do not guarantee similar future outcomes.)